Bernida.org :: History


A History of The Bernida, Winner of the 1st Bayview Mackinac Race - By Toby Murray
(The author is the Mackinac Island resident who rediscovered the Bernida. Toby Murray is also Secretary of the Mackinac Boating Heritage Foundation, the organization raising funds to restore the Bernida. This is the first part of a series of articles about this famous sailboat.) This is the story of an unusual boat and its "spirit". It’s about a boat that is a true survivor, one that refuses to fade into the past nor rest on its laurels, one that would like to return to its glory days of racing in the 1920's. It’s all about the spirit of survivorship, a great history and the boat's desire to sail again. It’s the story of the Bernida. Download the entire Story here to read more

The Bernida undergoing sea trials
	View our Library of the Bernida undergoing sea trials off the Gloucester, Massachusetts coast in August, 1921. The boat was originally named "Ruweida III" by its designer, George Owen, a famous racing sailboat designer and MIT professor. The boat was renamed Bernida by Russ Pouliot when he purchased the boat, shipped it to Detroit and raced it in the first Bayview Mackinac race in 1925. Pouliot and his crew of four raced the boat to victory through that stormy first event. Only four of the 12 boats that started the race finished. These photos are the courtesy of the MIT Nautical Museum.