Bermuda’s Brian Hillier and Stephen Sherwin officially set sail yesterday in the 53rd Newport Bermuda Race from Narragansett Bay, Newport.

The experienced helmsmen are both competing in the St David’s Lighthouse Division and are among the 163 yachts registered in the 635-mile race.

Hillier and crew Ruairi Brown, Michael Wollmann, Peter Dill, Chris Adderley, William Thompson and Jason Owen were last shown third in their class, fifth in the overall St David’s Lighthouse Division and fifteenth in line honours among monohull yachts.

Sherwin, who is joined by crew Alex Adelsberg, Meghan Shewin, Ian Feathers, Jeremy Asson, Paul Reilly, Tiarnan Brown and Gary Ince were shown eighth in their class and 49th in both the overall St David’s Lighthouse Division and line honours among monohull yachts.

Hillier has competed in the race since 1990 and is potentially making his final appearance in the biennial event.

The 69-year-old and fellow crew headed into the race with confidence after picking up four wins and class honours at last weekend’s 170th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta.

For the first time in the race’s 118-year history, the fleet started from inside Narragansett Bay, offering spectators spectacular views of the starting line.

It is anticipated the fleet will cross the finish line off St David’s Lighthouse anytime between two and five days.

Jason Carroll’s AQ MOD70, Argo, holds the race’s multihull record of 33hr 0.09sec and Ken Read’s 100-foot supermaxi, Comanche, the monohull record, which stands at 39hr 39min 8sec.