The owners and crew of Spirit of Bermuda are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Andrea, the first named storm of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.The triple masted schooner is currently en route to Marion, Massachusetts for the start of this year’s Marion Bermuda Race which gets underway a week today.“Spirit of Bermuda is in New York Harbour right now and our original plan was to stay in New York until either Friday (today) evening or early Saturday,” said Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) Chairman and past Olympic sailor Alan Burland. “But we may move a little earlier if need be.“Obviously we’re headed towards Marion and the plan is to get into Marion on Wednesday. The original plan is to leave New York and go onto to Newport (Rhode Island) to pick up some sails but that may change now and obviously we are in touch with the sail maker.”Added Burland: “Karen (Spirit of Bermuda captain Karen McDonald) has been in touch and is in touch with the weather service there and is monitoring it (storm) carefully. We have a number of options on safe anchorages so we’re monitoring that closely.“We have a number of good options which we will utilise as things develop further. We’ll go and find a quiet spot somewhere and wait it out.”Tropical Storm Andrea, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, is tracking in a north east direction up the US East Coast with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour.The storm is expected to pass by New York and Rhode Island tomorrow morning.“We’ll monitor it really carefully and if we’re getting multiple weather feeds on Spirit we will make good informed decisions,” Burland said.Spirit of Bermuda is the sole entry in the new Classic Yacht Division in this year’s Marion Bermuda Race that begins June 14 in Buzzards Bay, Marion and concludes off St David’s Head, Bermuda.Earlier this week The Royal Gazette revealed that Spirit of Bermuda’s sole rival, Belle Aventure, had withdrawn from the 645-mile ocean race.“Due to unforeseen circumstances with the owners’ schedules, S/Y Belle Aventure will not be able to sail to Bermuda this year during the Marion to Bermuda Race,” read a statement from the boat’s captain Dave Thompson.The 40-foot Hinckley, Alice Kay, is the only other local boat registered in this year’s 38-boat Marion to Bermuda Race fleet.Since its inception the biennial event, jointly hosted by Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC), Beverly Yacht Club and Blue Water Sailing Club, has evolved into a premier ocean race and sailing event which appeals to a broad range of cruising and racing enthusiasts.