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 Fast Paced Powerplay

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.

"It's what we come here for!" said Flash Gordon trimmer John Conolly. Helmut Jahn's Farr 40, [Chicago, IL], enjoyed a comeback after a slow Monday. "We did much better today," said Conolly. "These are our kind of conditions."

"Hang on!" Shouted a crewmember from the Mumm 30 USA 41, ACED Partners Key West. These guys got splashed with plenty of salt before the game even started. The races were nothing short of exciting. "It was on the edge," said Turbo Duck's Bodo von derWense.

The smaller boats took the day in stride. "It wasn't that crazy," said helmsman Chris Rast of the Melges 24 Blu Moon. "Melges are a lot of fun in the breeze. Today we had a good opportunity to find our settings." They're prepared for the next day's predicted strong winds and are ready to give their top rivals a hard time. Owner Franco Rossini, [Lugano, Switzerland], has kept Blu Moon in the lead for the class. This is not an easy thing to do with 60 rivals hot on your heels.

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. However, there was some shuffling in Farr 40 as Nerone took the lead away from Day 1 pacesetter Norwegian Steam.

Division 1

Goombay Smash, owned by William Douglass [Newport, RI], 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.

"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 [New York], had a 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."

"We have great speed and have positioned the boat on the course as well as I've ever seen." Nelson Stephenson, TeamBOLD

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 [Newport, RI], 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."

The Mumm 30 fleet was nothing short of a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish. TeamBOLD sailed to stardom with four straight bullets in two days.  Owner Nelson Stephenson [Southport, CT], the U.S. class president, is seeking his first victory in eight trips to Key West. "I've got great sailors with me this year and they really know how to handle the boat," Stephenson said. "We have great speed and have positioned the boat on the course as well as I've ever seen."

Deneen Demourkas owner of Groovederci, last year's Mumm 30 winner, declared: "TeamBOLD is on fire." Stephenson's crew is comprised of former collegiate All-Americans such as Brian Bissell (Georgetown) and Matt Schubert (Merchant Marine Academy). Aaron Serinis, who works at the North Sails loft in Annapolis along with Bissell, is calling tactics.

Kevin Young's entry, Black Seal, is one point behind second place. "The lead was pretty close," Kevin said. "It was a good day. Nobody got hurt, nobody broke anything and we finished half decent." Black Seal, [Lakeside, OH], enjoyed consistent sailing and is ready to swap places with the leaders.

Division 2
With three competitors from the UK, the American competitors in the IRC-2 fleet faced some serious British steel during the last four races. Nevertheless, a Jamestown, RI, entry earned an impressive four bullets in a row. Gold Digger, a J/44, wasn't about to allow anyone else to steal the show. "It was tough racing out there," said crewmember John Osmond. "We sail as hard as we can sail and not break anything. You have to get over the line with your mast still up."

Owner Jim Bishop has been racing in Key West since its inception and his crew has been together for a long time. "I have a great crew and a good boat," Bishop said. "Our crew is like a family." He's owned Gold Digger for 16 years and has had a lot of practice. His son, Jim Bishop Jr. is the tactician and the father-son duo plan to compete in Acura Miami Race Week this March. "We go there every year," Bishop said.

Peter Rogers, [Hamble, UK], persistently sailed his Ker 11.3 Highlife right on the heels of Gold Digger. The timing was close. "The biggest thing today was about boat handling," said Jeff Johnstone, co-owner with Rodney Johnstone's J/124 Wild Blue. "People were more conservative today and the margin for error was greater."

A flurry of sheets, arms and elbows set the scene in the highly focused PHRF-2 fleet. McManus and Colahan's Farr 38 Custom Boys Are Back In Town, [Marblehead, MA], lead the pack after four races. The crew has no room to let their guard down. A mere one point behind, the 1D35 Hell Hound is nipping at Boys Are Back's heels. Hell Hound owner Brendan Brownyard, [Buffalo, NY], is enjoying his 11th year in Key West. "I don't know how you can't come here," Brendan said. "The overall organization of the race committee is just spectacular."

Genesis Racing LLC brought Sister Golden Hair, [Charleston, SC], into a close third. The Farr IMS 40 enjoyed a gradual improvement through the last four races. One small twitch of a sail and the tables could turn. Geoffrey Longenecker's Melges 30, Nemesis, is also close behind the pack leaders.

The Melges 32 teams are a riveting one-design force on the field. Michael Carroll's New Wave [Lake Geneva, WI] scored two bullets on Monday and has done well staying in the lead. So far, the team is thrilled and is ready for more action.

In second place, Jeff Ecklund's Star suffered no serious mishaps. The team had worked nonstop to keep on top of the conditions. "I thought I was in Space Mountain at Disney World," said crewmember Mark Bowers with a bit of humor. Grinning, he shrugged. "It wasn't bad."

Division 3

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.

Out of the sixteen qualifying Corinthian competitors, Henri Samuel from France still leads the Corinthian Division. After two eleventh place finishes, overall Samuel is proud of his ninth place standing. "The conditions and atmosphere here in Key West is so wonderful with great racing." Samuel is also the Chairman of the International Melges 24 Class Association.

The strong J/105 presence were a stunning spectacle. Thomas Coates and his Masquerade team were once again untouchable and sailed ahead of rival Rich Bergmann's Zuni Bear.

Division 4

The aggressive and racy Corsair 28R trimarans spread across the course at warp speed. Dealer's Choice [Stuart, FL], dropped a point slipping into second behind rival Rocketeer II, who logged in a pair of bullets. Steven Marsh said, "It was a great day, a fast day and we were flying close to 20 knots behind our spinnaker." One wonders about the thrill ride of high speed and crashing spray. "Today was not scary at all," Marsh offered. "The thing about multihulls-it's like having training wheels. We're surfing out there! Other than dropping the kite in the water in the second, we didn't have any problems. We were tuned and trained and ready for a great day."

The PHRF-5 fleet also made the most use of the weather conditions. With four back-to-back bullets Bruce Gardner's L'Outrage moved solidly into the top slot. "Conservative, by-the-book sailing is the key to survival. This is my 10th year here," says the Chesapeake Bay sailor. "After losing my rig in my first year here I learned my lesson; nothing fancy, just basic sailing. L'Outrage likes the waves, but not enough for me to get careless. This event is too important and I plan on following up with the Miami Regatta, mostly because it's another Premiere Racing event. With sponsors like Acura and Nautica aboard, it's a good combination of professionalism and quality."

John Edwards, J/29 Rhumb Punch, dropped from first to fourth today and ended up behind Liquor Box, Remedy and Troll. "It was all we could handle out there," John said. "We ripped up our No. 3 sail at the beginning of the second race and our spare was back at the dock and that cost us the day."

"Great! Great! Great! The Premiere Racing Committee in Race Week 2006 is second to none," said Bert Carp, on the Donovan 27, Remedy. "The winds were great and the seas were great."

"The wind gods were with us," Chuck Simmons said of a day that really separates the men from the boys. The favored five-time KWRW winning Tartan 10, Liquor Box, slid to fifth place only to turn it all around with a pair of bullets. "It's pretty good for us. We were fortunate that there were no major breakdowns and I know a lot of guys had gear failure. A couple of lines frayed out and popped on the 'Box' and we swapped them out between races and went to work. Stiff wind or not we flew our kite and worked Liquor Box all the way. Bottom line, we really like the breeze, we're not afraid of it, and we'd rather run with a strong and steady blow than search for light air." Chuck and his team were in true fighting spirit. "Bottom line, whatever they throw at us, we'll be ready."

Writers Brooke Babineau, Rebecca Burg and Bill Wagner contributed to this feature.
 

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