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SITE MAP RACE WEEK NEWS RESULTS and REPORTS PHOTO GALLERY CONTACT US |
California sailmaker Dave Ullman put together a tremendous final day of racing to go from fourth to first in the Melges 24 class, largest of the regatta with 46 boats. Ullman steered Pegasus 505 to a stellar line of 1-2-1 on Friday to finish three points clear of week-long leader Blu Moon (Franco Rossini, Switzerland). “Our team really likes sailing in the breeze. We are happy whenever it gets above 15 knots,” said Ullman, who has won the Melges 24 class five times in Key West. “Obviously we had a great all-around day.”
Swan 42s made their debut as a one design class, with 12 boats vying for the top spot. Andrew Fisher’s Bandit topped the field, just 5 points ahead of Mark Watson’s Tiburon. The Swan 42 class races with no discard. “It’s fantastic to win in Key West. It’s always great conditions and superb racing,” Fisher said. “I think the key for our team was that we never gave up. We battled back from adversity on several races.”
J/Boats featured very impressive J/105 and J/80 fleets. J/105’s were 34 strong this year, with entrants hailing from 12 different states, Bermuda and Canada. J/80 numbers were also up, with 19 boats. Tom Coates’ Masquerade crew successfully defended their J/105 championship. “This regatta always attracts the top programs in our class so we certainly are very pleased to have won here four years in a row,” Coates said. John Storck Jr. in his J/80 Rumor defeated past Key West and National Champion Kerry Klingler in Lifted. “We’re really fast upwind, especially in the breeze,” said Storck’s daughter Kaity, sharing secrets of Rumor’s success. “My dad tunes the rig and sets it up really well.” 18 other J-designed and built boats competed in 5 of the handicap classes.
Corsair 28Rs, the only multi-hull class in Key West had a very tight battle between Tom Reese’s Flight Simulator and Peter Katcha’s Relentless. Despite taking three firsts on Friday, Relentless lost to the Youngstown, NY boat by a mere ˝ point.
The IRC 1 class was comprised of the 10 largest boats in the regatta and Dan Meyers’ new Judel/Vrolijk 66 Numbers proved the most consistent of them all. America’s Cup veteran Hamish Pepper called tactics for Meyers, who won five of eight races in compiling a low score of 10 points – four better than runner-up Flash Glove, a J/V 52 owned by Colm Barrington of Ireland. John Kilroy’s IRC optimized TP52 Samba Pa Ti finished 3rd and also took home TP52 sub-class honors. “This result had very little to do with me. It’s a credit to the guys who put so much time into designing, building and preparing the boat,” said Meyers, who won IRC 1 last year aboard his previous Numbers (Farr 60).
IRC 2 also featured 10 boats on the line. Murka 2 (Hamble UK) sailed a consistent series with only one 4th place, which was discarded. Key West regular Jim Bishop’s J/44 Gold Digger finished 2nd.
PHRF 1 honors went to Jim Madden racing his J/122 Stark Raving Mad for the first time in Key West. He led the class from start to finish, defeating 2007 champion Pete Hunter’s Thompson 30 Wairere.
PHRF 2 was won handily by a well sailed Emocean. Will Hanckel’s J/120 Key West experience and strong tactical calls kept them on top all week. J/109 sub-class honors went to Don and Nick Filippelli’s Caminos. “We got off the line real well in every race, grabbed the lead going up the first beat and were able to cover and control the fleet,” Hanckel said.
PHRF 3 champion Robert Hibdon’s 9 point week earned his SR-33 Temptress top honors in this 8 boat light-displacement class. Bill Berges in the Evelyn 32-2 Bluto’s consistent top 3 finishes got him on the podium in 2nd place.
PHRF 4 produced the 2008 PHRF National Champion, with Robert Armstrong’s St Croix based J/100 Bad Girl taking top honors. Gerry Taylor’s Cape Fear 38 Tangent was second. “There’s a lot of good crew communication,” Armstrong said. “We all sail together and this is the farthest we’ve gone to do a race.”
PHRF 5 saw Ken Schram’s T-10 Britsar proving that these boats are as competitive as ever. Going into the last race with just a 3 point lead over John Cooper’s J/29 Cool Breeze, Schram won the last race to secure the top spot.
PHRF 6 came down to Friday. Lincoln Schoenberger’s Wyliecat 30 One Up made the last day a thriller with three firsts to clinch the overall win. Bob Fleck’s S27.9 Horizon was just one point behind going into the last day of racing. “Sailing with people I enjoy is even more important than winning,” said Schoenberger. “Winning is icing on the cake.” Special Awards Boats in 6 PHRF classes competed for class honors and the second PHRF National Championship. Competition was Key West tough with 5 of the 6 classes featuring single digit winning margins. Robert Armstrong’s J/100 Bad Girl (PHRF 4) prevailed in the objective criteria established for the National Championship, winning by one tenth of a point over Will Hanckel’s J/120 Emocean (PHRF 2), with Linc Schoenberger’s Wyliecat 30 One Up (PHRF 6) in 3rd. All three received beautiful Chelsea Clocks.
Team France won its first ever Nautica Watches Trophy in the International Team Competition. A slim 4 point margin separated the team of Twins (Erik Maris), New Wave (Mike Carroll) and Trevalles.com (Benoit Charon) from Team USA West Coast. Eleven teams competed in what has become a special and highly competitive Key West tradition.
Each Boat of the Day winner received a Nautica Yacht Timer Watch and a unique Latitude Kinsale 3D Nautical Chart by Artist Bobby Nash. Using nautical charts, each special framed work has pieces hand cut and assembled to create a 3D Nautical Chart™. Winners were: Farr 40 Mascalzone Latino - Sperry Top-Sider Day, J/122 Teamwork (IRC 2) - Lewmar Day, and Swan 42 Interlodge - Acura Day.
On the third week of January racing sailors from around the world converge on Key West for a variety of different reasons – superb competition, ideal conditions, professional race management are just three. “Good breeze, competitive racing, and a good blend of pros and true lovers of the sport. Mix all that together with a few beers (or rums) and a tropical climate and what you have is a great time,” said Paul Cayard. “Premiere Racing has been doing a fantastic job of organizing this event for many years and has made it the best winter sailing event in the world.”
Acura Key West 2008 on TV Emmy award winner Gary Jobson and his crack team were filming throughout the week. Daily video broadcasts were posted on ESPN.com and JobsonSailing.com. A ˝ hour special will be televised on Sunday March 23 on ESPN2 (2:30 to 3:00 PM ET).
Title Sponsor Acura is the Official Vehicle. Nautica is the Presenting Sponsor and Nautica Watches is the Official Timekeeper. Day Sponsors are Mount Gay® Rum (Official Rum), Lewmar (Official Marine Hardware) and Sperry Top-Sider (Official Footwear and Footwear Retailer). Supporting sponsors are B&G (Official Marine Electronics), Ceasar Marine (Official RIB), Keys Caribbean (Resort Community), New England Ropes (Official Rope), and SLAM (Official Technical Gear). 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.
Thirty-five Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 7th year. Learn more about the Industry Partners and the Program on the event web site.
Acura Key West 2008 and the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix are US Sailing sanctioned events and are included in the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.
About Acura Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2008 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL premium performance sedan, the TSX premium sport sedan, the turbo-charged RDX premium sport CUV and the award-winning MDX premium performance CUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.
Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica Final Series Results after 8 Races – January 25, 2008
Swan 42 (no discard)
Farr 40 (no discard)
J/105 (no discard) – Mid-Winter Championship
Melges 32 - Mid-Winter Championship
M 30 (no discard) 1. Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 3-1-2-4-1-2-4-1, 18 2. Turbo Duck, Bodo and Nick von der Wense, Annapolis, MD, USA, 2-2-11-1-2-1-1-4, 24 3. TeamBold, Nelson Stephenson, Southport, CT, USA, 5-5-5-3-4-3-2-2, 29
Corsair 28R - Mid-Winter Championship
J/80 - Mid-Winter Championship
Melges 24 - Mid-Winter Championship
IRC 1
IRC 2
PHRF 1
PHRF 2
PHRF 3
PHRF 4 – PHRF National Champion
PHRF 5
PHRF 6
Event details, scratch sheet and results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com
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For Immediate Release January 25, 2008
Sweet Victories and Smiling Faces at Acura Key West 2008 --- Sunny Skies and 20 Knot Winds Make Perfect Final Day
The emotion was palpable as Barking Mad owner Jim Richardson and tactician Terry Hutchinson embraced in a huge, heartfelt bear hug.
Groovederci skipper Deneen Demourkas sported a huge smile and giggled as she climbed back on the dock after being thrown in the water by jubilant crew members.
Numbers owner Dan Meyers wore a look of complete satisfaction as he leaned against the lifeline in the stern of his state-of-the-art race boat at the end of a long week.
Those are the undeniable signs of victory.
Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica, was among the strangest and most challenging in the 21-year history of the regatta. However, what the sailors, especially the winners, will remember is a spectacular final day of racing and the final results.
“I think the race committee did an amazing job this week. To hold eight races in three days is really quite amazing,” said Thomas Coates, winner of J/105 class aboard Masquerade. “It was a tough situation with too much wind on one day and too little wind on others. Peter Craig and his team made the right decisions all week as far as when to send us out and when to keep us ashore, when to race and when not to race.”
Things didn’t look good on Wednesday night after two of the initial three days of the regatta were cancelled due to bad conditions. Making matters worse was the fact the forecast for Thursday was for a second straight day of light, fickle breeze.
However, Mother Nature did an about face and brought a solid 12-knot northerly that enabled organizers with Premiere Racing to get in two races on Thursday. Things got even better on Friday with a northeasterly bringing 16-20 knot winds that allowed for three more races to be held.
“This was a classic Key West day. It was breeze on with warm weather and sunshine. You couldn’t have asked for a better final day,” Melges 24 winner Dave Ullman said.
Craig, who has been event director for the past 15 years, was pleased the action-packed final days transformed the regatta into a rousing success.
“I think the sailors tend to forget what happened early in the week and remember what happened at the end. We did well in that regard because the racing the last two days was outstanding,” Craig said. “It was Chamber of Commerce conditions today so I would think we sent everyone home happy.”
Richardson used the word “ecstatic” to describe his reaction to winning Farr 40 class for the first time in 11 trips to Key West. The Boston resident and crew of Barking Mad accomplished that feat in dramatic fashion, winning the eighth and final race to capture a tiebreaker with Mascalzone Latino. Because the Farr 40 class had seven different winners during the week and the point spread among the top boats was so narrow, Barking Mad earned the prestigious Acura Trophy as Boat of the Week.
“It’s hard to win any regatta in this class and it has been especially difficult for us to win this particular regatta,” said Richardson, who has been second in Key West on several occasions.
Mascalzone Latino, the two-time defending world champion owned by Vincenzo Onorato of Italy, led Barking Mad by one point going into the final race. Richardson got a great start and sailed at the front of the 25-boat fleet throughout, passing Mean Machine to move into first place on the final downwind leg then holding off a hard-charging Mascalzone Latino. Both boats finished with 29 points, but Barking Mad won the tiebreaker by virtue of having more first place finishes.
“Vincenzo has a great program and a terrific crew. To be able to beat those guys in such a hard-fought regatta is very gratifying,” Richardson said.
Hutchinson, tactician for Emirates Team New Zealand in the last America’s Cup, has been sailing with Richardson for nearly a decade and understood how much this victory meant to him. The two men have become extremely close over the years with Richardson serving as the godfather for Hutchinson’s youngest child.
“Jim has won just about every major event in this class and Key West was the final piece of the puzzle. It’s nice to see good things happen to good people,” Hutchinson said.
Seven of 10 crew members aboard Barking Mad were sick all week with a nasty stomach bug. Hutchinson also had to train a new bow team on the fly.
“We had some unique challenges this week and we overcame them. For the team to gut it out and fight hard from start to finish was real rewarding,” Hutchinson said.
Defending Key West champion Alinghi, skippered by Ernesto Bertarelli, finished ninth. The Swiss syndicate that is two-time winner of the America’s Cup, started slow and was never really in contention. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark steered his Farr 40 Nanoq to a very respectable 11th place result. His Royal Highness was pleased to have improved two places from last year and vowed to return.
“We always enjoy coming to Key West. It is much nicer here than it is in Denmark during January,” he said. “The wind and the weather here are generally quite good.”
Competition was also extremely close in Melges 32 class, which saw a significant increase in entries and caliber of competition at Acura Key West 2008. Star, skippered by Jeff Ecklund of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, finished fifth or better in six of seven races that counted in edging New Wave by two points and capturing the Midwinter Championship.
“The class is getting better and better all the time and this was probably the most competitive regatta we’ve ever had,” said Ecklund, who had boatbuilder Harry Melges aboard as tactician. “All the top teams are going really fast and you’ve got to be on your game at all times. I think the key was that we had terrific boat preparation and awesome crew work all week.”
Demourkas led the M30 class from start to finish in winning Key West for the second time in four years. Scott Nixon of the Quantum loft in Annapolis called tactics for Demourkas, a Santa Barbara resident who won three races and finished no worse than fourth in the other five.
“We were doing it the hard way all week. We had to work our way up from the back of the fleet in a bunch of races, but we kept fighting. The team did an excellent job. I’m very proud of them,” she said.
Ullman put together a tremendous final day to fourth to first in Melges 24 class, largest of the regatta with 46 boats. The California sailmaker steered Pegasus 505 to a stellar line of 1-2-1 on Friday to finish three points ahead of week-long leader Blu Moon (Franco Rossini, Switzerland).
“Our team likes sailing in the breeze. We are happy whenever it gets above 15 knots,” said Ullman, who has won Melges 24 class five times in Key West. “Obviously, we had a great all-around day. We started well in all three races, sailed at the front and were never really in trouble.”
Charlie Ogletree (tactician), Brian Hutchinson (bow), Andy Escort (jib) and Pablo Saldano (traveler) comprised the crew for the 62-year-old Ullman, who counted no result worse than a sixth in capturing the Midwinter Championship for the class.
Coates completed an incredible accomplishment by winning J/105 class for the fourth consecutive year at Acura Key West and also garnering the Midwinter Championship. The San Francisco native and his team on Masquerade won five of eight races and led the 34-boat after each day of the regatta and finished with a low score of 13 points – an incredible 42 points better than runner-up Eclipse (Damian Emery).
“This regatta always attracts the top programs in our class so we certainly are very pleased to have won here four years in a row,” Coates said. “I think it looks a lot more lopsided than it really was. We trailed boats in every race and were challenged considerably.”
IRC 1 class was comprised of the 10 largest boats in the regatta and Meyers’ new Judel/Vrolijk 66-footer proved the most consistent of them all. America’s Cup veteran Hamish Pepper called tactics for Meyers, who won five of eight races in compiling a low score of 10 points – four better than runner-up Flash Glove, a TP52 owned by Colm Barrington of Ireland.
Follow the results and the racing at Premiere-Racing.com. Blogging from all four courses, Kattack race tracking, and daily video reports will bring the action home. Be sure to check ESPN.com each evening for a 4-5 minute Gary Jobson production that will feature racing highlights of different classes each day.
Press and Public Relations Bill Wagner mailto: bwagner@capitalgazette.com mobile: 617-838-4688
Title Sponsor Acura is the Official Vehicle. Nautica is the Presenting Sponsor and Nautica Watches is the Official Timekeeper. Day Sponsors are Mount Gay® Rum (Official Rum), Lewmar (Official Marine Hardware) and Sperry Top-Sider (Official Footwear and Footwear Retailer). Supporting sponsors are B&G (Official Marine Electronics), Ceasar Marine (Official RIB), Keys Caribbean (Resort Community), New England Ropes (Official Rope), and SLAM (Official Technical Gear). 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.
Thirty-five Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 7th year. Learn more about the Industry Partners and the Program on the event web site.
Acura Key West 2008 and the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix are US Sailing sanctioned events and are included in the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.
About Acura Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2008 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL premium performance sedan, the TSX premium sport sedan, the turbo-charged RDX premium sport CUV and the award-winning MDX premium performance CUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.
Event details, scratch sheet and past results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com
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For Immediate Release January 24, 2008 Back in Business at Acura Key West 2008 --- Two-Race Day Brings Much Rejoicing
There was much rejoicing around the Conch Republic on Thursday. The wind gods smiled on Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica, delivering excellent racing conditions and bringing much joy to both competitors and organizers.
Early forecasts for Thursday were not favorable and talk on the dock was that another day of racing might be lost. Racing had been abandoned on Monday because of too much wind and Wednesday as a result of too little.
However, event director Peter Craig emerged from an early morning meeting with his four principal race officers with encouraging news. Commanders’ Weather, which has been spot-on all week, issued a forecast for building breezes in the afternoon and the Premiere Racing team believed it could conduct at least once race.
Craig wisely held the fleet of 262 boats onshore in the morning while waiting for updated information. Since the forecast still looked promising at noon, the AP Flag (postponement) came down and the armada of racing boats was sent out to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lo and behold, conditions proved even better than expected with the wind starting at 5-8 knots from the southwest then clocking around to the north and increasing to 12 knots. That allowed for two races on all four courses and resulted in an awful lot of happy faces when the boats returned to port.
“What a surprise! We had very nice sailing conditions today, the best we’ve had all week,” said Dave Ullman, who holds fourth place in Melges 24 class. “It didn’t look promising last night, but if any of us could really predict the weather we would be in a different business.”
There was minimal shakeup in the standings with the lead changing hands in only five of 16 classes. However, the difference between the first and second boat in the other 11 classes is six points or less and things could change dramatically before this series concludes. It sets the stage for an historic final day at Acura Key West 2008 with organizers moving the first gun up one hour and planning to conduct three races.
For two decades, there have been very few three-race days at Key West. Now, in the 21st season of the largest winter regatta in North America, there could possibly be a pair of three-race days. Prospects of that happening are quite great as the forecast is for 15-20 knot winds on Friday.
“It’s the first time we had no racing on Monday and it’s the first time we’ve had more than one race on Friday,” Craig said. “This has been, without question, the most challenging week weather-wise in my 15 years of running this regatta. To be able to race on three days and quite possibly get in eight races is rather incredible considering the circumstances, and ultimately I think the competitors will go home happy.”
There was a change atop the ultra-competitive Farr 40 class with Barking Mad jumping from third to first on the strength of a bullet in yesterday’s second race. Skipper Jim Richardson has finished sixth or better in the 25-boat fleet for all five races and now holds a four-point advantage over opening day leader Mascalzone Latino.
“We had a good day. We didn’t do anything fancy, sailed fairly conservatively in the race we won,” said Terry Hutchinson, tactician aboard Barking Mad.
Hutchinson, an Annapolis resident who was tactician for runner-up Emirates Team New Zealand in the last America’s Cup, said anything could happen with three races being held on Friday.
“Obviously, I’d rather be where we are at the moment, but at the same time we have to sail very well tomorrow in order to hold this lead,” he said.
Mascalzone Latino, the two-time defending world champion owned by Vincenzo Onorato, was still first overall after placing second in Race 4, but was over the starting line early in Race 5 and wound up 12th.
Twins, skippered by Erik Maris of France, also had a solid day with finishes of first and third to move into third place in the overall standings. “The regatta is very tight and we are pleased to be in contention. Barking Mad and Mascalzone Latino are the best boats – very fast, consistent and strong tactically. It will be difficult for us to stay with them,” said Maris, seeking his first Farr 40 victory in four trips to Key West.
Groovederci, skippered by Deneen Demourkas of Santa Barbara, Cal., maintained its lead in M30 class after getting the gun in Race 5. Demourkas, class winner at Key West in 2005, said her team sits atop the standings in spite of itself.
“We’ve done everything the hard way. We’re not going the right way and we’ve had some boat-handling issues,” she said. “We have really put ourselves through the wringer. Fortunately, we have recovered from all our mistakes and have managed to hang on.”
Thursday marked the 10th wedding anniversary for John and Deneen Demourkas, who have both been skippering separate entries in Key West for years. John, who is sailing a Farr 40 also known as Groovederci, wisely booked dinner reservations at Louis’ Backyard, one of the most popular restaurants in town.
Blu Moon, the Swiss entry skippered by Franco Rossini, remained atop the Melges 24 class by counter-balancing an 18th in Race 4 with a victory in Race 5. Helmsman Flavio Favini said the team will be hard-pressed to hold off the likes of WTF (Alan Field), Tresvailles.com (Benoit Charon), Pegasus 505 (Ullman) and Full Throttle (Brian Porter), all of whom are within striking distance.
“There is still a long way to go and things can change quickly in this fleet… as we showed today,” Favini said. “Tomorrow should be windy and we are looking forward to some great racing.”
Jeff Ecklund sailed Star to a first and a third yesterday to take over the lead in Melges 32 class, which has proven incredibly competitive at Acura Key West 2008. Ecklund and tactician Harry Melges have been sailing together for 15 years and certainly found the chemistry on Thursday.
“We had a great day and it felt good. The wind conditions were to our liking and we found some special speed,” said Ecklund, a Ft. Lauderdale resident. “Hopefully, we can find the same groove tomorrow and keep our nose clean. This is the strongest field we’ve ever seen in the Melges 32 and it is still anybody’s event.”
Samba Pa Ti, a TP52 owned by California native John Kilroy Jr., vaulted from third to first in the overall standings of IRC 1 – another class comprised entirely of professional crews. Kilroy posted a pair of seconds on Thursday and has now finished no worse than third through five races.
Two teams have built comfortable leads going into the final day. Masquerade, skippered by Thomas Coates of San Francisco, holds a seven-point cushion in J/105 and is closing on a fourth straight title in that 34-boat class. Rumor, skippered by John Storck Jr. of Huntington, NY, has notched bullets in three of five races and now leads J/80 class by 11 points.
PHRF National Championship Standings 1, Bad Girl, J/100, Robert Armstrong, St. Croix, 19.4 points 2, Emocean, J/120, Will Hanckel, Charleston, S.C., 19.0 3, One Up, Wyliecat 30, Lincoln Schoenberger, Bridgeport, Conn. 18.7 4, Temptress, SR-33, Robert Hibdon, Charleston, S.C., 18.6 5, Britsar, Tartan 10, Ken Schram, Detroit, Mich., 18.2 6, Stark Raving Mad, J/125, James Madden, Newport Beach, Cal., 18.00 The IRC, Farr 40 and Melges 32 classes take their first step toward the highly regarded Acura Grand Prix trophies, awarded to the combined winners at the conclusion of the Acura Miami Grand Prix in March.
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For Immediate Release January 23, 2008
Mother Nature Throws Curve at Acura Key West --- Racers Enjoy a Day Off in Conch Republic It’s been feast or famine at Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica. Organizers and competitors alike have been frustrated by the fact winds have been either too strong or too light on two of the initial three days of the largest winter regatta in North America. A northeasterly that held steady in the range of 25-30 knots forced cancellation of racing on Monday. Mother Nature delivered the opposite end of the spectrum on Wednesday with a southeasterly providing a mere three knots of pressure and forcing officials with Premiere Racing to abandon again. “The wind never reached the threshold at which we felt we could have a quality, fair race,” event organizer Peter Craig said. “Our race committee has certain standards and we are not going to sacrifice quality in order to just get in a race.” Division 4 managed to start a race in what Principal Race Officer (PRO) Wayne Bretsch called “sail-able” conditions. However, the bulk of the fleet had not reached the first weather mark when the wind died to two knots or less and Bretsch pulled the plug. “In my opinion, it appeared to be an unfair race. The wind was fluky and better on one side of the course than the other,” Bretsch said. While there is always a concern the wind will improve after the boats are sent back to the harbor, in this instance the reports from Commander’s Weather were spot on. “Based on the forecast I just received at 2 p.m., the decision we made at noon was the correct one,” Craig said. “I think from the sailor’s standpoint, better to get back to the beach and have the entire afternoon to get out and take advantage of all that Key West has to offer rather than bobbing around on the water waiting for wind.” Some teams headed to the various bars and restaurants around Historic Seaport, filling the tables at Schooner Wharf, Turtle Kraals, Conch Republic Seafood and the Half Shell for a late lunch and drinks. Crew members from the TP52 Flash Glove were a bit more industrious with tactician Rob Greenhalgh quickly arranging a fishing trip. “Some guys went fishing, others played golf while some just decided to relax with a few drinks,” skipper Colm Barrington said. Craig said it was only the second time in the 21-year history of the Key West regatta that two days of racing were cancelled. Forecasts call for light winds again on Thursday with a front moving in to provide heavy air on Friday. Fortunately, breezes held steady at 15-20 knots on Tuesday and enabled PROs Ken Legler (Division 1), Bruce Golison (Division 2), Dave Brennan (Division 3) and Bretsch to complete three races apiece. Now that Acura Key West 2008 race days have been reduced, there is tremendous pressure to perform in the remaining races. Vitesse, a Swan 42 skippered by Jon Halbert of Dallas, Texas, stands third in class – four points behind first place Tiburon (Mark Watson) and only one point astern of Bandit (Andy Fisher). “Tomorrow and Friday now become very important. Because the regatta has been condensed, each race counts more than ever and the whole mindset changes,” said Farley Fontenot, tactician aboard Vitesse. “I think you will see most teams become a bit more conservative because there is little margin for error.” While all 16 classes remain up for grabs, there are also two major championships to be decided. France has taken the early lead in the 11th International Team Competition for the Nautica Watches Trophy. National pride is at stake as 11 countries field three-boat teams comprised of a Farr 40, Melges 32 and Melges 24. France, led by the fourth-place standing in Farr 40 class of Twins (Erik Maris), has scored 31 total points thus far. Defending International Team champion Switzerland, led by Melges 24 leader Blu Moon (Franco Rossini) is just one point behind. With each passing year, the International Team Competition gains traction with more entrants asking to participate. Danilo Salsi, skipper of the Farr 40 DSK Comifin, organized Team Italia. “We are very excited to be sailing on behalf of our country. We think this side competition is very clever. It gives you a double goal for the week, another trophy to try to win,” said Andrea Casale, crew member aboard DSK Comifin. “You want to do well as an individual entry and you also want to help the team.” Armando Giulietti’s Melges 32 Hiroshi and Riccardo Simoneschi’s Melges 24 Giacomel Audi Racing are the other members of Team Italia, which got off to a tough start. “It’s great because it gives you a chance to get close with crews from two other boats. You have to communicated with one another and commit to working together,” Casale said. Another battle is beginning to develop for the PHRF National Championship, which was introduced at Acura Key West 2007 and proved quite popular. PHRF 4 leader Bad Girl, a J/100 owned by Robert Armstrong of St. Croix, seized the early lead under the scoring system created by rating expert Bruce Bingman. However, PHRF 3 leader Temptress, an SR-33 owned by Robert Hibdon of Charleston, S.C, is just three-tenths of a point behind. However, anything could happen since the championship is based on a combination of best average corrected speed, tightness of class competition as determined by the corrected time spread between first and fifth place finishers along with the number of boats beaten relative to the possible number that could have been beaten. Thus, a single bad race can play topsy-turvy with the results. PHRF National Championship Standings - 1/23/08 1, Bad Girl, J/100, Robert Armstrong, St. Croix, 19.8 points 2, Temptress, SR-33, Robert Hibdon, Charleston, S.C., 19.5 3, Stark Raving Mad, J/125, James Madden, Newport Beach, Cal., 18.3 4, Britsar, Tartan 10, Ken Schram, Detroit, Mich., 18.3 5, Emocean, J/120, Will Hanckel, Charleston, S.C., 18 6, One Up, Wyliecat 30, Lincoln Schoenberger, Bridgeport, Conn.
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For Immediate Release January 22, 2008
Both Familiar Faces and Hot Newcomers Win the Day at Acura Key West 2008 --- Three Race Day for All Classes
As the results rolled in during the first day of racing Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica there were a lot of familiar names finishing at the front.
Winners in the Melges 24 class included such perennial contenders as Franco Rossini and Riccardo Simoneschi. By day’s end, Masquerade was in her usual perch atop the J/105 class. Two-time defending world champion and past Key West winner Mascalzone Latino seized the early lead in Farr 40. Dan Meyers, who has raced a variety of big boats in Key West, showed off his new Numbers while moving quickly to the top of IRC 1. Other opening day pacesetters with a history of success at Acura Key West include the J/80 Rumor and the Mumm 30 Groovederci.
However, there were also some newcomers atop the leader board after Day 1. No Naked Flames, a brand new Sllim 37 owned by Irish brothers Andrew and Carl Allen, performed well right of the box in taking the lead in IRC 2. Stark Raving Mad, James Madden’s new J/125, also posted superb results while showing it could be the boat to beat in PHRF 1. Meanwhile, the Swan 42 class made its one-design debut at Acura Key West with Tiburon, owned by Mark Watson of Newport, R.I.,
Action at Acura Key West 2008 was scheduled to begin on Monday, but high winds and heavy seas forced regatta organizers to abandon on all four courses without starting a race. Winds were still strong, but more manageable, on Tuesday – blowing steady between 17-20 knots out of the east. That enabled officials with Premiere Racing to complete three races for all classes – the first time that has happened in the 21-year history of the popular regatta.
“To get in three races at a regatta of this size and a venue of this nature can be a daunting challenge. That is a significant number of classes on four separate courses and requires precision race committee work,” event director Peter Craig said. “Factor in that we have to hear protests and hand out awards at 6:30… it makes three races in one day quite a feat.”
Craig had high praise for regatta scorers Tom Fisher and Jeff Johnson, who had to sort through three races worth of results involving 262 boats under a severe time crunch so the nightly awards ceremony could start on time.
Mascalzone Latino, skippered by Vincenzo Onorato of Italy, put forth an impressive performance in seizing the overall lead in Farr 40 class on the first day of racing while also earning the Sperry Top-Sider Boat of the Day honor.
America’s Cup veteran Adrian Stead called tactics for Onorato, who steered Mascalzone Latino to a pair of seconds and a third place finish in three races on Tuesday. Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I.) and Mean Machine (Peter de Ridder, Monaco) are tied for second with 10 points, three behind the Italian entry. “Leading after the first day means nothing. Obviously, we really want to lead after the last day,” said Onorato, who won Farr 40 class at Key West in 2006. “For the morale of the crew, it is nice to start off well.”
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark had a solid opening day with a pair of Top 10 finishes and stands 11th overall in the highly-competitive 25-boat fleet. Defending Key West champion Alinghi, the Swiss boat skippered by Ernesto Bertarelli, had a tough opening day and stands 13th overall.
That Alinghi, the two-time America’s Cup winner, could suffer a pair of back-of-the-fleet finishes shows how strong the Farr 40 class has become, Onorato said.
“This is the second year that we have come to this regatta in the role of world champion and that is a lot of pressure. It is hard to maintain that high standard in this class because the level of competition is always going up,” Onorato said. “You have to come to these regattas mentally prepared and your team must constantly improve.”
Numbers, the second largest boat in the entire 262-boat fleet, had a superb day in grabbing the lead in IRC 1 class. The Judel/Vrolijk 66-footer, owned by Dan Meyers of Newport, R.I., won two races and was runner-up in the other.
“We’re still trying to figure out how to push the boat around the course better,” said Meyers, who took delivery of the new design in the fall. “Our crew work was okay today. We had a couple problems at the leeward mark roundings. That is something we need to work on as the week progresses.”
Blu Moon, a Swiss entry skippered by Franco Rossini, built a relatively comfortable nine-point lead in Melges 24 class – largest of the regatta with 46 boats. Flavio Favini steered Blu Moon to a tremendous line of 1-1-2 for a cumulative score of four points.
Dave Ullman, a four-time winner of Acura Key West, is lurking in third place. Simoneschi, sailing a chartered Melges 24 for his regular sponsor Giacomel Audi Racing, won the third race and cannot be discounted.
“We are still figuring out how to tune the boat. We had problems with boat speed in the first race, but had it set up better by the third race,” Simoneschi said. “We had very good sailing conditions today. It was really fun going downwind with the big waves making for fantastic surfing.”
Masquerade, skippered by San Francisco native Thomas Coates, is seeking to win J/105 class for an unprecedented fourth straight year. Coates and his veteran crew of West Coast sailors, got off to a good start with a pair of bullets sandwiched around a third. However, Brian Keane and his Massachusetts-based team on Savasana, also had an outstanding day and are just three points behind.
“We liked our starts and had the boat going fairly fast, but the competition is fierce once again and we’ll have our work cut out for us to maintain that lead,” Coates said.
No Naked Flames was commissioned by the Allan brothers for the purpose of being part of the Irish team for the 2008 Commodore’s Cup. It was designed by Mark Mills and has America’s Cup veteran Chris Main on the helm.
“Considering that today was the first time we have ever hoisted the spinnaker on this boat, we are obviously quite happy with our results,” Main said of a stellar line of 1-4-2 that gave No Naked Flames a tiebreaker advantage over the Swan 45 Murka 2. “For the first day of our first regatta, it is really pleasing to be leading the class. If we can continue to get good starts and fine-tune our crew work throughout the week, we will be fine.”
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For Immediate Release January 21, 2008 Tough Conditions, Tough Decisions at Acura Key West 2008 --- Heavy Air Forces Cancellation of Day 1 Races
Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica came in roaring like a lion!
A storm front hit the southernmost point in the continental United States in the wee hours of Sunday morning and lingered. When Monday dawned and the largest winter regatta in North America was due to begin, a fierce northeaster was delivering consistent winds ranging 25-30 knots and routinely gusting higher.
Event chairman Peter Craig huddled with his four principal race officers and the decision was made to postpone sending the 262-boat fleet out for two hours. Because the Corsair 28 class has a maximum wind range of 22 knots for racing, regatta organizers and skippers agreed to keep the lightweight trimarans on the beach. While some of the Corsair 28 owners were anxious to test themselves in extreme conditions, common sense prevailed.
“If you’re out in survival conditions, it just makes it too difficult to compete. No one wanted to break gear on the first day,” said class veteran Bob Harkrider of August, Ga., who placed second at this regatta last year.
Premiere Racing sent out two committee boats first thing in the morning to take wind readings and gauge the sea conditions. They were recording waves at 6-8 feet and Harkrider said the spirited, high-performance Corsairs spend all their energy preventing disastrous knockdowns in such a sea state.
“In those types of conditions, safety becomes a serious concern,” he said.
Just after 11 a.m., Craig and company sent the remainder of the fleet to the four racing circles with the pronouncement that no racing would begin until 1 p.m. By noon, the Division 1 signal boat was reading regular puffs above 28 knots, exceeding the upper end of the wind range dictated by the Melges 32 class so those 27 boats were sent back to shore.
Regatta officials had hoped the wind would stabilize at a reasonable level in order to hold one race for the remaining 10 classes, but all four principal race officers reported conditions that were clearly “on the edge” and the decision was made to abandon all racing without beginning a starting sequence.
“These are the toughest days for our race committee because we recognize that people have spent considerable time, effort and resources to come to Key West. We want to do our utmost to give them five full days of racing,” Craig said.
“However, on the first day of a five-day regatta, we do not want to push the envelope. We want to err on the side of caution. All four of our principal race officers are extremely experienced and in their collective opinion, the conditions today were just too severe for the majority of the fleet.”
Craig admitted the decision may have been different if it was Thursday and one day of the regatta had already been lost due to lack of wind or too much wind. “Certainly, the fact this is Monday was a major factor. You don’t want all sorts of boats breaking equipment when they still have four more days of racing to go,” said Craig, adding that rough seas were also a “significant consideration.”
Forecasts call for winds to decrease to the high teens on Tuesday morning then ultimately drop to 8-10 knots by the afternoon. Craig said Premiere Racing will “work very hard” to complete two or three races on Tuesday.
“We announced this as a 10-race series, but we will not sacrifice quality for quantity,” he said. “If we get in eight or nine quality races that are a mixture of heavy, medium and light air, I think most of the sailors will be satisfied.”
One would expect the professional sailors in the Farr 40 class to be most disappointed about the cancellation of racing on Monday, but the majority understood and agreed with the decision.
“I’d say the wind was definitely in the upper limit of what we can race in. There’s a difference between sailing and racing. When you have 25 boats rounding marks in tight quarters, things can get pretty hairy in 30 knots of breeze,” said Chris Larson, tactician for Alex Roepers on Plenty. “Considering this was the first day of the first regatta of the year and all the teams are still shaking out the cobwebs, it was the right move.”
Roepers is a new owner in the highly-competitive class, having made his debut at the 10th Anniversary Regatta off Miami in December. He also races a Swan 45 and is making the adjustment from helming with a wheel to a tiller. “This was still a good day for us. Our owner had never been out in these types of conditions in this boat and with a tiller,” Larson said. “It was quite challenging, but Alex was able to gain some valuable experience. We were planing at 14 knots with the main and small jib. We sailed upwind and downwind, did a couple tacks and a couple spinnaker sets then called it a day.”
Dave Ullman, four-time winner in the Melges 24 class, said there could have been carnage in the 46-boat fleet had Division 3 PRO Dave Brennan decided to race.
“It was
absolutely the right decision. The wind was well over the top and
there’s no reason to go out there and drop rigs or break up equipment,”
Ullman said. Follow the results and the racing at Premiere-Racing.com. Blogging from all four courses, Kattack race tracking, and daily video reports will bring the action home. Be sure to check ESPN.com each evening for a 4-5 minute Gary Jobson production that will feature racing highlights of different classes each day.
Press and Public Relations Bill Wagner mailto: bwagner@capitalgazette.com mobile: 617-838-4688
Title Sponsor Acura is the Official Vehicle. Nautica is the Presenting Sponsor and Nautica Watches is the Official Timekeeper. Day Sponsors are Mount Gay® Rum (Official Rum), Lewmar (Official Marine Hardware) and Sperry Top-Sider (Official Footwear and Footwear Retailer). Supporting sponsors are B&G (Official Marine Electronics), Ceasar Marine (Official RIB), Keys Caribbean (Resort Community), New England Ropes (Official Rope), and SLAM (Official Technical Gear). 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.
Thirty-five Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 7th year. Learn more about the Industry Partners and the Program on the event web site.
Acura Key West 2008 and the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix are US Sailing sanctioned events and are included in the US-IRC Gulf Stream Series.
About Acura Acura offers a full line of technologically advanced luxury performance vehicles through a nationwide network of more than 260 dealers throughout the United States. The 2007 Acura lineup features five distinctive models, the RL luxury performance sedan, the TL premium performance sedan, the TSX premium sport sedan, the turbo-charged RDX premium sport CUV and the award-winning MDX premium performance CUV. For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please go to www.acuranews.com.
Event details, scratch sheet and past results are available at www.Premiere-Racing.com
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For Immediate Release - January 20, 2008
World Class Competition On Deck in Key West - Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica Begins January 21
For the past six months, Ernesto Bertarelli, Brad Butterworth and other key figures with the Alinghi Racing syndicate have been locked in a bitter dispute over the future of the America’s Cup.
For one week at least, the leaders of the Swiss syndicate are putting aside the controversy in order to compete in Acura Key West 2008. With Bertarelli on the helm and Butterworth aboard as tactician, Alinghi will attempt to defend its title in Farr 40 class at North America’s most prestigious winter regatta.
“We love coming here. This is one of the finest regattas in the world,” Butterworth said Saturday following a practice session on the Atlantic Ocean. “You’ve got great weather, great wind and great competition while the event management is as good as it gets. That is why we come back every year.”
Alinghi captured class honors at Acura Key West 2007 in impressive fashion, clinching victory with one race to spare. That feat will be tough to duplicate in a star-studded fleet of 25 boats that includes two-time defending world champion Mascalzone Latino, skippered by Vincenzo Onorato of Napoli, Italy.
Adrian Stead, British-born tactician for Mascalzone Latino, believes no less than a dozen teams are capable of winning this week. Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I.) and Nerone (Massimo Mezzaroma, Punta Ala, Italy) are past world champions while class newcomers such as Joe Fly (Giovanni Maspero, Como, Italy) and Plenty (Alexander Roepers, Stonington, CT) have come on strong in recent events.
Acura Key West 2008 represents the first of three major regattas leading up to the 11th Farr 40 World Championships, being held off Miami in mid April.
“We are three months away from the next worlds so all the teams are ramping up in terms of preparation. Key West kicks off the New Year so everyone is looking to put their best foot forward here. An awful lot of the owners have put together very strong crews for this regatta,” Stead said.
One of the more interesting entries in Farr 40 class is Nanoq, skippered by Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. This marks the second straight season the popular Prince has competed in Key West and he is looking to improve upon a 13th place finish in 2007.
Prince Frederik arrived at event headquarters in Historic Seaport on Sunday morning and was in good spirits as he attended to formalities such as registration and weigh-in. Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking is serving as tactician for Prince Frederik, who braved gale-force winds that gusted to 35 knots in order to take Nanoq out for a practice session yesterday.
As usual, Acura Key West has attracted a strong fleet with 262 boats in 16 classes. Organizer Premiere Racing plans to conduct as many as 10 races over five days on the azure waters off the southernmost point of the United States. Forecasts call for steady 25-30 knot winds on Monday morning and event director Peter Craig said racing could be delayed or postponed.
“We will have race committee boats on the water first thing in the morning to gauge the conditions. Hopefully, the wind will lay down a bit and we can get in a race,” he said.
Acura Key West has always served as proving ground for new designs and this year is no different. Three of the most prominent – Highland Fling, Numbers and Rima 2 – will square off in IRC 1. Newport resident Dan Meyers captured that class last year aboard his previous Numbers and will try to defend with a recently-launched Judel/Vrolijk 66.
“We are very anxious to test the boat against top-flight competition from around the world. The scratch sheet is very impressive and we will certainly be challenged,” Meyers said.
Highland Fling, a swing-keel Wally 80, is owned by Irvine Laidlaw of Great Britain. Laidlaw is a two-time winner of Boat of the Week honors at Key West. Rima 2 is a Reichel-Pugh 55 owned by John Brim.
Farr 40 and IRC 1 are among six grand prix classes that will compete at Acura Key West 2008. Melges 24, Melges 32, M30 and Swan 42 are also loaded with professional talent.
Italian skipper Riccardo Simoneschi has returned to defend his crown in Melges 24, largest class in the regatta with 46 boats. Simoneschi and his crew on Giacomel Audi Racing vaulted from fourth to first on the final day of racing last year to snatch the title and earn the Acura Trophy as Boat of the Week.
California sailmaker Dave Ullman, a four-time winner of Melges 24 class at Key West, expects the competition to cutthroat as usual. Other top contenders include Full Throttle (Brian Porter, Lake Geneva, WI), Blu Moon (Franco Rossini, Lugano, Switzerland) and Excellent (John Pollard, Torquay, Great Britain) are other top contenders.
“In a fleet the caliber of this, a top five finish would be great,” Ullman said. “It’s another strong group of boats and there is no telling how it will all shake out in the end. You just have to sail consistently and hope you’re still in contention come Friday.”
No class has ratcheted up more than the Melges 32, which will have 27 entries and several notable new owners on the water this week. Michael Illbruck (Munich, Germany) and Philippe Kahn (Honolulu, HI) have enjoyed success in a slew of different designs and will now try their hand at the Melges 32.
Claudio Recchi dominated the Florida circuit in 2007 – winning both Acura Key West and Acura Miami Grand Prix in convincing fashion. The Italian skipper won five of nine races last January, but knows it will be more difficult this year.
“A lot of good teams, a lot of good sailors, have come into the class. That is good because every sportsman wants better competition,” Recchi said. “We know it will be tougher to win this year and we are excited about that. We are here to fight, not to go cruising.”
Owners in the M30 class are encouraged by the fact entries at Acura Key West have increased to 15 this year and that several promising new owners have bought boats. Ian Burman of Stagg Yachts confirmed the class is on the verge of awarding naming rights to a different sponsor and said orders for new boats are being taken by U.S. Watercraft.
Turbo Duck, sailed by the Annapolis father-son team of Bodo and Nick von der Wense, will have 2007 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jeff Linton aboard as a trimmer. Turbo Duck is only boat to win this sport boat class twice in Key West.
“I think the outlook for the class is very promising. We have four or five new owners here this year and there are several other positive signs for the future,” Bodo von der Wense said.
Groovederci (Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Cal.) and TeamBOLD (Nelson Stephenson, Southport, CT) are also past winners in Key West. Black Seal (Kevin Young, Cleveland, Ohio) is the 2007 North American Circuit champ.
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