(Ft Lauderdale, FL)- A full moon will greet the fleet in the 2014 Fort
Lauderdale to Key West Race. Thirty-seven teams are sailing the famous
165nm race down the Keys. The fleet represents a healthy mix of past
winners, race veterans, and new faces, looking to find their way onto
the podium at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar and Grill on Friday the 17th. If
you wish to join them, you would be well advised to heed the Boy Scout
motto: “Be Prepared.”The Race to Key West promises to be a classic, with strong NNW breezes at the start with a gradual shift into the NNE by the time most boats finish. The PHRF Fleet is chock-full of former class and race winners. Former class winners participating in this year’s race include Robin Team’s J/122 TEAMWORK from Lexington, NC sailing PHRF A. Joining them are Kristen Berry sailing the J/111 FIREBALL. In PHRF B, past winner David Bond is sailing his J/105 LOKI from Miami, FL and Gary Weisberg’s J/109 HEATWAVE from Gloucester, MA will be with them every step of the way.
All of these competitors know that it takes more than just being able to turn right, to win the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race. Which will sail the shortest distance? Which boat and crew will be able to handle the challenges one can confront when racing offshore to Key West in January? We will know soon enough. One thing is certain. To beat them takes great preparation, solid teamwork and propitious navigation.
A frequent J/122 and J/111 crew on Long Island Sound, Wes Bemus, mused about this year’s race: “On paper it looks deceptively simple: Win the start outside the Fort Lauderdale cut, leave the Florida Keys to starboard and finish off of the fort at Key West. In reality the SORC Lauderdale to Key West Race is a perpetually vexing navigational challenge that often isn’t decided until the last few miles of the race. Do you step out into the Gulf Stream in search of more breeze and risk getting swept back on a conveyor belt? Are you willing to risk your boat and crew by dodging coral reefs in the hopes of sailing a shorter distance? Can your race survive a potentially grueling trip up “Heartbreak Alley” on the last 5 miles to the finish? The course lends itself to fierce duels between closely matched competitors, but nothing is certain until you cross the line. It’s not uncommon to see pre-race favorites drop out in sight of the finish or wind up high and dry on coral reefs after cutting a turn too close.
What is certain is that, breezy or light and wet or dry, the race is always a good time. As I write this at the nav station of beautiful Swan 53 DragonFly Plus, it’s 79 degrees and a warm breeze is blowing through the rig. There’s a Mt. Gay rum pour being set up at the Lauderdale Yacht Club and back home in Connecticut the forecast for race day is for snow and below-freezing temperatures. Anyone with a trailerable boat should be here to enjoy an awesome race and tropical winter sailing conditions. Regular competitor (and multihull class favorite) Tom Reese drives his Corsair 28R Trimaran Flight Simulator down from upstate New York virtually every January just to be present for the race and there are teams from Marblehead, Virginia Beach and Annapolis who have thrown their boats onto a truck just to get down here. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Florida in January?
This year is shaping up to be yet another stellar race. Early forecasts have moderated from a fresh downwind sleigh ride to a more reachy race with big breeze coming through overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Although the fleet is slightly down (you can thank flagging non-sportboat attendance at Key West Race Week for that) there is every indication that it will still be a bloodbath for silverware in many of the diverse classes.
PHRF will be a ‘tooth-and-nail’ fight. PHRF A boasts the largest contingent of traveling boats and potential winners. Robin Team and family is back with their J/122 TEAMWORK and will be tough to beat in all conditions. If conditions are right, planing boats capable of winning PHRF A include the J/111 FIREBALL. We, on the mighty 60,000 lb Swan, will be hoping for a breezy waterline race and windward beat “to hell & back” (not happening, of course).” Thanks for Wes’s contribution from SA. The SA race thread is already full of predictions and smack talk; check it here. For the SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West Facebook page For more SORC Ft Lauderdale Key West sailing information
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