Ran and Red unbeaten

Three races held today at Quantum Key West Race Week

Photo galleries from Rick Tomlinson and Ingrid Abery at the bottom of this page

A second day of fine conditions - winds of 8-15 knots but the typical unusually lumpy sea for the wind strength – saw the organisers hold three races today at Quantum Key West Race Week.

With five races now run a few boats remain unbeaten. Among them is Niklas Zennström’s JV72 Rán in the Mini Maxi class, but her perfect scoreline came under threat in the last race today. In this she was behind at the final top mark rounding, but pulling back on the run ultimately to win on corrected by 13 seconds over the Brad Butterworth-led crew on Dan Meyers’ JV-66 Numbers, with the Reichel Pugh 72 Shockwave a further five seconds off the pace.

Another British crew with five bullets is Joe Woods’ team on Red, racing in the five boat Farr 400 class and with Laser Olympic Gold medallist Paul Goodison calling tactics. "I guess we've just figured the boat out a little faster than the other teams," said Woods, who has previously sailed a Melges 32 at Key West. "We're winning, but not by much. The racing has been awfully close."

New to the Red crew for this regatta is North Sails’ guru Simon Fry. “We made a few mistakes," Fry described their day. "Luckily the other boats made a few more. Everyone is learning to sail the boats. We didn’t start particularly well. Although we managed to hang in lanes, we were never forced to tack off the start. I think our boat handling is improving. The simple things – tacking, gybing, what to do in this situation, that situation, etc.”

In the Farr 30s, Deneen Demourkas’ Groovederci remains unbeaten as does former Moth World Champion Bora Gulari sailing West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes in the Melges 24 class, now holding a 10 point lead over Alan Field's WTF.

Up to second in the 30s is the new Swedish team - Richard Goransson’s TheEdge. “I chartered this boat last year with a couple of friends and we did really badly!” admitted Goransson. “Now we are more of a serious team.” Goransson was contemplating a Soto 40 campaign but chose the Farr 30 after it was announced that the class' World Championship are to be held in his native Sweden this year. The Farr 30 is a strong class in Sweden and Goransson says there are 12 in Stockholm alone. Their program will continue in the USA with the Annapolis NOOD, while they have acquired a former World Championship winning boat that is currently being shipped to Sweden. Goransson also owns a Corby 36 that he intends to take to the Far East to race.

Among Goransson’s crew is British round the world sailor Matt Humphries. “This is our first regatta all sailing together on this boat. We are learning a lot. The world champion is here so we can see where we are at.”

In the highly competitive eight boat 52ft class, Doug DeVos’ Quantum Racing retained her commanding lead today, despite dropping two races, the first to Pete Cunningham’s PowerPlay and the third to Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente team on the chartered former TeamOrigin 1851 TP52.

"Today was far from straightforward,” said Artemis Racing AC skipper Terry Hutchinson, who has returned to his old team, Quantum Racing, for this regatta. “The wind was very shifty and there are some tricky current patches to deal with.”

PowerPlay is now up to second. Owner Peter Cunningham, from the Cayman Islands, has a mix of amateur and professional crew on board his TP52, the Reichel Pugh design that was briefly Oracle Racing and subsequently became Synergy. Tactician [American] Tony Rey, trimmer Dave Scott and bowman Geordie Shaver among the superstars aboard.

"We've only had the boat for six months and we've made a lot of modifications during that time," Cunningham said. "We're pretty happy with our performance so far. We're sailing fairly well and having a lot of fun."

In IRC 3, Willem Wester’s new Grand Soleil 46 Antilope is still dominating, having dropped today’s first race to Jon Halbert’s Swan 42 Vitesse.

Among the Farr 40s there has been a lead change with Nico Poons’ Charisma and Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light both overtaking John Demourkas’ Groovederci. They are now tied on points but with Charisma holding the overall lead via a tiebreaker following her win in Race 5.

Brought in at the 11th hour to call tactics on Charisma is Britain’s triple World Match Racing Tour champion and Team GAC Pindar skipper, Ian Williams. Ironically Williams previously sailed this same Farr 40 when it was Steve and Fred Howe’s Warpath. He described today’s first race: “We were leading at the top mark. I have been out of the Farr 40s for a while and the wind went a bit lighter and I didn’t appreciate how much the angles had changed upwind and we were under-laying the top mark. So we ended up hitting the top mark, instead of leading around it, and did a spin and actually came back and got a second in that race.

“For me as a tactician it is a really interesting class. If you are fast it means you are a length a beat ahead – so the boats are really close and it makes it very interesting. There is a bit more you can do downwind with an S-sail – you can do more than two gybes and not lose out a whole load, so it is more fun for a tactician.”

On the competition, Struntje Light, skipper Wolfgang Schaefer commented: “We had a very good day on the water and are happy with where we stand at the moment. We have nice boat speed upwind and our crew work has been excellent. We have a very good tactician and he's made some fantastic calls that have kept me in phase."

Calling tactics on the German Farr 40 is Vasco Vascotto. "Wolfgang is doing a good job of driving and is getting better every day,” said the bubbly Italian. “The guys onboard have a great attitude and are ready to fight to the end. The good news is that we can still improve our performance."

In the ‘High Performance’ PHRF class, Big Booty, the good looking Botin & Carkeek designed GP42 Stray Dog belonging to Charles Engh, is just one point ahead of Rob and Sandy Butler's Canadian team on their brand new McConaghy 38 Carbonado.

The Melges 32 class saw a lead change today with Benjamin Schwartz’s Pisces moving into pole, albeit still tied on points with John Kilroy and his powerful Samba Pa Ti team, where Italian ace Lorenzo Bressani is calling tactics.

Pisces has its own secret weapon in 32nd America’s Cup winning helmsman Ed Baird calling tactics, while Quantum’s Scott Nixon is trimming jib and spinnaker.

"We are a new program so it is a tremendous feeling to be doing well in a big-time regatta like Key West. Hopefully, we can keep it going," said Schwartz. "You have to give Ed and Scott a lot of credit for getting our boat up to speed. I'm fortunate to have a great crew. Today was very challenging because the wind velocity was up and down and the sea state was not very forgiving, but the guys never stopped working and we were able to change gears pretty well."

Results:

Mini Maxi (IRC 1)
1. Rán, GBR7236R, Niklas Zennstrom - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 5
2. Numbers, USA119, Daniel Meyers - 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, ; 11
3. Shockwave, USA60272, George Sakellaris - 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, ; 14

52 Class (IRC 2)
1. Quantum Racing, USA52011, Doug DeVos - 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, ; 7
2. PowerPlay, CAY52, Peter Cunningham - 3, 2, 1, 3, 4, ; 13
3. TeamOrigin 1851/ Team Bella Mente, GBR1851N, Hap Fauth - 4, 4, 5, 2, 1, ; 16
4. Vesper, USA52007, Jim Swartz - 2, 6, 3, 8, 3, ; 22
5. Mayhem, USA2241, Ashley Wolfe - 6, 3, 4, 6, 7, ; 26
6. Anema & Core, USA38008, Ennio Staffini - 5, 5, 7, 7, 5, ; 29
7. Highland Fling XII, MON888, Irvine Laidlaw - 7, 9/DNF, 8, 4, 6, ; 34
8. Interlodge, USA5210, Austin and Gwen Fragomen - 8, 9/DNS, 6, 5, 8, ; 36

IRC 3 (Shared start with High Performance)
1. Antilope, GBR46N, Willem Wester - 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, ; 6
2. Cool Breeze, USA60432, John Cooper - 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, ; 14
3. Vitesse, USA4240, Jon Halbert - 5, 6/DNF, 1, 3, 3, ; 18
4. White Gold, USA4994, James D. Bishop Sr. - 4, 3, 4, 2, 5, ; 18
5. Sarah, USA52756, Greg Manning - 2, 4, 5, 5, 4, ; 20

Farr 40
1. Charisma, MON69, Nico Poons - 5, 4, 2, 3, 1, ; 15
2. Struntje light, GER40, Wolfgang Schaefer - 2, 3, 4, 2, 4, ; 15
3. Groovederci, USA7289, John Demourkas - 4, 1, 6, 1, 6, ; 18
4. Flash Gordon, USA60002, Helmut Jahn - 1, 5, 3, 6, 5, ; 20
5. Enfant Terrible, ITA29141, Rossi Alberto - 7, 2, 1, 4, 7, ; 21
6. Barking Mad, USA50955, James Richardson - 3, 8/DNF, 5, 5, 2, ; 23
7. Provezza 8, TUR1211, Ergin Imre - 6, 6, 7, 7, 3, ; 29

Farr 400
1. Red, UAE400, Joe Woods - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 5
2. Team Premier NorCal, USA403, H. Blackett & S. Shapiro - 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, ; 13
3. Meridian X, USA404, W.S. Shelhorse - 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, ; 16
4. BLADE, USA407, Mick Shlens - 4, 5, 2, 3, 5, ; 19
5. Spaceman Spiff, USA406, Rob Ruhlman - 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, ; 22

High Performance
1. Stray Dog, USA8668, Charles Engh - 3, 2, 3, 1, 1, ; 10
2. Carbonado, CAN5, Rob & Sandy Butler - 1, 3, 2, 2, 3, ; 11
3. Big Booty, USA60208, Pat Eudy - 2, 1, 4, 4, 2, ; 13
4. XS, USA41204, Douglas Fisher - 4, 5/DNS, 1, 3, 4, ; 17

Melges 32 (One Design - 19 Boats)
1. Pisces, USA230, Benjamin Schwartz - 3, 3, 1, 1, 6, ; 14
2. Samba Pa Ti, USA13131, John Kilroy, Jr. - 1, 1, 5, 3, 4, ; 14
3. Hedgehog, BER1, Alec Cutler - 4, 2, 8, 4, 7, ; 25
4. Mascalzone Latino, ITA2121, Vincenzo Onorato - 2, 4, 2, 11, 9, ; 28
5. Heartbreaker , USA201, Robert Hughes - 10, 13, 6, 8, 2, ; 39
6. Warpath, USA32917, Stephen Howe - 12, 5, 15, 5, 3, ; 40
7. Swing, JPN233, Keisuke Suzuki - 11, 9, 4, 12, 5, ; 41
8. Mojo, USA157, Steve Rhyne - 6, 12, 10, 6, 8, ; 42
9. Celeritas, USA208, Malcolm Gefter - 8, 10, 17, 10, 1, ; 46
10. Sicktrix32, USA178, Geoffrey Pierini - 9, 8, 3, 19, 10, ; 49
11. Robertissima 1, AUT1, Roberto Tomasini Grinover - 7, 14, 7, 7, 14, ; 49
12. Catapult, USA134, Joel Ronning - 5, 6, 13, 14, 13, ; 51
13. Esmeralda, JPN218, Makoto Uematsu - 16, 19, 9, 2, 18, ; 64
14. Flat Stanley, USA126, T. Sheehan / T. McSweeney - 15, 16, 12, 9, 12, ; 64
15. Arethusa, USA211, Phil Lotz - 13, 18, 11, 13, 11, ; 66
16. Intac, IVB007, Mark Plaxton - 18, 7, 16, 16, 16, ; 73
17. SLED, JPN5095, Takashi Okura - 14, 11, 19, 18, 17, ; 79
18. Dark N'Stormy, USA151, Edward Tillinghast - 17, 15, 18, 15, 15, ; 80
19. Roxanne, USA77, Dario Galvão - 19, 17, 14, 17, 19, ; 86

Melges 24
1. West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes, USA820, Bora Gulari - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 5
2. WTF, USA811, Alan Field - 3, 2, 5, 3, 2, ; 15
3. Blu Moon, SUI825, Franco Rossini - 2, 3, 2, 8, 3, ; 18
4. Monsoon, USA747, Bruce Ayres - 5, 4, 3, 4, 4, ; 20
5. Convexity, USA619, Don Wilson - 6, 5, 4, 2, 6, ; 23
6. Battle Rhythm, USA786, Guy Mossman - 4, 7, 7, 6, 9, ; 33
7. Navega Racing, USA829, Kurt Winkelmann - 8, 6, 6, 10, 5, ; 35
8. Zingara, CAN629, Richard Reid - 13, 11, 10, 5, 7, ; 46
9. Party Girl, NOR800, Jens Altern Wathne - 7, 8, 8, 11, 12, ; 46
10. Black Seal, GBR830, Richard Thompson - 9, 12, 9, 7, 11, ; 48
11. Hot Mess, USA118, Rob Britts - 10, 9, 11, 13, 8, ; 51
12. Tramp, USA708, Thomas Ritter - 11, 10, 12, 9, 10, ; 52
13. Mojito, USA12, Catharine Evans - 12, 13, 13, 12, 15, ; 65
14. Shockwave, USA312, Steven Boho - 14, 14, 14, 14, 14, ; 70
15. Bologney Blowout!, USA106, Nate Duer - 15, 16/DNS, 15, 15, 13, ; 74

Farr 30
1. Groovederci, USA706, Deneen Demourkas - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, ; 5
2. Theend, USA316, Richard Goransson - 2, 2, 5, 2, 3, ; 14
3. Mummbles, USA704, Brad Kauffman - 4, 4, 2, 3, 2, ; 15
4. Gotcha, USA32, Nate Tower - 3, 3, 6, 5, 4, ; 21
5. Rhumb Punch, USA41, John and Linda Edwards - 5, 5, 4, 4, 6, ; 24
6. Just Plain Nutz, USA21, Norm Dean - 6, 6, 3, 6, 5, ; 26
7. Farr 2 Tangley, CAN29, Ron Switzer - 8/DNC, 8/DNC, 8/DNC, 8/DNC, 8/DNC, ; 40

J/80
1. Le Tigre, USA1152, Darden Hillard - 1, 2, 1, 3, 1, ; 8
2. BAB - Team Gringo, USA1328, Ryan Glaze - 2, 3, 6, 7, 2, ; 20
3. Rocad Racing, SWE243, Mikael Lindqvist - 8, 1, 4, 4, 6, ; 23
4. Church Key, USA59, Chris & Liz Chadwick - 9, 8, 2, 2, 5, ; 26
5. Vayu 2, USA156, Ron Buzil - 5, 4, 5, 5, 7, ; 26
6. Rumor, USA19, John Storck Jr - 7, 7, 9, 1, 3, ; 27
7. Savasana, USA1123, Brian Keane - 4, 5, 7, 6, 8, ; 30
8. Tiamo, USA554, Bruno Pasquinelli - 6, 11, 3, 9, 9, ; 38
9. Bob Dylan, USA176, Mike Sudofsky - 3, 6, 11, 12, 10, ; 42
10. CoolJ, USA1150, Alexander Kraus - 11, 9, 12, 10, 4, ; 46
11. Andale, USA336, Al Poindexter - 10, 10, 10, 8, 11, ; 49
12. USA 11, USA11, Bert Carp - 12, 13, 8, 11, 12, ; 56
13. Courageous, USA1313, Gary Panariello - 13, 12, 16, 14, 13, ; 68
14. Confederate Ram, USA120, Joe Corriher - 14, 17, 14, 15, 15, ; 75
15. Blind Faith, USA153, Kristen Berry - 17, 14, 17, 13, 16, ; 77
16. Bear Instinct, USA152 , Dave Manheimer - 16, 15, 13, 16, 18, ; 78
17. Frivolous, USA294, Daniel Goldberg - 18, 19/DNS, 15, 17, 14, ; 83
18. Willy T, USA182, Jeff Jordan - 15, 16, 18, 18, 17, ; 84

PHRF 1 (ToD)
1. Teamwork, USA52939, Robin Team - 2, 1, 3, 3, 1, ; 10
2. Tres Hombres, USA35029, Kitterman, Tyer, Ghormley - 1, 3, 1, 2, 3, ; 10
3. Rush, USA51, Bill Sweetser - 5, 5, 2, 1, 2, ; 15
4. Mental, USA022, Paul Stahlberg - 3, 2, 6, 4, 4, ; 19
5. Wicked 2.0, USA30, Douglas Curtiss - 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, ; 23
6. Revolution, USA35037, Prelle, Buckner, Womack - 6, 6, 7, 6, 8, ; 33
7. Hot Ticket, USA25328, Mike Kirkman - 7, 8, 8, 8, 7, ; 38
8. Heat Wave, USA144, Gary Weisberg - 10, 9, 4, 7, 9, ; 39
9. Warlock, USA37, Tom Hickey - 8, 11/DNF, 9, 11/DNF, 6, ; 45
10. GameChanger, CAN35006, Marcie & Dave Smith - 9, 7, 10, 9, 10, ; 45

PHRF 2 (ToD)
1. Tangent, USA53228, Gerry Taylor - 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, ; 7
2. L'Outrage, USA73456, Bruce Gardner - 1, 2, 2, 1, 2, ; 8
3. Kalevala II, USA52439, Tapio Saavalainen - 3, 4, 3.5, 3, 3, ; 16.5
4. Max Power, USA90, Gerrit Schulze - 4, 3, 5, 4, 4, ; 20
5. Renegade, USA69329, Jim & Julia Graham - 5, 6, 3.5, 6, 5, ; 25.5
6. Still Crazy, USA18, Ed Palm - 7, 7, 6, 5, 7, ; 32
7. Island Flyer, USA96, Denny Manrique - 6, 5, 7, 8, 8, ; 34
8. Caribbean Soul 2, USA30157, David McAleer - 9, 11, 8, 7, 6, ; 41
9. Bond ...James Bond, USA1007, Dave Whealon - 8, 10, 11, 10, 9, ; 48
10. Nanuq, USA93555, Glenn Doncaster - 12/DNF, 9, 9, 9, 10, ; 49
11. Waco Kid, USA60121, Martin Grow - 10, 8, 10, 11, 11, ; 50

J Boats Subclass (ToT)
1. Teamwork (J), USA52939, Robin Team - 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, ; 7
2. Rush (J), USA51, Bill Sweetser - 4, 4, 1, 1, 2, ; 12
3. Mental (J), USA022, Paul Stahlberg - 2, 2, 5, 3, 3, ; 15
4. Wicked 2.0 (J), USA30, Douglas Curtiss - 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, ; 18
5. Heat Wave (J), USA144, Gary Weisberg - 7, 6, 3, 5, 5, ; 26
6. Hot Ticket (J), USA25328, Mike Kirkman - 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, ; 28
7. Warlock (J), USA37, Tom Hickey - 6, 8/DNF, 7, 8/DNF, 7, ; 36

From Rick Tomlinson:

 From Ingrid Abery: