En route to Bermuda, these racers have had to comply with safety regulations that could help any sailor—cruiser or racer—prepare for offshore sailing.

Every two years, some 150 offshore sailboats line up in Newport, RI, to race roughly 650 miles to Bermuda, a semi-tropical island in the western Atlantic, almost due east of Charleston, SC. While this is a relatively short ocean passage, it is not always an easy one. Boats have met serious gale conditions and dodged hurricanes during past editions of this race.

Boats racing to Bermuda must comply with the Category One requirements defined in the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Special Regulations Governing Offshore and Oceanic Equipment and Preparation, popularly known as the Special Regulations. Category One races are defined by US SAILING—the governing body for offshore racing in the…