Good Day For MENTAL Crew!(Key West, FL)- After Wednesday's sailing was thankfully canceled due to lack of wind, everyone was looking forward to another nice day of sailing Thursday. The forecasts all showed a front passing over the Keys in the early morning hours followed by NNE wind blowing 7-13 knots with clearing skies during the day. Remarkably, the forecasters got it right!
Thursday's sailing was an enormous challenge, a lot like the first two days of sailing when the wind is filling behind a large frontal system headed out to sea over the Bahamas. No telling whether the wind will back or veer and whether or not the forecasts are remotely accurate. Why? The combination of the fast-moving, 85 degree river known as the Gulf Stream and exceedingly warm waters over the Bahamas Banks are renown for killing many a front, much to the chagrin of even the most experienced weather forecasters. The day's racing started off with about an hour postponement-- wise move. The wind was shifting a good 20-30 degrees with enormous fluctuations in velocity. Once the wind settled down, it certainly oscillated like crazy with large wind streaks filling in from both sides of the course. There was no "magic bullet", just keep your head out of the boat and stay on top of developing breezes (or massive, glassy holes in the wind) and keep the boat moving towards the mark uphill or downhill. Starboard tack saw headings vary from 345 to 005 degrees and on port from 45 to 80 degrees. No question the tacticians anywhere on all three courses were suffering moments of stark terror and extreme anxiety as boats from BOTH corners of the course were making gains! 
For the J/80s, the Glenn Darden/ Reese Hillard team on LE TIGRE continued to knock out strong, consistent scores, avoiding corners and sailing super fast. Their 2-3-1 tally enabled them to extend their lead to a solid 18 points over the closest rivals for a total of 14 pts in 8 races-- not bad, just below a 2nd average! Making a comeback after a slow day Tuesday was Mikael Lindqvist on ROCAD RACING with a 4-1-4 for a total of 32 points. The next three places in the J/80s are in a horse-race for the silver and bronze on the podium. Just 3 points back from ROCAD RACING is that fast rising CHURCH KEY team led by Chris and Liz Chadwick with a 1-5-3 for 35 pts total. Three points back are Ron Buzil on VAYU 2 sailing to a 5-2-5 and just one point back are another fast-climbing team, the past North American Champion team, the Storck family sailing their RUMOR to a 6-4-2 for 39 pts. The high-flying SAIL Best Around Buoys Team, Ryan Glaze and the Scott's from the famous lake yacht club, Rush Crush YC, in Dallas, Texas had a rough day, accumulating a 3-10-12 to drop into 6th with 45 pts. Check out the latest video by Adam Cort on the SAIL BAB blog with a debrief of Tuesday’s racing with skipper Ryan Glaze.http://www.sailmagazine.com/key-west-race-week/best-around-buoys-quantum-kwrw-2012
In the PHRF One Division, the lighter conditions started to create a changeover in the standings as some boats excelled and others took a nose-dive. Savoring the conditions was Paul Stahlberg's J/111 MENTAL, compiling a 2-1-1 record to be the "J-Boat of the Day", for a total of 23 pts, good enough for third place. Still leading the division is Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK with yet another consistent performance, scoring a 4-3-2 to be leading PHRF One by one point for 19 pts. Dropping into fourth place is Bill Sweetser's J/109 RUSH with a 3-4-6 for a total of 28 pts. Laying in fifth is Doug Curtiss' J/111 WICKED 2.0 with a 5-2-3 for 33 pts. Within the J/Division (PHRF Time-on-Time), Robin's J/122 TEAMWORK continues to lead the pack with a 3-4-2 for 16 pts. Second is Mr. Bill's J/109 RUSH with a 1-1-4 for 18 pts. Third is Paul's J/111 MENTAL with a 2-2-1 for 20 pts.
“We’re having a great time because the conditions have been terrific and the competition has been spectacular,” said Team, who has his brother and two sons in the crew. “We’ve been mixing it up with Tres Hombres and finished overlapped with them in the first two races today. RUSH is also tough so I think it will be a dogfight the whole way.”
RUSH, a J/109 skippered by Bill Sweetser and team of Annapolis (pictured right), was named LEWMAR/ NAVTEC BOAT OF THE DAY on Tuesday after posting a superb score line of 3-2-1. Quantum pro Tad Hutchins is calling tactics on RUSH. “The conditions were very good for us today. When the wind is 14 knots or less we can fly our big jib, which is kind of like our secret weapon,” Sweetser said. “We pay for that jib in our rating so it’s good whenever we can use it.” It’s been close but no cigar for Rush at Key West as Sweetser’s boat has finished first or second in class several times, but never come away as overall winner at week’s end. “One of these years we’re going to finally break through and it’s going to be wonderful,” he said. Here's a YouTube Interview with the RUSH crew:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jK1rtZXkyo
In the PHRF Two Division, Gerrit Schulze sailed strongly on the J/105 MAX POWER to stay in 4th place with a 7-5-4. Ed and Justin Palm's J/95 STILL CRAZY is hanging in for sixth place and Dave Whealon's J/80 BOND---JAMES BOND are enjoying themselves and hanging in 9th overall.
In the IRC Three Division, Jim Bishop on the IRC Modified J/44 WHITE GOLD got a 3-5-2 for a total of 28 pts, exactly 2 pts out of second place overall! We wish him well on Friday.
Amongst the J sailors, champions and alumni in other racing divisions, it's pretty clear they're having a dominating impact on both IRC Divisions and other one-design divisions. Top amongst them is long-time J/80 sailor Ben Schwartz, now leading the notoriously pro-heavy M32 Class with his boat PISCES over such notables as John Kilroy on SAMBA PA TI. Sailing with him is America’s Cup veteran and J/24 World Champion Ed Baird calling tactics and Quantum professional and J/24 Champion Scott Nixon trimming the jib and spinnaker. “You have to give Ed and Scott a lot of credit for getting our boat up to speed,” said Ben. “I’m fortunate to have a great crew, the guys never stopped working and we were able to change gears pretty well.”
QUANTUM RACING, skippered by former J/24 and J/44 owner Doug DeVos, continues to set the pace in the 52-foot class and leads PowerPlay by 14 points. Terry Hutchinson, helmsman for the Swedish syndicate Artemis Racing that is Challenge of Record for the America’s Cup and a J/24 World Champion, has made strong tactical calls in leading Quantum to the top of the leader board. “Tuesday was far from straightforward. The wind was very shifty and there are some tricky current patches to deal with,” Hutchinson said.Photo credits- Tim Wilkes- http://www.timwilkes.com
For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing results:
http://www.premiere-racing.com
