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RESULTS:   DIVISION 1   |   DIVISION 2   |    DIVISION 3   |    DIVISION 4                    Race Dates for Key West 2007:   January 15- 19

February 1, 2006

Warm Winds and Great Competition Highlight

 Acura Key West 2006

-- Wrap Up on 5 Days, 9 Races, 19 New Class Champions

January 18, 2006

Italian Skipper "Loving" Acura Key West 2006

--- Sailing With Coutts In Heavy Air Thrills Onorato   

 

 

January 20, 2006

Italian Skippers Shine at Acura Key West 2006

--- Ferragamo Wins Swan Worlds, Onorato Tops Farr 40 

January 17, 2006

Heavy Air Makes for Day 2 Excitement at Acura Key West 2006

--- Goombay Smash Maintains Lead in Swan 45 Worlds 

   

January 19, 2006

Acura Key West 2006 Goes Down To The Wire

--- New Leaders In Swan 45, Farr 40 and Melges 24 classes 

January 16, 2006

Acura Key West Opens With International Flavor

--- Norwegian, Swiss and American Skippers Lead Grand Prix Classes

   
  Pre-Event Releases Click Here

January 20, 2006

 

Italian Skippers Shine at Acura Key West 2006

--- Ferragamo Wins Swan Worlds, Onorato Tops Farr 40 

Italy is a small country that produces a remarkable number of world-class sailors.

That fact was proven this week at Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica.

A pair of Italian skippers captured the two most prestigious classes in the five-day regatta, organized by Premiere Racing.

Massimo Ferragamo, an Italian native who now lives in New York, captured the Swan 45 World Championship in dramatic fashion. Vincenzo Onorato, who hails from Napoli, took top honors in the talent-laden Farr 40 class.

Ferragamo and his team aboard Bellicosa jumped from third to first in the 16-boat Swan 45 field on Thursday then held the top spot with a 6-8 line on Friday. Not surprisingly, winning a world championship also earned Ferragamo the regatta's most prestigious award - the Acura Trophy as Boat of the Week.

As Ferragamo stepped off the dock in front of the Half Shell Raw Bar, he was handed a tray full of Chocolate-flavored blender drinks - courtesy of Vim skipper Craig Speck.

"This is absolutely fantastic!" Ferragamo said. "We have always been second or third in the major regattas so this is the crowning moment. We have been working really hard to get better and this week the whole team was in sync."

Star class veteran Howie Schiebler called tactics for Ferragamo, who runs the United States division of his family-owned fashion company. Mainsail trimmer Pete McLoskey was another key member of the afterguard.

"It was a great week of sailing. We couldn't have raced in stronger winds... there were a couple days that really pushed the limits," Ferragamo said. "This is a great win for me, but most of all for the crew. They are the ones who did the work."

Schiebler, a San Francisco resident who has sailed on and off with Ferragamo, was impressed by the owner's steering this week.

"Massimo has not sailed much in heavy air. He embraced the challenge and really did a great job," Schiebler said. "We had no fouls, no breakages and stayed out of bad situations because Massimo trusted the guys around him and focused on driving the boat."

A few docks down, Onorato and tactician Russell Coutts clanked beers and exclaimed "Salute!" This was their first regatta together and resulted in a rousing victory in tough 25-boat fleet.

"Racing with Russell Coutts has been the greatest sailing experience of my life," Onorato said of the three-time America's Cup champion. "He is so cool and relaxed. Everything was quiet and smooth aboard the boat and we really enjoyed our time on the water."

Mascalzone Latino seized control of the regatta midweek by placing fourth or better in four straight races. The Italian entry began the day with a healthy lead over Fiamma and Warpath so focused on covering the rivals in Friday's two races.

Mascalzone recovered from a terrible start to finish 12th in Race 8, four spots ahead of Fiamma. Coutts then set his sights on Warpath in Race 9 and placed 11th to the California entry's 12th.

"We were sailing the boat faster and faster as the week went along. Boat speed is always the key and we were able to come back in a bunch of races. We were real deep today and worked our way through the fleet."

Racing in Melges 24 class, the regatta's largest with 60 boats, went down to the final day with California's Dave Ullman and Italy's Riccardo Simoneschi tied for first. Ullman pulled out the win with a 2-3 line on Friday while Simoneschi faded to fourth due to finishes of 5-10.

Blu Moon, a Swiss entry owned by Franco Rossini and steered by Chris Rast, posted a third and first on Friday to place second - four points behind Ullman's Pegasus 505.

"We were able to put some boats between us and the Italian in today's first race, which gave us a comfortable lead," Ullman said. "We then pushed the Italian back at the start of the last race then followed the Swiss boat around the course."

Reigning Etchells world champion Jeff Linton (St. Petersburg, Fla.) called tactics for Ullman, who won two of nine races and finished second or third in four others. This marked the fourth time the Newport Beach-based sailmaker has won Melges 24 class at Key West.

"This is the second-windiest Key West in which I've competed and I've been coming here a long time," Ullman said. "It was a great regatta - beautiful weather and terrific wind."

Ullman's victory helped USA West capture the Nautica Trophy for winning the International Team competition, which combines the scores of Swan 45, Farr 40 and Melges 24 entries from the same country. Fred and Steve Howe's Warpath took third in Farr 40 while Craig Speck's Vim placed fourth in Swan 45 to give USA West 90 points - 19 better than Italy 1.

Moneypenny, a Swan 601 owned by Jim Swartz of Newport, R.I., won the inaugural US-IRC Championship by the slimmest of margins over Aera. Moneypenny's final calculation was 5.768 as compared to 5.765 for the Kerr 55, owned by Nick Lykiardopulo of Cowes, United Kingdom.

This was the third major regatta for Swartz, who took delivery of the custom-built Swan six months ago. America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Dee Smith called tactics for Swartz, who did not fare well in a tough IRC class at the San Francisco Big Boat Series.

"Winning this championship would be huge for the 601 and change the perception it's not a good IRC Boat," said Swartz, a venture capitalist who was unable to sail on Friday due to a business commitment.

"It's been a fantastic week of sailing. Conditions have been excellent, race committee work has been stellar and I've been blessed with a great crew.

Stay Calm II, a brand new boat owned by Stuart Robinson of London, took top honors in Transpac 52 class. Tactician Adrian Stead and eight other members of the GBR Challenge America's Cup team crewed for Robinson, who won or placed second in six of nine starts after taking delivery of the TP 52 on Jan. 6.

"This is a dream first regatta for Stuart. There was a mixture of heavy, medium and light air this week, which enabled him to learn how to sail the boat in different conditions," Stead said. "We had 15 very good sailors onboard and Stuart did a superb job on the helm... that's why we won this regatta."

TeamBold, skippered by Nelson Stephenson, completed an impressive performance in the Mumm 30 National Championship. Tactician Brian Bissell (Georgetown) and a crew of college All-Americans helped Stephenson, who won seven of nine starts with a pair of thirds squeezed in.

"We were building a picket fence and we decided to put a gate in," said Stephenson, who earned his first class victory in eight trips to Key West.

Masquerade posted a resounding 18-point victory in the 29-boat J/105 class. Skipper Thomas Coates steered the San Francisco entry to five bullets and three runner-up results.

Grooverderci, a Mumm 30 owned by Deneen Demourkas of Santa Barbara, Cal., was named Acura Boat of the Day. Demourkas posted a first and a second on Friday and finished fourth in the overall standings.

El Ocaso, a J/120 owned by Rick Wesslund of Tiburon, Cal., received the Key West Trophy as PHRF Boat of the Week. Wesslund's team notched four bullets and finished no worse than fourth in winning a competitive 15-boat PHRF 3 class by 12 points.

 DIVISION 1
 Swan 45: Bellicosa, Massimo Ferragamo, New York
 Farr 40: Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, Napoli, Italy
 Mumm 30: TeamBold, Nelson Stephenson, Southport, Conn.

 DIVISION 2
 Transpac 52: Stay Calm, Stuart Robinson, London, UK
 IRC 1: Aera, Kerr 55, Nick Lykiardopulo, Cowes, UK
 PHRF 2: Sister Golden Hair, Farr IMS 40, Genesis Racing LLC, Charleston, SC
 Melges 32: New Wave, Michael Carroll, Lake Geneva, WI
 IRC 2: Gold Digger, J/44, James Bishop, Jamestown, R.I.
 PHRF 3: El Ocaso, J/120, Rick Wesslund, Tiburon, CA


 DIVISION 3
 Melges 24: Pegasus 505, Dave Ullman, Newport Beach, Cal.
 J/105: Masquerade, Thomas Coates, San Francisco, CA
 J/80: Synergy, Jay Lutz, Houston, Texas

 DIVISION 4
 Corsair 28: Rocketeer II, Ken Winters/Randy Smyth, Fort Walton Beach, FL
 J/109: Mojo, Steve Rhyne, Kemah, Texas
 PHRF 4: Temptress, SR 33, Robert Hibdon, Charleston, S.C.
 PHRF 5: L'Outrage, Beneteau 10M, Bruce Gardner, Annapolis, MD
 C&C 99: Trumpeter, Bob Wilson, Toronto, Ontario
 PHRF 6: Liquor Box, Tartan 10, Bill Buckles/Chuck Simon, Key West, FL
 PHRF 7: Mistress, S2 7.9, Bryan Coon, Huntington, NY

 

Bill Wagner

Press Officer                                         

Acura Key West 2006, Presented by Nautica

Cell:      617-838-4688

Email:   bwagner@capitalgazette.com

Title Sponsor Acura is the Official Vehicle. Presenting Sponsor Nautica represents the Official Timekeeper (Nautica Watches) and the Official Footwear. Day Sponsor Mount Gay® Rum is the Official Rum. Supporting sponsors are B&G (Official Marine Electronics), Lewmar (Official Marine Hardware), and Samson Rope Technologies (Official Cordage). Supplier Spaten is the Official Beer.

Acura Key West is also supported by The Florida Keys & Key West Tourism Council. The Historic Seaport at the Key West Bight is the Official Site.

 

About the Industry Partner Program

Twenty-eight Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 5th year. A record number of Partners will participate in the Hospitality and Exhibit Area on site: Bainbridge International, Dimension-Polyant Sailcloth, Gowrie, Barden & Brett, Hall Spars and Rigging, J/Boats, Melges Performance Sailboats, Nautor’s Swan, North Sails, and SLAM.

 

About Acura


Acura offers a full line of luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers. The Acura lineup features six distinctive models including the exotic NSX supercar, the RL luxury sedan, the TL performance luxury sedan, the TSX sports sedan, the race-bred RSX sports coupe and the award-winning MDX luxury sport utility vehicle. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.Acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.AcuraNews.com

 

 

January 19, 2006

 

Acura Key West 2006 Goes Down To The Wire

--- New Leaders In Swan 45, Farr 40 and Melges 24 classes 

It's down to the wire and overall victory is up for grabs in many of the 19 classes competing at Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica.

There was a dramatic change in the Swan 45 World Championship while the Farr 40 and Melges 24 classes remain close going into the final day of the week-long regatta.

Bellicosa, a New York entry skippered by Massimo Ferragamo, posted a first and third on Thursday to seize the lead in Swan 45 class. Howie Schiebler is calling tactics for Bellicosa, which vaulted from third to first in the overall standings.

"I would call it a good day any time we can get a first and a third in this kind of fleet," Ferragamo said. "I think everything is in sync, everyone is doing their job and, starting from me, I have to make sure that I don’t make mistakes."

Things did not go as well for Goombay Smash, which had led the series for the initial three days. Skipper William Douglass (Newport, R.I.) posted a 6-12 line and now trails Bellicosa 29-31.

Tactician Chris Law said Goombay dropped from third to 12th in Race 7 after hitting a mark and having to perform penalty turns.

"We did two penalty turns when perhaps we only needed to do one," Law said. "I take responsibility for today's mistakes and the fact we suffered a 10-point loss to Bellicosa on the day."

Law said Goombay Smash remained in a "winning position" and needed to stop being conservative. Ferragamo said the Bellicosa crew will focus on going fast more than covering Goombay Smash on Friday.

"We are all doing well, we have a great team and everything is coming together," Ferragamo said. "For tomorrow, we have no hopes, or the same hopes as today - to continue to sail well."

Mascalzone Latino, skippered by Vincenzo Onorato, took control of the Farr 40 competition with scores of 2-3 on Thursday. Three-time America's Cup champion Russell Coutts is calling tactics for Mascalzone Latino, which leads fellow Italian entry Fiamma (Alessandro Barnaba) by eight points.

"It was certainly a good day for us. We just need to keep doing what we've been doing for one more day," Coutts said.

Mascalzone entered Thursday tied for first with Warpath (Fred & Steve Howe) and Coutts said the Italians "tacked on" the Californians a couple times. The New Zealand native said Mascalzone will cover the competition again on Friday.

"We'll see who is close on points and keep an eye on them," said Coutts, who has enjoyed teaming with Onorato for the first time. "Vinnie drives the boat well and is pretty relaxed. It's the Italian factor. The whole team is laid back."

There's a tie in Melges 24 with Dave Ullman's Pegasus 505 and Riccardo Simoneschi's Nautica knotted at 17 points apiece after one throwout is factored. Blu Moon, Franco Rossini's Swiss entry, dropped from first to third - five points behind Pegasus 505 and Nautica.

Simoneschi, an Italian and former Star sailor making his Key West debut, notched a first and second on Thursday to jump up from fifth in the overall standings. Ullman, a California sailmaker, grabbed a bullet in Race 7 to overtake Blu Moon and Partners & Partners.

"We'll just go out sailing and see what happens. It's not a worlds so I'm not going to tack on people," Ullman said. "We'll try to beat the other top boats off the line and sail our own race from there."

A heated battle is also brewing in Transpac 52 class, which is professionally-crewed ala the Swan 45s and Farr 40s. Stay Calm II, a class newcomer owned by Stuart Robinson of London, clings to a two-point lead going into the last day. "This is our first regatta with a new boat in a very competitive fleet so we are quite happy with where we stand," said Robinson, who took delivery of the TP52 on January 6. "I've been very pleased with our teamwork and boat speed."

Robinson, who also races a Swan 70, has several members of the GBR Challenge America's Cup team aboard, including tactician Adrian Stead along with trimmers Richard Masson and Lisa McDonald. Stay Calm II must try to hold off Thomas Stark’s Rush and Doug DeVos Windquest.

Moneypenny, a Swan 601 owned by Jim Swartz, maintained its one-point lead over Aera (Ker 55, Nick Lykiardopulo) in IRC 1. Those two boats are also contending for the inaugural US-IRC Championship, which combines results from IRC 1 and IRC 2 at this regatta.

"We certainly didn't expect to be dead even with Aera at this point," said Swartz, a venture capitalist who lists Newport, R.I. as home port.

Swartz was overall winner of the Swan American Regatta in July, just two weeks after taking delivery of the custom-built boat. "Winning this championship would be huge for the 601 and change the perception that it's not a good IRC boat," he said.

Mumm 30 and J/105 class championships are all but final.

Nelson Stephenson and his crew of former collegiate All-Americans aboard TeamBold have won seven of eight starts in the 11-boat Mumm 30 class. Stephenson, seeking his first win in eight appearances at Key West, saw the string of bullets end with a third in Race 8. He’ll also take home the Mumm 30 North American Championship.

Masquerade, owned by Thomas Coates of San Francisco, is running away with the 29-boat J/105 class and Mid-Winter Championship after winning or placing second in every race. Chris Perkins is calling tactics for Coates, who holds a 20-point lead over California rival Rich Bergman (Zuni Bear).

"It's been very competitive out there and I'm just glad we've been on the right side of a few puffs during the week," said Coates, the defending class champ at Key West.

Storm, a J/109 owned by Rick Lyall of Wilton, Conn., received Industry Partner Boat of the Day honors. Veteran sailmaker Butch Ulmer is calling tactics for Storm, which posted a 1-4 result on Thursday. Racing in J/109 is extremely close with just two points separating the top three boats.

Acura Key West 2006, Presented by Nautica

Leaders going into the final day:

 

DIVISION 1 -  7 races, with no discard

SWAN 45          Bellicosa, Massimo Ferragamo (New York, NY) – 2 point lead      

FARR 40           Mascalzone Latino,  Vincenzo Onorato (Napoli, Italy)

MUMM 30         Team BOLD, Nelson Stephenson (Southport, CT)

 

DIVISION 2  - 7 races with discard

TP 52               Stay Calm II,  Stuart Robinson (London, UK) – 2 point lead

IRC 1               Moneypenny (Swan 601), Jim Swartz (Newport, RI)  - 1 point lead

PHRF 2            Sister Golden Hair (ILC 40), Genesis Racing LLC (Charleston, SC) – tie

                        Boys Are Back in Town (Farr 38), W. Colahan/T. McManus (Marblehead, MA)

MELGES 32      New Wave, Michael Carroll (Lake Geneva, WI)

IRC 2                Gold Digger (J/44), James Bishop (Jamestown, RI)

PHRF 3            El Ocaso (J/120), Rick Wesslund (Tiburon, CA)

 

DIVISION 3 -  7 races with discard

MELGES 24      Nautica, Riccardo Simoneschi (Genova, Italy) - tie

                        Pegasus 505, Dave Ullman (Newport Beach, CA)

J/80                  Synergy, Jay Lutz (Houston, TX)

 

DIVISION 3 -  7 races with no discard

J/105                Masquerade, Thomas Coates (San Francisco, CA)

 

DIVISION 4  - 8 races with discard

CORSAIR 28R   Rocketeer II, Ken Winters/Randy Smyth, Ft. Walton Beach, FL

J/109                Mojo, Steve Rhyne, Kemah, TX – 1 point lead

PHRF 4            Temptress (SR 33), Robert Hibdon, Charleston, SC – 2 point lead

PHRF 5            L’Outrage (Beneteau 1st 10), Bruce Gardner, Annapolis, MD – 2 point lead

C & C 99          Trumpeter, Bob Wilson, Toronto, Ontario

PHRF 6            Liquor Box (T-10), Chuck Simon/Bill Buckles, Key West, FL and Ohio

PHRF 7            Mistress (S2 7.9), Bryan Coon, Huntington, NY  - 3 way tie

                       Circus (J/30),  Wurtzeback/Bird, Chicago, IL

                       Blah Blah Blah (J/24), Mark Milnes, Key West, FL


January 18, 2006

Italian Skipper "Loving" Acura Key West 2006

--- Sailing With Coutts In Heavy Air Thrills Onorato 

Vincenzo Onorato sported a very satisfied look as he stood on the dock at Historic Seaport Wednesday afternoon.

Onorato, skipper of the Italian Farr 40 Mascalzone Latino, had many reasons to be happy. He was sailing off Key West in heavy air with three-time America's Cup champion Russell Coutts and was tied for the lead in an incredibly tough class.

"I am always happy to be racing in Key West, and days like this are the reason why. Warm weather and lots of wind... I love the place," Onorato said.

Northerly winds that steadily increased to 25 knots made for another thrilling afternoon at Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica.

Competition can get intense and a bit hairy in the professionally-crewed Farr 40 class when it blows because the boats tend to be so tightly congested.

With Coutts calling tactics, Onorato has done well in the difficult conditions of the past two days and soared to the top of the 25-boat fleet. He steered Mascalzone Latino to fourth in Wednesday's race and is now tied with Warpath at 30 points apiece.

This regatta marks the first time Onorato and Coutts have teamed together. Their goal is to capture the 2006 Farr 40 World Championship.

"It is the most exciting thing in the sailing world to sail with the king," Onorato said of Coutts. "Russell brings a unique champions' attitude to the boat."

Warpath, owned by the father-son team of Fred and Steve Howe, also made a major move up the leader board since the heavy air arrived on Tuesday. Past Volvo Ocean Race winner John Kostecki is calling tactics on Warpath, which placed second in Wednesday's start and is winning the regatta by tiebreaker over Mascalzone.

Fiamma, an Italian entry skippered by Alessandro Barnaba, won Wednesday's Farr 40 race. Tommaso Chieffi is calling tactics for Fiamma, which is making its Key West debut.

"It is very exciting sailing in these conditions. Today was a very tough race because the top five boats were really close," Barnaba said. "We had a nice duel upwind. It was important to keep the boat speed going, which was not easy in that much wind."

Goombay Smash continued to extend its lead in the Swan 45 World Championship. Skipper William Douglass and crew posted a third on Wednesday and is now eight points ahead of DSK-Comifin (Danilo Salsi, Italy).

British match racing veteran Chris Law is calling tactics for Douglass, who has led the series since Day 1 by relying on a conservative gameplan.

"Doug is sailing the boat very well and we are going really fast both upwind and downwind," Law said. "I give a lot of credit to Don Kelly, the boat captain. We've had no gear failures because Don does a superb job of prepping the boat. He makes my job a lot easier."

Jeroboam Canova, skippered by Vittorio Codecasa of Porto Cervo, Italy, was the winner of Race 5 on Wednesday. "Today was very good. Fantastic! Everything was perfect... the teamwork was very good and it was easy to steer," Codesda said. "We were not particularly influenced by the tough conditions, because after many times sailing in Sardinia, we are used to weather like this."

Tactician Gabriele Benussi said Jeroboam got a good start and made the correct decision by heading to the right side of the course en route to earning Mount Gay Rum Boat of the Day. "Vittorio helmed very well and we were first at the first windward mark. Downwind, we increased our advantage over the rest of the fleet with good speed, and on the second leg we built a really good distance between us and the next boat," Benussi said.

Two of the regatta's biggest boats - Moneypenny and Aera - are engaged in a terrific battle in IRC 1. Moneypenny, a Swan 601 owned by Jim Swartz of Newport, R.I., placed second in Race 5 and holds a one-point lead over the Ker 55 skippered by Nick Lykiardopulo.

"Racing has been surprisingly close. The rating system has done a very good job of comparing the boats," said Dee Smith, tactician aboard Moneypenny. "We tied a race, which is really rare. Other races have been decided by seconds. You can't get much closer."

This is the first major regatta for Swartz, who took delivery of Moneypenny six months ago. Smith said the owner was "over the moon" about the boat's performance and the fact his team is leading the inaugural U.S.-IRC Championship that is being held this week.

A total of 17 boats from IRC 1 and IRC 2 are competing for the championship. Gold Digger, a J/44 owned by James Bishop, has won all five starts in IRC 2 and stands fifth in the combined standings.

Partners & Partners, a French entry skippered by Philippe Ligot, took over the lead in Melges 24 class with a second place on Wednesday. Blu Moon, a Swiss boat owned by Franco Rossini, fell to second after leading for two days.

"We were third at the leeward mark, but our kite wrapped on the run and we lost two places," said Chris Rast, helmsman aboard Blu Moon. "Today was all about boathandling."

Dave Ullman (Pegasus 505) was winning Race 5, but wiped out on the last downwind leg. Jeff Madrigali (Pegasus 492) had a clean gybe and wound up snatching victory from his teammate.

"I told the crew to hang in there and we'd see if we could win the final run sweepstakes," Madrigali said. "Dave was going to beat us until he broached. We didn't make any big errors, which wasn't easy in the big breeze."


January 17, 2006

Heavy Air Makes for Day 2 Excitement at Acura Key West 2006

--- Goombay Smash Maintains Lead in Swan 45 Worlds 

In sailors' parlance, it blew "stink" Tuesday off Key West.

Howling 20-25 knot winds and heavy seas challenged the fleet of 286 boats competing in Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica. The tough conditions left skippers and crews exhausted, excited and hoping for more of the same on Wednesday.

Michael Brennan, owner of the Transpac 52 Sjambok, saw 21 knots of speed while screaming downwind under asymmetrical spinnaker. Boats in other high-performance classes such as Farr 40 and Melges 24 were also going incredibly fast. 

"Absolutely awesome sailing today. These conditions are perfect for the Melges because you get up on a plane and just take off," said Philippe Kahn, who steered Pegasus 575 to a pair of Top 10 finishes.

Most of the professional crews in the grand prix classes handled the difficult conditions without incident. Goombay Smash maintained its lead in the Swan 45 World Championship while Blu Moon held the top spot in Melges 24. However, there was some shuffling in Farr 40 as Nerone took the lead away from Day 1 pacesetter Norwegian Steam.

Goombay Smash, owned by William Douglass of Newport, R.I., had another strong day with a 1-2 line to increase its lead in Swan 45 class. Danilo Salsi's Italian entry DSK-Comifin held second, but now trails Goombay Smash by seven points instead of two.

"It was another good day today. We love it when it’s blowing, when it’s heavy out there," Douglass said. "Our tactics were just to sail clean, sail fast, and keep consistent."

British match racing veteran Chris Law is calling tactics for Douglass, a fourth-year veteran of the class who was overall winner of the Swan American Regatta in 2005.

 

 From MELGES Performance Sailboats
Fast One-Design Racing in the Melges 32

 

January 18, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Due to winds exceeding the Melges 32 one-design class wind limits (25knots).  The Melges 32 class races for Wednesday, January 18 were canceled.

 

The Grins team and host Rick Orchard will put on the Melges 32 Key West class party tonight and the fleet is really looking forward to this gathering.  Orchard has the entire fleet coming to his home here along with new M32 class prospects.

January 17, 2006

The Melges 32 class has experienced some incredible one-design racing over the last two days.  All 8 boats have been tightly packed together making tactics essential.  Speed has been the focus on Mike Carroll's New Wave.  This team has won 3 of 4 races barely edging the close Star team of Jeff Ecklund.  Rich Orchard's Grins have literally been grinning around the race course in these planing conditions.  The Grins team is in 3rd while Tim Kimpton's Crash Test Dummies is in fourth.  Close racing, FUN.
 
The entire Melges 32 Class is having the time of their lives racing these speed machines.  Stay tuned to melges.com and the event site for more results and releases.  ...

"Our tactics are just to keep out of trouble, avoid protest situations, sail the boat well and keep out of the corners," Law said. "We’re going fast, we have a good crew and we’re just going to try and build on our points lead."

Bellicosa, owned by Massimo Ferragamo of New York, had superb day with a fourth and a first to move from ninth to third in the overall standings. Ferragamo admitted Goombay Smash has established itself as the boat to beat in the world championship.

"They are not leading by chance. (Douglass) is a good helmsman and he has a very strong crew," Ferragamo said. "However, there are still several more days of sailing and a lot can happen."

Skipper Massimo Mezzaroma teamed with tactician Lorenzo Bressani to sail Nerone to a third and fourth yesterday. That effort vaulted the Italian entry from sixth to first in the overall Farr 40 standings.

Mascalzone Latino, another Italian boat, is four points behind in second. Three-time America's Cup winner Russell Coutts is calling tactics for owner Vincenzo Onorato, who placed second in Race 4.

Barking Mad, owned by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I., had the most impressive performance on the Farr 40 course - posting a pair of bullets. California professional Vince Brun is tactician aboard Barking Mad, which moved from 16th to sixth.

"Our team has always sailed really well when it's windy, that is when we shine," Richardson said. "We got two really good pin-end starts and never crossed behind anybody. We're ecstatic about winning both races today. It certainly puts us in better position... back in touch with the leaders."

Warpath, owned by Fred and Steve Howe of San Diego, notched a 9-3 line on Tuesday and stands third - two points behind Mascalzone Latino. John Kostecki, inshore tactician for Ericsson Racing, is taking a break from the Volvo Ocean Race to call tactics for the father-son team.

Switzerland skipper Franco Rossini and his team aboard Blu Moon put up a pair of Top 5 finishes to hold first in Melges 24 class. Swiss Olympian Chris Rast is steering Blu Moon, which has yet to finish lower than fifth yet leads Partners & Partners (Philippe Ligot) by just one point in the overall standings.

It was an extremely productive day for Pegasus Racing, which has three teams in Melges 24 and posted single-digit finishes across the board. California sailmaker Dave Ullman posted a second and a first in the big breeze to jump from seventh to third in the overall standings.

"We were going really fast today and are certainly happy with the results," said Ullman. In addition to class honors, his Team Pegasus 505 entry won The City of Key West Boat of the Day.

TeamBOLD has turned in one of the more notable efforts of the regatta so far, winning all four starts in Mumm 30 class. Owner Nelson Stephenson of Southport, Conn., the U.S. class president, is seeking his first victory in eight trips to Key West.

United Kingdom took the lead in the International Team competition (The Nautica Trophy), which combines the results of three one-design entries from a particular country. Excellent (John Pollard, Melges 24), Fiamma (Alessandro Barnaba) and Fever (Grant Gordon) make up Team UK, which has totaled 22 points - two better than Italy 1.

There were spectacular wipeouts and equipment breakdowns aplenty as a southeasterly that gusted to 30 knots produced a slew of DNF (did not finish) and DNS (did not start) designations on the results sheet. Rough seas also were a problem and helped bring down the masts on at least two big boats - Lloyd Griffin's Hadley 40 Cash Flow and Pete Hunter's Thompson 30 Wairere.

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January 16, 2006

 

Acura Key West Opens With International Flavor

--- Norwegian, Swiss and American Skippers Lead Grand Prix Classes 

Day 1 of Acura Key West 2006 served up an international smorgasbord within the grand prix classes.

A Norwegian entry is atop the Farr 40 standings while a Swiss boat took the lead in Melges 24. A pair of American skippers sit in first in the Transpac 52 and Swan 45 classes.

Swan 45 is contesting its inaugural world championship and Goombay Smash, owned by William Douglass of Newport, R.I., is the early frontrunner.

“We’re happy about the day, obviously. The team’s fitting in really well together and we didn’t want to push too hard on the first day," Douglass said. “The weather was good, and that shift we’d been hoping for appeared about halfway through the second race.”

British match racing veteran Chris Law is calling tactics aboard Goombay Smash, which posted a fourth and a third Monday and leads DSK-Comifin (Danilo Salsi, Italy) by two points.

“We went out saying we would like to get two top five finishes,” Law said. “We got off the line in decent shape and stayed out of the corners. We wanted to play it conservative.”

There will be no throwouts in the series, scheduled for nine races. Law said several boats were forced to perform penalty turns and absorbed high scores as a result.

“The boats that beat us today banged the corners. We're not willing to do that because you can't take risks in a no-throwout series,” Law said. “We just played the middle and focused on boat speed. We were real fast downwind. We gained a couple boats on those legs.”

Norwegian Steam, owned by Eivind Astrup, is the pacesetter in Farr 40 class after Day 1. Morten Henriksen is calling tactics for Astrup, who notched a second and fourth and is one point ahead of the Italian entry Calvi-Gameon (Carlo Alberini). They also took home the Nautica Boat of the Day honor. Astrup, an Oslo native who was cross country skiing in Norway prior to coming to warm and sunny Florida, was thrilled to get off to a fast start.

“I think the setup of our boat is good and we had good lanes in both starts,” Astrup said. “We were not covered by other boats and that allowed us to focus on speed.”

Astrup is being cautious because he was leading the Farr 40 Worlds in San Francisco after Day 1 then plummeted. “We are not even thinking about winning. We are focusing on sailing fast,” he said.

Racing on Division 1, which includes the Swan 45s and Farr 40s, was delayed about two hours to allow the breeze to build. At around noon, the wind filled from the southeast at 11-12 knots and enabled organizers with Premiere Racing to get off two good races.

“The race committee did an awesome job of dealing with the conditions. Everyone knew the forecast and the wind filled in nicely,” said Scott Nixon, tactician aboard Ramrod, the top United States boat. "We wound up getting a steady breeze and had good racing today.”

Ramrod is owned by Rod Jabin of Annapolis, Md., a relative newcomer to the class. He posted a 7-5 line for the day and stands in fourth overall after losing a tiebreaker to Mascalzone Latino (Vincenzo Onorato, Italy). Three-time America's Cup champion Russell Coutts is calling tactics for Onorato, who steered Mascalzone Latino to a fourth and an eighth.

“In this class, every boat is good and can win a race," Jabin said. "We just wanted to start safe and clean and avoid the big mistakes.”

Blu Moon, owned by Franco Rossini and steered by Chris Rast, had a strong afternoon with a fifth and a second and was in the lead by virtue of tiebreaker over Excellent (John Pollard, United Kingdom).

Rast, who has represented Switzerland in the Olympics, just joined Rossini's team as helmsman and acquitted himself well.

“This was the first day of racing for our team so we're still trying to find the right way to work with each other. We also have new sails and new equipment so we're still sorting out all the questions,” Rast said. "In view of that, we're very happy with today's results. My contract has been extended one more day.”

Rast said Blu Moon had tremendous upwind speed and gave credit to tactician Tiziano Nava and trimmer Andy Estcourt.

“I listen to a lot of what the trimmer tells me and just point the boat in the right direction," said Rast, who comes from the 49er class.

Rush, owned by Thomas Stark of Newport, R.I., sits atop the leader board in professional-laden Transpac 52 class. America's Cup veteran Ed Baird is calling tactics for Rush, which won Race 2 and placed second in Race 1.

“Whenever you've got Ed Baird by your side you're usually going to be in the right spot," Stark said. “We got two great starts and the crew did a nice job with all the maneuvers.”

Bill Wagner

Press Officer                                         

Acura Key West 2006, Presented by Nautica


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