(Fort Lauderdale, FL)- This perennial winter favorite of offshore
sailors always throws the fleet a curveball, no matter how good the
forecast looks prior to the start of the race. One would think a simple
160 nm race from Fort Lauderdale, headed south down the Florida
shoreline, keeping that right-turn signal blinking as you make your way
around all the reef buoys, staying out of the fast-flowing northbound
Gulf Stream, to finish off the Truman Annex Navy Base at Key West would
not have too many surprises! Well, if you know anything about "The
Hobart" Race that is, essentially, a coastal race down the Australian
shoreline, turn left to cross the Bass Straits (a short hop), then
cruise down the Tazzie shoreline to the finish knows better. Even the
most defined race courses in terms of their natural boundaries can throw
the fleet massive curve balls. Such is the case in this year's classic
Key West Race Week "feeder event", the Lauderdale to Key West Race
sponsored by the Storm Trysail Club and the SORC with help from
Lauderdale YC. The original forecast was for an upwind race only as the wind is predicted to start off from the south and clock around to the southwest and west as both the front and the race progress . "This race is always a Navigator's race and changing weather patterns make it an even greater challenge", says Race Committee Chairman Joel Bowie.
With
nearly 50 entries headed for the starting line, the early starters in
the race saw a tough uphill slog into 20-25 knots southerly winds down
to Miami Beach/ Key Biscayne and the first major turning point of Fowey
Rocks. But, the front is already dying- as it nearly always does when
it hits that massive 85 F degree thermal wall called "the Gulf Stream".
However, with a fast-dissipating front and waning breezes clocking NW,
then N, then NE, there was still promise for spectacular moonlit nights
of racing under spinnakers, watching the dolphin contrails of
phosphorescence criss-crossing your wake and knifing upwards pass your
bow in dramatic fashion. Time will tell. What is unique about the Lauderdale Race among offshore races is that it's sailed within cell phone range the entire race! Race competitors are permitted to do just about any type of communicating they want, including updating Facebook pages, Twittering away to any friends worldwide-- enabling them to compete for a prize for "Best On-Water Reporting"!! With technology, the folks living vicariously through these sailors can be along for the ride!
Amongst
the J/Sailors that love this annual challenge, you'll find a bunch of
tough, but fun-loving, hombres sailing PHRF A. Leading the pack may be
Robin Team's J/122 TEAMWORK (2011 Lauderdale Race Champion) along with a
trio of J/120s- Frank Kern's globe-girdling champion from Detroit, the
famous yacht CARINTHIA; fellow Detroiter Bob Kirkman sailing HOT TICKET
(yet another Great Lakes Champion tearing up Florida/ Bahamas offshore
waters); and Bill Terry's well-traveled TAMPA GIRL. Lone wolf, but
perhaps the toughest of the lot may be David Bond's gang aboard crimson
red J/105 LOKI sailing in PHRF B. An interesting side-note, SAILING WORLD's Stuart Streuli is sailing aboard Robin Team's TEAMWORK- learning how to race, navigate, drink beer, avoid the reefs, avoid the Gulf Stream, employ race-winning strategies while sailing fast-- all at the same time! Imagine that! It should be an interesting report at some time in the spring- look for it in Sailing World here- http://www.sailingworld.com. Sailing photo credits- Imagesbymarco.com and John Payne photos.com For more Lauderdale Key West Race sailing information.
