The Thrash to the Onion Patch: Boat-length and the Newport to Bermuda race

Abstract

We empirically examine the effect of boat length upon the race times in the biennial Newport to Bermuda sailing event. We find that boat length has an economically and statistically significant negative effect upon elapsed times for race participants. Specifically, each foot of boat length relates to a 35-min reduction in elapsed time. We find no similarly significant effects upon the corrected times utilized to determine actual finishing ranks for participating boats, however, which may be indicative of the quality of the handicapping methodology employed by the race sponsors. We further examine the effect of boat domicile upon race times, finding a lack of any disadvantage in terms of elapsed time for non-US boats, while at the same time finding a disadvantage for their corrected time (implying they are handicapped relative to US boats). We subsequently find statistical evidence of an interaction effect between US-domiciled boats and boat length on elapsed times in the regatta. This may suggest evidence in support of the Alchian-Allen effect, where only high-quality non-US boats and crews are “exported” for race participation.