Get Ready For Sailing Key West!

Calling All J/70, J/80, J/105 & J/PHRF Teams!(Key West, FL)- The 25th Anniversary edition of Key West Race Week was by all accounts a great success and your Key West hosts are looking forward to building on the enthusiasm that was generated last year and delivering another memorable Key West Race Week 2013 for the one-design J/80 and J/105 classes, for the popular J/PHRF class and for the new J/70 class!  The competition is world-class and the evening socials at the Kelly’s Caribbean shoreside venue have proven to be very popular for skippers and crews.

For the 26th edition of this winter classic, ten races over five days are planned for J/One-Design classes and the J/PHRF classes.  A Key West hallmark has been strong class racing and we are hoping to grow those fleets that have supported Key West for years.  Positive news from all four J/Classes point to another year featuring great competition- so far 35 J's are signed up, about 42% of the 84 boats planning to participate already.  Come one, come all, let's make J's 50% of the fleet!  The more the merrier!

For J/105s, the big news is that one of the class's newest owners, Dennis Conner (recently honored as "America's Greatest Sailor" by US Sailing/ Sailing World Magazine) will be sailing USA 3- DC's PHOLLY, one of the oldest J/105s in existence.  DC just finished sailing the J/105 SoCal Championships and the J/105 North American Championships in San Diego and has proven to be a competitive J/105 sailor-- DC and crew are looking forward to sailing Key West and invite all J/105 sailors to join them for some "phun and phrolic with PHOLLY!"  To date, Damien Emery's champion ECLIPSE from New York has taken up the invitation as has Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE traveling cross-country like DC from San Diego, California!  What an opportunity to say you "crossed-tacks with DC (the America's Cup most famous sailor) and lived to tell the story"!  Join DC and crew for the J/105 2013 Midwinter Championship!

The J/80s have a quartet from Annapolis showing up with Kristen Beery, Bert Carp, Jeff Jordan's WILLY T and J-World's ANIMAL HOUSE looking forward to some rocking & rolling in the crystal blue-waters off Key West.  Joining them are Gary Panariello's COURAGEOUS from New York and Ron Buzil's VAYU 2 from Chicago, Illinois.  The J/80s will again be hosting their 2013 J/80 Midwinter Championship in conjunction with the Key West regatta-- it's a great way to have "your cake & eat it, too"!  Win class prizes, daily fleet prizes, door prizes and take a well-deserved break from the freezing grip of winter to work on that tan and catch up with sailing friends from around the world!

The J/70s debuts at Key West 2013 for its first J/70 Midwinter Championship on a special circle just west of Sunset Key (Tank Island), past the NW Passage.  The racing promises to be fun, fast and challenging for what may be the first time many of the teams will be racing one-design. So far, with 18 boats registered and over 30 expected to participate the fleet is beginning to look like a "Woodstock" sailing festival with many legendary J/Sailors from the past participating as well as some of the latest rockstars. Known participants include Mark Ploch (winner of first J/24 Midwinters in 1978), David Ullman, Don Trask, Tim Healy, Rod/Jeff Johnstone, Heather Gregg-Earl, Don Finkle, Jimmie Allsopp & son Cole, Kerry Klingler/ Rick Lyall, Henry Brauer/ Will Welles, Mike Sudofsky, John Gottwald, Bruno Pasquinelli, Chris Snow and Blake Kimbrough, amongst many others.

Finally, the J/PHRF Time-on-time handicap class is shaping up to be yet another great fleet of boats.  Last year, past winners Bill Sweetser on the J/109 RUSH and Robin Team on the J/122 TEAMWORK both said it was some of the best handicap racing they've ever sailed at Key West.  With Rod J handling the PHRF TOT handicaps, the racing was fair, fun and extremely competitive with the outcome of the entire week coming down to the last race.  This year promises to be just as much fun.  So far, two top J/109s are sailing, Sweetser's RUSH and Gary Wesiberg's HEAT WAVE; four J/111s are expected to sail including Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 and class newcomer Bob Hese's LAKE EFFECT from Youngstown, NY.  Also sailing are Glenn Gault's J/120 REBECCA from Texas, Adam Esselman's J/124 STILL MESSIN from Michigan and David Alldian's J/95 CYMOPOLEIA from New Jersey.

REMINDER! NOTE TO SELF- be sure to enter NOW (no cost obligation) if you believe that you will be racing with us next January 2013 – here are the links to the online entry and the current entry list – it is easy to do and the entry fee is not due until later in December.  To enter Key Race Race Week, please click here   Sailing photo credits- Tim Wilkes

Key West- Day Two

Gorgeous Bombay Sapphire Water Colors 
(Key West, FL)- It's not often that you sail in Key West Race Week and experience an equally spectacular second day in a row.  The forecasters for the first time in years seemed to have gotten the first two days of wind/weather conditions right.  Today's sailing was again postcard conditions- sunny, puffy white clouds scudding across the sky, simply spectacular "bombay sapphire blue waters", ESE winds blowing just 10 to 14 knots steady, with mildly oscillating-persistent shifts moving further SE all day long.

In a replay of the first day of racing, there were enough holes in the wind and shifts to both the right and left that no one single "formula" carried the day tactically.  In fact,  depending on the upwind and downwind legs, you could go left or right and make significant gains.  What was prevalent were enormous wind streaks, if you could hook into them downwind, the gains were significant.  Upwind it was a bit of a casino, or perhaps "Russian Roulette" for some boats.

Perhaps the best thing that took place for the fleet was that the two-race per day program starting an hour later than in the past was tossed out the window.  After giving up a chance to have three races in superb conditions on Monday, the decision was made to start the fleet an hour earlier (the old time) and get in three races.  Good call!  All three courses got in three very good races and the fleet was still in by 1630 hours.

For the J/80s, it was incredibly tight racing with numerous position changes as they sought to divine the what the wind Gods were throwing at them during the course of the day.  Rising to the challenge was the Glenn Darden/ Reese Hillard team on LE TIGRE, knocking out a strong 1-3-1 to be leading the fleet with only eight points!  Sailing strongly are the SAIL Best Around Buoys Team, Ryan Glaze and the Scott's from the famous lake yacht club, Rush Crush YC, in Dallas, Texas.  Their 6-7-2 has kept them in contention for 20 points overall, but they have five teams breathing down their backs only three points behind them, collectively.  Lying third is Mikael Lindqvist on ROCAD RACING from Sweden, his steady 4-4-6 kept them in contention for a total of 23 points.  Fourth and fifth are tied with Chris and Liz Chadwick on CHURCH KEY leading the tie-break with a 2-2-5 record today for 26 pts and Ron Buzil on VAYU 2 with a 5-5-7 for 26 pts.  Lurking just behind them are two very strong teams, including John Storck Jr on RUMOR in 6th with 27 pts and Brian Keane on SAVASANA with 30 pts.

In the PHRF One Division, the competition continues to heat up amongst the leaders.  Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK continues to lead the fleet with a 3-3-1 for ten points.  However, the winner of the day was Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH with an excellent showing of 2-1-2 for a total of fifteen points to climb into third position.  Just behind in fourth with a 6-4-4 is Paul Stahlberg's J/111 MENTAL for a total of nineteen points.  Fifth is Doug Curtiss' J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a steady 5-5-5 for twenty-three points total.

Within the J/Division, TEAMWORK is leading with seven points.  Sweetser's RUSH leapt into second place after today's excellent showing for a total of twelve points. Stahlberg's MENTAL is third with fifteen points, Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 is fourth and Gary Weisberg's J/109 HEAT WAVE is fifth with twenty-six points.

In the PHRF Two Division, Gerrit Schulze sailed strongly on the J/105 MAX POWER to stay in the top five, a 5-4-4 fourth place.  Ed Palm's J/95 STILL CRAZY is hanging in for sixth place and Dave Whealon's J/80 BOND---JAMES BOND are enjoying themselves and hanging in the top ten.

Making up for some of their magic they've showed in past Key West weeks, Jim Bishop and crew on the IRC Modified J/44 WHITE GOLD got a second in the second race of the day and are in a horse race for second place, just four points out.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- http://www.timwilkes.com

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com

Key West- Day One

Classic, Chamber of Commerce Conditions 
(Key West, FL)- The 25th Edition of Key West Race Week started off with yet another fabulous day of sailing for the 100+ competitors on the three race-courses.  The weekend of practicing before-hand were simply, perfect sailing days, with northerly winds filling in behind a fast disappearing cold front going out over the Bahamas.  The forecast for Monday to Wednesday has been for the northerly winds clocking into the easterly quadrants, ending up SE over 72 hours with winds blowing from 15-22 knots, sunshine and "torn-cotton" puffy white clouds whisking across the horizon.

For Monday's racing across the board, all boats saw wind directions in the 35-40 degree range and slowing moving in an oscillating-persistent shift further east so that most courses saw winds in the 70 degree plus range at the end of the day.

On the Division 1 course, IRC 3 Class has Jim Bishop's modified IRC J/44 WHITE GOLD dueling for class leadership against a very strong boat fleet.  Currently, WHITE GOLD lies in fourth with a 4-3.

The J/80 one-design class has a very competitive nineteen boat class, with a group of Texans leading the pack.  Like last year, the star for the day was past World/ North American / Key West Champion Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard sailing EL TIGRE to a 1-2.  Lying second is the SAIL BAB/ TEAM GRINGO gang from Dallas, Texas, skippered by Ryan Glaze and crew with a 2-3, obviously relishing the 16-22 knot breezes.  Third to sixth are all tied with nine points!  Third is the Swedish Champion team ROCAD RACING with Mikael Lindqvist sailing to an 8-1.  However, it was only a mistake finishing the first race while leading at the time that cost ROCAD RACING double-bullets!  Fourth lies Mike Sudofsky on BOB DYLAN with a 3-6, fifth is Rob Buzil VAYU 2 with a 5-4 and sixth is Brian Keane on SAVASANA with a 4-5.

In the new PHRF/ J-Class Division,  there are many well-sailed boats in the fleet.  On the PHRF Time-on-Distance side of the equation the J's are all at the top of the leader board.  Robin Team's Key West Champion crew on the J/122 TEAMWORK sailed two solid races to earn a well-deserved 2-1 for 3 pts.  Just behind in third  is Paul Stahlberg's J/111 MENTAL with a 3-2, fourth is Doug Curtiss' J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a 4-4 and fifth is past Key West Champion Bill Sweetser on the J/109 RUSH with a 5-5.

In the J-Class Time-on-Time scoring, TEAMWORK is winning with a 1-1, with MENTAL in second with a 2-2, WICKED 2.0 in third with a 3-3, RUSH in fourth with a 4-4 and Mike Kirkman's team from Detroit on their J/120 HOT TICKET in fifth with a 5-5.

The PHRF Two class has a J/105, J/95 and J/80 racing standard Time-on-Distance handicap.  Gerrit Schulze on the J/105 MAX POWER currently lie third in class with a 4-3.  Ed and Justin Palm sailing the J/95 STILL CRAZY are in seventh with a 7-7.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- http://www.timwilkes.com

For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com

25th Key West Race Week

Big J/80 Class, Cool New PHRF J/Class
(Key West, FL)- While the world has not seen the best of times, nor the worst of times in the past few years, what has remained a constant, nearly magnetic attraction to the sailing world has ben the annual midwinter pilgrimage to Key West to sail Race Week.  Many top teams from the Americas as well as from Asia and Europe attend the event for a bacchanalian sailing feast for a week in January that most describe as "tropical sailing conditions" in spectacular azure-blue sailing waters around the reefs of the Gulf Stream and the Florida Keys.  Sunsets and the "green flash" are signature events that put an exclamation mark not only on the day's sailing, but usher in evening festivities that perhaps only can be best described as "epic" and "off-the-wall"!  After all, that's what Key West is renowned for down at the bottom (or beginning) of the famous Route 1 roadway that goes from Key West to Easport, Maine.

One of the features of this year's 25th Key West is the very welcomed sponsorship and support from Quantum Sails, whose headquarters in the Great American Midwest belies the subtle, laid back, but competitive approach they have to supporting their sailors, their teams and their customers.  "We recognize that Key West Race Week is the flagship regatta in this country and has been for well over two decades," Quantum President Ed Reynolds said. "This has been reinforced by many people we've spoken with both here and abroad. Even with the smaller fleet sizes of recent years, this midwinter, big-boat regatta is very important to North American and international sailboat racing. We would like to see it continue and are committed to supporting the regatta during this transition period."

SAIL Magazine's Best Around the Buoys competition is another regatta highlight-- a remarkable "award" for the team that qualifies to sail in a supplied boat with sponsors J/BOATS, NORTH SAILS, HARKEN and others.  The aim is to grow sailing at a grass-roots level with both one-design and PHRF competition- growing awareness that sailing can be fun with family and friends.  This year, the SAIL BAB sailors from Dallas, Texas will be racing a J/80 one-design against some of the top teams in the country.

Yet another special feature of this year's 25th Anniversary is the creation of a J/Class.  It's quite a turn-out of some of the top J/Teams that have raced Key West over the past few years.  At the top of the food chain in PHRF 1/ J-Class is the J/122 TEAMWORK- Robin Team from Lexington, NC- these guys have done it all, won Lauderdale-Key West and Key West IRC Class and will always be a team in contention at the end of a week long series like Key West.  A new team from Detroit is the J/120 HOT TICKET sailed by Bob Kirkman from Bayview YC in Detroit, Michigan-- no shrinking violets this crowd is, having beaten all other multiple Chicago/Bayview Mac Champions to the finish line in the 2011 version of the races.  More new faces to the Key West crowd include the J/111 trio, including the J/111 WICKED 2.0 sailed by Doug Curtiss from Buzzards Bay (he sailed his J/124 in Key West last year); the J/111 MENTAL sailed by Paul Stahlberg from Chicago YC (a very fun-loving crew); and the J/111 WARLOCK skippered by Tom Hickey from Newfoundland YC, St John's, NB, Canada (a fast-rising team from near the Arctic Circle and the cool Northwest Passage).  If this fleet wasn't' tough enough, you only need to toss in two well-sailed J/109s, like a past J/109 North American Champion and Key West Champion, Bill Sweetser's RUSH from Annapolis YC in Annapolis, MD; he's accompanied by Gary Weisberg from Gloucester, MA sailing his J/109 HEATWAVE in Key West for the first time.

The J/80s are sailing their J/80 Midwinter Championships, the 19 boat turnout makes them the biggest class for Key West-- quite a remarkable achievement over the course of time!  In addition to the SAIL BAB Team (which must feel like they're getting fed to the sharks), you will find the J/80s led by World Champions like LE TIGRE- Glenn Darden from Fort Worth Boat Club in Fort Worth, TX and Swedish Champion ROCAD RACING sailed by Mikael Lindqvist from KSSS (Royal Swedish YC).  Plus, you have multiple Key West J/105 Champion Brian Keane on SAVASANA from Buzzards Bay, MA and J/80 North American Champions John Storck and family on RUMOR from Storm Trysail Club in New York rounding out the leaders.  Finally, toss in Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO from Fort Worth Boat Club and he's sure to be a factor amongst the leaders so long as he doesn't argue with his boom!

The PHRF 2 Class have ten boats participating. It will be a competitive fleet with two J's flying the flag and leading the fleet home (we hope)- the J/105 MAX POWER sailed by Gerrit Schulze from Cape May, NY and the J/95 STILL CRAZY sailed by Ed Palm from Grosse Pointe, MI and Naples, FL.  For more QUANTUM SAILS Key West Race Week Sailing information

Lovin' J/111s @ Fall Boatshows

Jump on the Bandwagon and Have Some Fun! 
(Newport, RI)- For the  past few months J/111s have demonstrated time and again that a great all-around design can succeed in a wide variety of weather conditions worldwide.  Plus, it's just as easy to sail as a couple double-handed or with a full crew!  Beer-can racing with a J/24 sized crew is, in fact, quite easy and a lot of fun!  Whether sailing off Sydney Heads, Australia, dueling off the coasts of France and England, flying down the coast of California and Baja, Mexico, enjoying the sparkling waters off Key West, or winning in the challenging racing on the Great Lakes or the Northeast, J/111s have brought miles of smiles and cases of silverware to their lucky owners.

Even if you're just thinking about J/111s, take a trip down to one of these boatshows in the near future to see J/111s up-close and personal.  You'll begin to understand why current J/111 owners simply love their boats-  friends and family for daysails and beer-can racing, with standing headroom and a bathroom (!), but can go offshore with the "big boys" and make them pay!  Check them out at:

Sep 14-19- Grand Pavois Boatshow (J/111, J/108)- La Rochelle, France
Sep 15-18- Newport Boatshow (J/111, J/109, J/95)- Newport, RI
Sep 16-25- Southampton Boatshow (J/97, J/108, J/111)- Southampton, England
Oct 6-10- Annapolis Sailboat Show (J/111, J/108)- Annapolis, MD 

    

Key West- Day Five- A Classic Fifth Day!

J/111 KONTIKI V Wins!(Key West, FL)- Yes, it is possible for the Caribbean trade winds to serve up a fifth (or ninth if you include practice days) straight day of nearly postcard, chamber of commerce conditions.  Competitors certainly wished there may be more breeze, but one can hardly argue with a benign 6-11 knots of breeze from the SSW getting fed by an impending cold front from the NW coming across the Gulf of Mexico.

With an early harbor start (8:15am!!), the fleet headed out to their respective three race courses to find a nice, gentle southwest breeze awaiting them with not a cloud in the sky and the sun beating down on everyone for over a week.  SPF 99.999??  Don't know if there's anything near as strong as anyone wanted for sun protection, but anything other than clay or  white paste may not have been enough for some fair-skinned sailors.  In fact, we observed several Canadian sailors/ photographers who were a bit "red", nearly lobster-like cooked but clearly having a great time (we're betting that pain-killers worked great for them)!  Fog early did not help, of course.

The sailing Friday was not unlike any of the other days the past week.  While the wind was persistently shifting right and oscillating, hitting the right or left corners was not going to work--e.g. not a good "play".  Large streaks worked their way down the course, middle left or middle right and if you hooked into them you'd experience significant gains on anyone off into a corner. Classic day, classic sailing and even more fun as the breeze started to feed a front that was starting to come in from the NW.

For Division 1 course, IRC 1 Class saw Jim Bishop's WHITE GOLD finish fifth after getting an uncharacteristic score of 5-8 on the last day.  Peter Cunningham finished strong with a 2-4 with his Cayman Islands team aboard the J/122 GAMBLER/ POWERPLAY to end up just behind Jim's WHITE GOLD for a sixth overall.

For the J/105s, it was pretty clear that Brian Keane's team on SAVASANA were not only dialed up for speed but were dialed into the wind as well.  Sailing to double bullets on Friday simply sealed the deal for Brian's team to win by 15 points over Damian Emery's ECLIPSE, perhaps one of the largest margins anyone has ever won a Key West J/105 class win. Third was WASABI sailed by Adam Rosen and Jeff Marks with 55 points.  Fourth was Tom Coates on MASQUERADE just one point back and fifth was Gerrit Schulze on MAX POWER with 58 points!!  Close finish and great regatta for the top five boats overall.

Who would ever guess that another baby-boomer (like Brian above) would seriously kick some big booty in a one-design keelboat class and do so in the most gracious, yachtsman-like manner possible.  No question that Glenn Darden and his team from Texas were in a class by themselves, winning 2 of the last three races and taking home the bacon without a challenge from any of the other teams, winning the J/80 class by 11 points.  Second was a real donnybrook and Jeff Brown's team from San Diego's J/WORLD SAN DIEGO TEAM showed their tail-feathers to the rest of the J/80 fleet, getting two seconds in the last two races. Sailing one of their best regattas in awhile was Mike Sudofsky on BOB DYLAN third, fourth was Chris Bulger on GOOSE from Buzzards Bay and fifth was Nigel Brownett and Ron Buzil on VAYU 2.

The PHRF A Class was an extremely competitive regatta, easily the closest "delta" for the any of the fleets sailing off Key West.  At the end of the last race it was still anyone's guess who would win overall.  After a very even start, the fleet took off and seemingly everyone "shadowed" each other around the race track.  In the first windward leg of the last race (when it all counts, of course) the great yacht KONTIKI V, the J/111 sailed by Jim Sminchak's team from Cleveland, OH, somehow managed to find a "crab pot", catch it, stop, go head to wind, tack, go backwards, yet still round the first windward mark just in front of their nemesis, the J/109 RUSH sailed by Bill Sweetser.  It was a crazy day.  It was a goofy day, perhaps for many.  Nevertheless, the 111 managed to sail cleanly for the  balance of the race, stretched out in front of their competitors and win the regatta with a 2-3 on the last day. Bill's team on the J/109 RUSH sailed a great regatta to get second, fourth was Doug Curtiss's beautiful J/124 WICKED sailed by Rodney and Alan Johnstone on the team.

The J/95s in PHRF 2 had a fun series.  At the end, Ed Palm and his Detroit (Day'twah, as they say) team on STILL CRAZY won with Terry McKenna on FINN in second and Trudie Ficks on SEVENTH HEAVEN in third.

The J/24s RULE!! 35 years and going strong. What a great time they had.  Small fleet?  Sure.  Nevertheless they had a ball cruising around the race track and had a lot of good races with eachother.  BLAH BLAH BLAH sailed by Mark Milnes won to be the top J/24 followed by Evalena Worthington on FREYA and third was Matt Mullan on FLYING WASP.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- www.timwilkes.com and Billy Black- www.billyblack.com and Sharon Green- UltimateSailing.com

For more Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com  

Key West- Day Four- Lazy, Hazy, Foggy Day

(Key West, FL)- January 20th-  As usual, Key West is a study in contrasts.  One day, epic wind and waves.  Next day postcard perfect. Next day flat calm.  Next day fog??  If the past few days were an exercise in patience and enjoying gorgeous days, Thursday was nowhere near anyone's expectations for weather.  An inversion in the atmosphere put the Keys in fog!  Not a typ0.  Fog.  Racing was wisely postponed by an hour by the PRO's on all three courses to let Maine/English-style fog burn off from the early morning hours-- a very surreal and unusual situation to be in or the Florida Keys!!  The voyage out to the race course for many crews was amusing, some boats ending up in places they hadn't planned to (GPS anyone?). Nevertheless, everything got squared away and by noon all three race courses got off their first starts of the day.  The fog postponement was a wise decision and the fleet was treated to a gentle ESE breeze that gradually built during the day.

To get a better flavor of what has been happening on the race course for the past three days, please take a look at Doug Moy's AV productions done in conjunciton with Josh Adams and Adam Cort at SAIL Magazine:

Monday Jan 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XLFvhjCtqc

Tuesday Jan 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew-auSbTlvE

Wednesday Jan 19
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3BCGkjr4yU

For Division 1 course, IRC 1 Class saw the fleet start to consolidate their positions in the fickle breezes.  Jim Bishop's WHITE GOLD is now in third with a consistent 3-2-2-2-8-6-3 score and is hoping to stay in the top three for the class.  Peter Cunningham from Cayman Islands Sailing Club sailing the J/122 GAMBLER/ POWERPLAY had a slow day and is still in sixth overall due to a 5-8 finish today.

Similarly, the J/105s are also seeing the leaders begin to consolidate their positions.  Brian Keane on SAVASANA is leading with a 1-6-8-1-1-2-4 with 23 points.  Behind him with nearly as consistent a day is Damian Emery on ECLIPSE in second overall with a 4-8-1-4-5-1-7 record for 30 points.  Hanging touch is Gerrit Schulze in third place on MAX POWER with a 10-4-7-2-4-7-1 score, coming on strong in the last race with first.  Adam Rosen and Jeff Markes on WASABI have dropped to 4th based on their 9-10 scores today. Tom Coates on MASQUERADE started slowly with a 13th and had a comeback 2nd to stay in fourth.  Carter Williams on CREATIVE DESTRUCTION has climbed into the top five hunt with a 10-5.

Continuing their domination of the J/80 class on Course 3 is Texan Glenn Darden.  With a 1-1-2-1-2-2-1 record for 10 points, Glenn's EL TIGRE continues to go in the right direction most times to beat the fleet.  Behind Glenn is a tight fleet, but Jeff Brown sailing J/WORLD SAN DIEGO is now lying second after a consistent 3-3 today with 29 points.  Just behind them with a 5-4 is Ron Buzil/ Nigel Brownett on VAYU 2.  In fourth is Mike Sudofsky with 36 points on BOB DYLAN and fifth is Steve Wyman on NUHUNU.

The PHRF A Class continues to be a donnybrook amongst the top six teams.  Still leading after a 2-4 is Jim Sminchak's Cleveland team on the J/111 KONTIKI V.  It was not an easy day for the SAIL BAB team.  But, the light air and flat water were a good recipe to have the 111 stay in contention for the lead in their class.  In both races, the J/109 RUSH sailed by Bill Sweetser sailed well but were just out of touch with the leaders in both races. The 111 KONTIKI V is leading with 17 points followed by Bill's 109 RUSH with 19 points.

The J/95s in PHRF 2 continue to have a competitive series.  Nevertheless, experience counts and veteran Key West sailor Ed Palm is leading on STILL CRAZY with a 4-3-5-4-4-5-5 score.  Terry McKenna on FINN is second with a 7-8-4-3-5-4-4 just five points back.  Third is Trudie Ficks on SEVENTH HEAVEN with a 6-4-7-5-6-7-6.

The J/24s have seen no change.  BLAH BLAH BLAH sailed by Mark Milnes continues to be the top J/24 with a string of six thirds and 2nd in class!  Hanging in there is Evalena Worthington on FREYA and third is Matt Mullan on FLYING WASP.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- www.timwilkes.com

For more Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com  

Key West- Day Three- Light, Flat, Weedy Day

(Key West, FL)- January 19th, 2011-- If Tuesday was nearly perfect, the prognosis for Wednesday wasn't the greatest. SSW winds light with little chance of getting above eight knots with a large flat High pressure system sitting over the region.  Nevertheless, there is a benefit of being on the edge of the Caribbean trade winds, no matter how "flat" the weather systems look with isobars a million miles apart, Key West always gets a breeze. Sure enough, King Neptune and fellow weather Gods served up a nice day of mild breeze, warm temperatures and crystal clear skies.  All PRO's on all three courses delayed for 15-30 minutes to get their first races off due to an oscillating, building breeze.  With the start sequences set to start rolling at 1030 hours for the first classes, it was a good call.  The fleets were treated to a breeze that settled into the 200 degree range from the southwest, full of holes, streaks and waters still strewn with an extraordinary amount of weed patches that were often up to two feet thick and could literally stop a boat dead in its tracks.

In general, it was clear that Wednesday's sailing conditions were pretty challenging, especially sailing on starboard tack upwind into a fairly steep chop.  Port tack was much easier sailing since the boats were broadside to the swells rolling in from the distant Gulf Stream.  The goal was to be on port tack in the lulls "surfing" upwind and on starboard tack in the puffs to punch through a very nasty chop.  Furthermore, avoiding the ginormous weed patches was always a good thing and staying in the streaks paid off handsomely for the winning boats-- going hard right or hard left were not good "plays" at all.  Sailing conservatively for streaks was very fast and those who weren't in them could see boat speed differences upwards of a knot or more between competitors upwind and downwind.

On the Division 1 course, IRC 1 Class saw the light airs and streaky breezes tighten up the top five overall.  Jim Bishop's WHITE GOLD is still in second with a very consistent 3-2-2-2-8 score and is hoping to stay in the top three for the class.  Peter Cunningham from Cayman Islands Sailing Club is sailing the J/122 GAMBLER/ POWERPLAY and dropped to sixth overall due to a 6th today in the lighter stuff...but just six points out of second!  In this class, time and consistency will tell who ends up on the podium.

The J/105s continue to fight for the top five and the scores are very close, the standings often changing from race to race.  At this stage, Brian Keane on SAVASANA is leading with a 1-6-8-1-1 with 17 points.  Just behind him is nearly a five way tie for second.  Adam Rosen/ Jeff Marks WASABI are in second with a 3-3-9-3-3 for 21 points, a very consistent team.  Damian Emery on ECLIPSE has jumped into third overall with a 4-8-1-4-5 tally with 22 points, just one point back from second.  Fourth is Gerrit Schulze on MAX POWER with a 10-4-7-2-4, coming on strong in the last two races with a 27 point total.  Tom Coates who had been winning quite handily, had two slow races and now has a 2-1-2-10-13 for 28 points to be in 5th.  Only one point back is Travis Weisleder on LUCKY DOG.

Tearing up the J/80 class on Course 3 is Texan Glenn Darden.  With a 1-1-2-1-2 record for 7 points, Glenn's EL TIGRE is seemingly unstoppable upwind and downwind.  Behind Glenn is a group of five boats that are neck-in-neck for the top five. Sailing well is Ron Buzil's and Nigel Brownett's VAYU 2 with a 5-6-1-8-1 for 21 points in second place. Lying third is Jeff Brown on J/WORLD SAN DIEGO with a 6-3-5-6-3 to consistently hang in there in the top five.  Chris Bulger's GOOSE is only one point back with a 2-2-10-4-6 for 24 points, Steve Wyman's NUHUNU is tied for 5th with Mike Sudofsky's BOB DYLAN with 28 points.

The PHRF A Class continued to see strong competition from six very well sailed boats.  Sitting atop the pack is the J/111 KONTIKI V sailed by Jim Sminchak and crew from Cleveland with a very strong sailed, consistent record of 2-2-3-2-2 for 11 points. It was a tough race to sail well.  Rounding the first mark in fourth place, KONTIKI V had to stay in contact and not get too far behind the large Beneteau 44.7 GALILEE sailed by a good Canadian crew, pass the 1D-35 REVOLUTION and the champion J/109 RUSH sailed by Bill Sweetser and not lose contact with the J/124 WICKED sailed by Rod and Alan Johnstone.  A strong downwind run enabled KONTIKI V to round 3rd boat-for-boat and, ultimately, catch up to the J/124 WICKED to finish just off their transom by the finish.  Bill Sweetser's J/109 was caught in a dying breeze going into the finish and ended up getting a 5th, to have a tally of 1-1-2-4-5 for 13 points.

The J/95s sailing in PHRF 2 continue to enjoy themselves in the sunny conditions.  Veteran Key West sailor, Ed Palm continues to lead the 95 crew on STILL CRAZY with a 4-3-5-4-4 score puts them in first amongst the 95s.  After today's racing, Terry McKenna on FINN is now second with a 7-8-4-3-5 to strongly finish amongst the 95s and earn second.  Third is now Trudie Ficks on SEVENTH HEAVEN with a 6-4-7-5-6.

FOR the J/24s, BLAH BLAH BLAH sailed by Mark Milnes continues to be the top J/24 with a string of five thirds in class!  Hanging in there is Evalena Worthington on FREYA and third is Matt Mullan on FLYING WASP.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- www.timwilkes.com

For more Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com  

Key West- Day Two- More Classic, Post-Card Conditions

(Key West, FL)- January 18th, 2011-  Hard to imagine the Keys would offer up a duplicate day for the second day of racing.   But that's exactly what happened.  Forecast breeze of 180 to 195 TWA.  Perhaps 6 to 12 knots if the forecasters were correct.  The best part is that a serving of 100% SUN, no clouds, and a challenging conditions for winds would keep everyone on there toes. Go left?  Maybe.  Go right?  No guarantees.   Go to either corner at your peril and watch the world pass you by. That was the story across all three courses today.

On the Division 1 course, IRC 1 Class has the J/44 WHITE GOLD and the J/122 POWER PLAY dueling for class leadership against a very strong eight boat fleet.  Currently, Jim Bishop's WHITE GOLD is in second with a very consistent 3-2-2-2 score and are vying for the lead in class.  Peter Cunningham from Cayman Islands Sailing Club is sailing the J/122 GAMBLER/ POWERPLAY and is currently in 4th just 4 points back from third.  As Pete said before, "we're having fun and anything goes in the top three is good for us.!"

The J/105s continue to provide extraordinary competition amongst one another.   Leading the pack is Tom Coates's MASQUERADE with a 2-1-2-10 with 15 points.  However, just off the pace are Brian Keane's SAVASANA with a 1-6-8-1 for sixteen points in second; Damian Emery's ECLIPSE with a 4-8-1-4 for seventeen points in third; Adam Rosen and Jeff Marks' WASABI in fourth with a very consistent 3-3-9-3; and Travis Wiesleder's LUCKY DOG just off the pace with an 8-2-6-6 for 2 points.  Perhaps the strongest move of the day came from Carter William's CREATIVE DESTRUCTION with a 3-8 ; Bill Zartler's SOLARIS with a 4-7; and John Gottwald's EAGLES WINGS 5-5.  All three rocketed up the standings based on these strong races.

The J/80s continue to be a lesson in not hitting corners, sailing conservative and sailing smart.  Glenn Darden and crew aboard LE TIGRE continue to be the poster children on how to do it best.  LE TIGRE's 1-1-2-1 is dominating the the fleet for a 5 point total.  Chris Bulger's crew on GOOSE is lying second with a 2-2-10-4 tally and the team of Ron Buzil and Nigel Brownett on VAYU 2 are third with a 5-6-1-8.  Fourth is Jeff Brown with a 6-3-5-6 on J/World San Diego and fifth is Steve Wyman on NUHUNU with a 3-11-4-3, coming on strong today to leap into the top five.

The duel between the J/111 and the J/109 sister 35 footers continues to be a dead heat.  Jim Sminchak's crew on the new J/111 KONTIKI V continue to hang in with the best teams that Key West has to offer, with a 2-2-3-2 score to be only one point behind the J/109 champion team led by Bill Sweetser on the J/109 RUSH with a 1-1-2-4 tally.

The J/95s sailing in PHRF 2 are having a lot of fun.  As a veteran Key West sailor, Ed Palm continues to lead the 95 crew.  A 4-3-5-4 score puts them in first amongst the 95s.  After today's racing, Terry is now second with a 7-8-4-3 to strongly finish amongst the 95s and earn second.  Third is now Trudie Ficks with a 6-4-7-5.

Amongst the J/24s, BLAH BLAH BLAH sailed by Mark Milnes continues to be the top J/24.  Screaming up the ladder is Evanlena Worthington with a 6-4-4-4 to ace out fellow 24 sailor Matt Mullan on FLYING WASP with a 4-5-6-6.

Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- www.timwilkes.com

For more Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com  

Key West- Day One- Classic, Post-Card Conditions

(Key West, FL)- For two days prior to the start of the 24th edition of Key West Race Week, the teams practicing were treated to nearly perfect, classical Key West sailing conditions- ENE breezes blowing 10-18 knots in clear blue azure waters with temps in the 70s in the day and 50s at night.  Postcard perfect, chamber of commerce weather that you can only imagine in one's most wonderful sailing dreams.  Monday's weather forecast was nearly as good, with the wind predicted to keep oscillating further southeast in the 8-12 knots range.  However, a cold front roaring in from the WNW  was forecast to arrive later in the day or evening and throw in a few blast fronts of wind, water spouts and even tornados! Fun stuff!  Extreme perhaps?  What else is new for weather in the Keys in the middle of winter, some years its hit temperatures in the 40s blowing 25 knots on the race course!

Despite the fact an early "pulse" from the front moved through early Monday morning around 3 am and doused Key West with an inch of rain in about a half hour, the first day's racing dawned with a good breeze and stiff chop from the ENE across all three division courses.  The breeze started in the 175 to 180 degree range and slowly moved further SE during the course of the day to the 185-195 degree range.  The progression meant that tacticians had to take into account the breeze was veering constantly, but could also generate solid wind streaks from the left in an oscillating-persistent shift scenario.  In other words, hitting the right corner every time was not going to be a good "play" to win races.  The teams that faired the best watched the oscillations, kept them in synch and stayed in contact with their competitors without hitting any corners. Furthermore, perhaps the greatest issue for anyone on the course today was "weeds"-- lots of it in huge patches up to 200-300 yards long with no escape!  Sailing through it was painful and slow, resembling massive patches of straw and bamboo strewn across the water.

On the Division 1 course, IRC 1 Class has the J/44 WHITE GOLD and the J/122 POWER PLAY dueling for class leadership against a very strong eight boat fleet.  Currently, Jim Bishop's WHITE GOLD is in second with a 3-2 and Peter Cunningham from Cayman Islands Sailing Club racing his first Key West regatta lies tied for third with a 2-5.  Said Peter after the race, "trailing weed is slow"....they were winning the second race quite handily until they got caught in an enormous weed patch and sailed slow for over half the race.

After taking a hiatus from competition due to family and business priorities, Tom Coates (4 times Key West Champion) sailed his renowned J/105 MASQUERADE to a 2-1 to be leading the 14 boat J/105 class.  Just off the pace is Adam Rosen and Jeff Marks on WASABI with a 3-3 in second place and past Key West Champion Brian Keane on the well-traveled SAVASANA is lying third with a 1-6.  Fourth is Travis Weisleder with an 8-2 on LUCKY DOG and fifth is 105 Class champion Damian Emery's ECLIPSE with a 4-8.

The J/80 class has a very competitive sixteen boat class.  Star for the day was past World/ North American / Key West Champion Glenn Darden sailing EL TIGRE to double bullets, winning both races convincingly over Chris Bulger's GOOSE with a 2-2.  Lying third is San Diego sailor Jeff Brown with a 6-3 on J-WORLD SAN DIEGO.  Fourth is Bruno Pasquinelli on TIAMO with a 4-5 and fifth is Ron Buzil/ Nigel Brownett on EMOTIONAL RESCUE with a 5-6.

The anticipated duel between the J/111 and the J/109 sister 35 footers is currently a dead heat.  Jim Sminchak, the SAIL Magazine Best Around Buoys winners from Cleveland, OH, is tied for first with a 2-1 record for three points sailing the brand new J/111 KONTIKI V/IT.  Bill Sweetser's champion J/109 RUSH has a 1-2 (redress).  Unfortunately, Bill's RUSH had a minor collision prior to the start of the second race, hurting their chances to score better.  Just off the pace is Doug Curtiss's J/124 beautifully painted WICKED in fourth place.

The J/95s are sailing in PHRF 2 as a group and having a lot of fun.  Ed Palm is a veteran Key West sailor and has raced a number of J's, including most recently his J/105.  Ed is sailing his J/95 STILL CRAZY to a 4-3 tally so far for seven points and is leading the J/95s.  Second is Trudie Ficks SEVENTH HEAVEN with a 6-4, a great start for Trudie who has dreamed of sailing in Key West for years and after buying her seventh (7th!!) J Boat over time she decided that she better take her gang down for a spin around the race course and beautiful waters off Key West.  Hanging in there in third amongst the J/95s is Terry McKenna's FINN with a 7-8.

As mentioned earlier, one of the heart-warming stories of this year's Key West regatta is the resurgent J/24 class participation with a fleet of J/24s participating within PHRF 3, literally a "class within a class".  Leading the J/24s in PHRF 3 is Mark Milnes on BLAH BLAH BLAH with a 3-3, followed by Matt Mullan on FLYING WASP with a 4-5 and Evalena Worthington on FREYA with a 6-5.

Amongst the notables at the event is Russell Coutts from Oracle Racing (4x America's Cup winner), a former One-design I-14, J/105 and J/44 racer in various regattas over time.  Said Russ, "It is great to be back in Key West. It's good to take a week out of the calendar and enjoy the regatta in a relaxed atmosphere. Premiere Racing does a great job, and creates a very social regatta. The whole atmosphere is very laid back, and it is a great regatta. The racing is always great, and very challenging." Among the notable owners entered in Key West is Vincenzo Onorato, whose Mascalzone Latino syndicate is the Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup-- Vincenzo is a former J/24 and J/39 sailor/ owner from Italy.  Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- www.timwilkes.com

For more Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com