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News and Notices
January 9, 2006 - For Immediate
Release
Silver and Gold
Await Acura Key West 2006 Champions
--- Five Days of Racing Begins January 16
Racing sailors from 14 countries and
a record 37 US states are streaming into beautiful Key West and a
treasure chest of trophies awaits them.
Acura Key West 2006, presented
by Nautica has a star-studded scratch sheet and 287 boats
vying for 19 class championships and The Acura Trophy which
will be awarded to the Boat of the Week.
But that is just the beginning of the
list of honors and awards that will be presented when racing
concludes on Friday January 20.
Sixteen Swans 45’s will compete for
their second Gold Cup and their first official World Championship.
Mintaka, owned by Stefano
Polti with tactician Francesco Bruni will be the Swan 45 to beat.
The Gold Cup defender and current Italian National Champion leads a
tough group of Italian entries which include brothers Massimo and
Leonardo Massimo, owners of Bellicosa and Cour di Leone
respectively. The UK, Japan and both US coasts are also
represented.
The International Team Competition,
now in its tenth year, has 10 three-boat teams ready to battle it
out for The Nautica Trophy and Nautica timepieces. The Swan
45s are the “big boat anchor”, with Farr 40s and Melges 24s
completing the teams.
IRC handicap racing is making its
Key West debut this week with two classes. The 17 boats in the IRC1
and IRC 2 classes will be competing for the inaugural US-IRC
National Championship Trophy which will be awarded at week’s end
to the top boat in the combined IRC fleet.
IRC 1 features 10 high profile
boats. Jim Swartz’s Swan 601 Moneypenny and Peter Ogden's UK
Spirit of Jethou are coming off impressive performances at
the Rolex Swan American and Rolex Swan European Regattas
respectively. They share the starting line with a pair of ocean
going Open 60s, a turbo sled, two Farr 60s, and custom built IRC and
IMS designs.
Key West sets the stage for the
Acura Grand Prix
trophies awarded at the conclusion of Acura Miami Race Week
(March 9 – 12). These
prestigious awards debuted in 2005 and recognize the top boats with
the best combined score from both Key West and Miami Race Weeks.
Transpac 52s, Swan 45s, Farr 40s, J/105s, Mumm 30s and Melges 24s
are currently eligible.
Both the Key West and Miami events
are part of the new US-IRC
Gulf Stream Series.
With their inaugural Global
Championship later this winter at Acura Miami Race Week, the high
octane TP52 class previews the top contenders. The new Rush
with Tom Stark and tactician Ed Baird is one of the favorites for
class honors and will face some tough competition from both the US
and overseas contingents.
Acura Key West 2006 is the designated
Mid-Winter Championships for the Melges 24s, C&C 99s,
J/109s and J/80s. Always Key West’s largest fleet, the Melges 24
class features 60 entrants on the 2006 scratch sheet.
J/Boats has their usual impressive
numbers with 3 one design classes (58 boats) and entries in 5 of the
handicap classes (17 boats). The J/124 Wild Blue is making her debut
in IRC2.
Each day the boat that triumphs in
the most competitive class will be receive the Boat of the Day
trophy, and with it a Nautica timepiece. Monday through Friday will
be designated Nautica, The City of Key West, Mount
Gay Rum, Industry Partner and Acura Day
respectively.
The Key West Trophy recognizes
the PHRF Boat of the Week.
Last year, Jeff Ecklund’s Star
prevailed in a tough 12-boat sport boat class to earn the Key West
Trophy. The Melges 32s achieved one design status this year.
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.
Event details, entries and past results are available at
www.Premiere-Racing.com
For more information on Premiere Racing, Acura Key West 2006,
Presented by Nautica and its Sponsors and Partners:
Premiere Racing, Inc.
67B Front Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945
Tel: (781) 639-9545 Fax: (781) 639-9171
Email: Info@Premiere-Racing.com
Web Site: www.Premiere-Racing.com
December 5, 2005 -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Extraordinary Grand Prix Fleet for Acura Key West 2006
--- “The Heart and Soul of the Sport” Beckons Sailors from Around
the World
The first entry deadline for Acura Key West 2006, Presented by
Nautica is still a week off and never in the 19 year history of
North America’s premiere mid-winter regatta has it seen such a
gathering of international grand prix boats and sailing greats.
Along with all the headliners, there will once again be up to 200 top club
racers making the annual pilgrimage to Key West. The combination of
elite and grass roots sailor makes Key West a unique regatta.
Paul Cayard probably expressed it best: “…I consider this to be
the heart and soul of our sport. This is one of the few regattas in
which weekend guys compete against the world’s best. Hopefully, we
can learn from each other. To me, that’s what the sport is all
about.”
The America’s Cup Skipper and multiple World Champion will be busy
circling the globe in the Volvo Ocean Race. But there will be no
shortage of elite names with the likes of Coutts, Kostecki, Chieffi,
Butterworth, Baird and Melges among the who’s who Key West
afterguard.
There will be fierce class racing on all four race circles with
numerous one design and handicap classes highlighting the
competition.
The Swan 45 Gold Cup - featuring 16 of Nautor’s Swan luxury
racing boats from Italy, Japan, the UK and the US - will crown a
2006 World Champion at week’s end. 2004 Gold Cup Champion, Stefano
Polti (Mintaka) will have the difficult task of defending his
title in this talent laden fleet.
Transpac 52s will be tuning up for their inaugural Global
Championships at Premiere Racing’s Acura Miami Race Week in March.
At least 9 of these box-rule thoroughbreds will be making noise on
Division 2. Watch for tight tactical duels with Olympians and
America’s Cup greats like Adrian Stead (Stuart Robinson’s Stay
Calm III), Ed Baird (Tom Stark’s Rush), and Ian Walker (Eamon
Conneely’s Patches) guiding the owners around the track.
Fresh off their victory at the TP52 Mid Winter's in Fort Lauderdale,
Rush is looking forward to a larger and even more competitive
fleet in Key West. "Acura Key West Race Week is one of the
highlights of the Rush campaign,” said Stark. “A great venue, a
competent committee and the hospitality of the locals makes for a
great event."
The Farr 40 start at Key West will again be a photographer’s
dream with an impressive 25-boat fleet. A world championship caliber
fleet hails from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway,
Canada and both US coasts and the Great Lakes. Current North
American champion Robert Hughes (Heartbreaker) will have 2
former World Champions, Jim Richardson (Barking Mad) and
Massimo Mezzaroma (Nerone) to contend with in this highly
competitive class.
The inaugural IRC National Championship will ensure that the
handicap racing next January rivals any taking place in the one
design arena. Nick Lykiardopulo’s Kerr 55 Aera is an early
favorite in this disparate 10 boat class. Three pair of sixty
footers - Farr 60s, Open 60s and Swan 601s - will compete with Key
West regular Bill Alcott (Andrews 68 Equation) and first
timer Hap Fauth (J/V 66 Bella Mente).
The Melges 24 may be the smallest boat in fleet but they
remain the biggest class by a considerable margin. A December World
Championship in Key Largo will translate into record numbers of
international entries continuing their battles in Key West. A
70-boat turnout of these hi-octane racers is expected.
In addition to vying for prestigious Key West class honors, some one
designs will sweeten the pot with their own championship
designations. Mumm 30s will be vying for 2005 North American
Championship honors. Mid-Winter Championships are on the line for
C&C 99, J/109, J/105, and Melges 24
classes.
The Acura Grand Prix Awards – presented to the combined class
winners of Acura Key West and Acura Miami Race Week – are destined
to become some of the most sought after trophies on the
international racing circuit. Perpetual awards are in the offing to
the TP52, Swan 45, Farr 40, Mumm 30, J/105, Melges 24 and other
classes that meet eligibility requirements.
The latest update on the impact of Hurricane Wilma is very
positive. A Florida Keys tourism official
stated that: “As a whole the Key West tourism infrastructure did not
get impacted that much by Wilma. Today, the recovery is just about
complete. Sailors can expect to find Key West the same as in past
years.”
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).
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, Inc., 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.
Event details, entries and past results are available at
www.Premiere-Racing.com
For more information on Premiere Racing, Acura Key West 2006,
Presented by Nautica and its Sponsors and Partners:
Premiere Racing, Inc.
67B Front Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945
Tel: (781) 639-9545 Fax: (781) 639-9171
Email: Info@Premiere-Racing.com
Web Site: www.Premiere-Racing.com
For Immediate Release
Acura Key West 2006 – The
Big Boats Are Back!
-- Early Entries Point to an Exceptional Grand Prix Turnout
Key West, Fla.
October 12, 2005 – Key
West’s azure blue “race track” is sure to feature the world’s top
performing race boats and crews in January. Premiere Racing’s new
year sailing kick-off begins on January 16, with 9 races scheduled
over the five days of racing.
The prestigious Swan 45 Gold Cup will highlight the 2006
event. As many as twenty of Nautor’s Swan luxury racing yachts will
travel from Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Australia and the US in
hopes of wresting the championship from Stefano Polti and his
Italian Mintaka crew.
“This will be a championship to remember”, said US Class President
Craig Speck. “The international presence will be significant with
nearly half the fleet hailing from Italy and Great Britain.”
The high profile Transpac 52 class will be warming up for
their inaugural Global Championship at Acura Miami Race Week in
March. Eamon Conneely’s Patches (Galway, Ireland), Philippe
Kahn’s Pegasus 52 (Honolulu, HI) and Tom Stark’s Rush
(Newport, RI) are early entries.
The first ever IRC National Championship has provided big
appeal to big boat owners. Five custom boats over 60 feet LOA have
already entered. James Madden’s brand new, 66 foot, canting keel
Reichel-Pugh designed Stark Raving Mad III (Newport, RI) will
be scratch boat while Bill Alcott’s Andrews 68 Equation
(Detroit, MI) will likely be the biggest of the big.
Three matching pairs
will provide some match racing within the IRC competition: Peter
Ogden’s Swan 601 Spirit of Jethou (Guernsey, UK) and Jim
Swartz’ Moneypenny (Edgartown, MA) ; Dan Meyers’ C/M 60
Numbers (Newport, RI) and Edgar Cato’s Hissar (Charlotte,
NC) ; and Jean-Philippe Chomette’s Open 60 Solune (LaRochelle,
FRA) and Bruce Schwab’s Ocean Planet (Portland, ME). These
diverse boats would test any handicapping system.
“The combination of 10
Transpac 52s, the Swan 45 Gold Cup, and a big boat IRC class
elevates the grand prix component of the 2006 edition of race week,”
said Premiere Racing’s Peter Craig. “All 3 of these classes have
solid international representation, which brings yet another
exciting element to the regatta.”
The international
Farr 40 and Mumm 30 fleets will bring their high-powered
competition and elite afterguards to grand prix Division 1. There
will be champions galore. Jim Richardson and his two-time World
Championship Barking Mad crew will be among the early
favorites. Australian Sailor of the Year Richard Perini – who holds
both the 2004 Mumm 30 and Farr 40 World Championship – will race his
Mumm 30 Foreign Affair in Key West.
It’s not all about size
as evidence by over two thirds of the 300-boat fleet featuring boats
under 40 feet long. A Mid-Winter Championship for the Melges 24
and J/105 classes always ensures that Key West’s two
largest classes will turn out in force. This year the Melges 24
numbers will be stronger than ever, with US and European boats
staying on following their World Championship in Key Largo in
December. The J/105s broke their fleet record with 40 boats in 2005.
Class projections call for as many as 50 of the popular 35 footers
at the 2006 edition of race week.
Other invited one design
classes with early entries are the C&C 99, J/120s, J/109s, J/80s
and Corsair 28Rs. Current entries are
posted on the event web site.
Traditionally strong numbers of PHRF handicap boats are
making their January plans. It’s a Key West debut for Tapio
Saavalainen’s Grand Soleil 37 Kalevala II and the 10th time
around for Bruce Gardner’s Beneteau 10M L’Outrage. Both boats
hail from Annapolis, MD.
The Acura Grand Prix Awards – presented to the combined class
winners of Acura Key West and Acura Miami Race Week – are destined
to become some of the most sought after trophies on the
international racing circuit. Perpetual awards will be offered to
the Transpac 52, Swan 45, Farr 40, Mumm 30, J/105, Melges 24, and
other classes that meet eligibility requirements.
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).
Acura Key West is also supported by The Florida Keys and Key
West Tourist Development Council. The Historic Seaport
at the Key West Bight is the Official Site.
About the Industry Partner Program
Twenty-nine 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, 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.
Event details, entries and past results are available at
www.Premiere-Racing.com
For more information on Premiere Racing, Acura Key West 2006,
Presented by Nautica and its Sponsors and Partners:
Premiere Racing, Inc.
67B Front Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945
Tel: (781) 639-9545 Fax: (781) 639-9171
Email:
Info@Premiere-Racing.com
Web Site:
www.Premiere-Racing.com
For Immediate Release -- August 11, 2005
ACURA -- Title Sponsor for Key West and Miami Race Weeks
American Honda Motor Company partners with two Premiere Racing
events
Key West, Fla. August 11, 2005 - Premiere Racing today
announced that Acura, the luxury division of American Honda
Motor Co., Inc., will be the Title Sponsor for both Key West and
Miami Race Weeks. Acura extended its naming rights sponsorship of
Miami Race Week (formerly SORC) and added North America's premier
regatta, Key West Race Week, to its portfolio.
2006 will be an extraordinary year for both Premiere Racing events
with Nautor's Swan choosing Key West for their Swan 45 Gold Cup and
the high profile Transpac 52 class hosting their inaugural Global
Championship in Miami.
"These two events are a great fit for us," said Richard
Colliver, Executive Vice President, Auto Sales of American Honda
Motor Co., Inc. "The participants are interested in high
performance, quality and luxury, which is exactly what Acura
provides. Premiere Racing is all about performance and quality as
demonstrated with their two stand-alone regattas and unparalleled
reputation in regatta management. We are committed to helping ensure
that these two events are a terrific experience for everyone
involved."
Acura Key West 2006 (Jan 16-20) - now in its 19th year - has
established itself as one of the top events on the international
racing calendar. Over 300 racing programs from across the US and all
points of the globe compete there every year.
The 2005 Miami regatta was the first under Premiere Racing's
management with fleet size doubling that from the previous year.
Projections for Acura Miami Race Week 2006 (Mar 9-12) point
to continued growth with up to 200 boats racing on the Biscayne Bay
and ocean venues.
The Acura Grand Prix Awards - presented to the combined class
winners of Acura Key West and Acura Miami Race Week - are destined
to be some of the most sought after trophies on the international
racing circuit. Perpetual awards will be offered for the Transpac
52, Swan 45, Farr 40, Mumm 30, J/105, Melges 24 classes and others
that meet eligibility requirements.
"Acura's enthusiasm and commitment is great news for our Key West
and Miami regattas and the sport of sailing," said Event
Director Peter Craig. "The multi year commitment by Acura will
enable us to continue providing racing sailors with high quality
events."
Acura vehicles will be on display during both events.
Promotional signage at the race site and literature will further
promote Acura as the Official Vehicle.
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.
Details and past results for both events are available at
www.Premiere-Racing.com
For more information on Premiere Racing, Acura Key West 2006 and
Acura Miami Race Week 2006:
Premiere Racing, Inc.
67B Front Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945
Tel: (781) 639-9545 Fax: (781) 639-9171
Email:
Info@Premiere-Racing.com
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