(Key West, FL)- America’s “Woodstock” of sailing is about to commence in
the historical capital of the Conch Republic- Key West- from January
18th to 22nd. It has a special place in the hearts of sailors from
across the spectrum of time, especially for those who sailed the first
major regatta held on the island back in 1978- the inaugural J/24
Midwinters. Since then, the event has attracted thousands of sailors
from around the world to sail in the balmy southeasterly tradewinds,
gorgeous clear blue skies, and the translucent aquamarine waters of the
Florida Keys. In 2016, Storm Trysail Club and event sponsor Quantum Sails have Regatta Chairman Bill Canfield orchestrating a most excellent sailing experience in Caribbean-type waters (note- Bill ran the extraordinarily successful Rolex St Thomas Regatta for nearly two decades). As a result, the event has 140 boats registered to date with 78 J/Teams (56% of the fleet!) spread across three one-design classes (J/70, J/88, J/111) and three handicap classes (IRC & ORR).
Nine
J/111s will be sailing their inaugural J/111 Midwinter Championship on
the Division I course area. It is a stellar fleet of competitors, with
teams ranging from the West Coast (San Francisco & San Diego), to
the Midwest (Great Lakes), and to the East Coast (Marblehead, Long
Island Sound, Buzzards Bay). Past Key West class winner SPACEMAN SPIFF,
skippered by Rob Ruhlman from Lakeside YC in Cleveland, OH , should be
the pace-setter for the class based on their 5th in the 2015 J/111
Worlds Newport. On that basis, Bill Smith’s WOOTON from Chicago, IL and
Bennet Greenwald’s PERSEVERANCE from San Diego, CA will also be strong
contenders for the class lead. However, a number of other teams that
are champions in their regions will certainly be contenders; such as
Peter Wagner’s SKELETON KEY from St Francis YC (a top San Francisco Bay
team); Brad Farber’s UTAH of Macatawa Bay YC; Marty Roesch’s VELOCITY
from Annapolis YC; Gary Weisberg’s HEAT WAVE from Gloucester, MA; and
the two New England teams- Sedge Ward’s BRAVO and Doug Curtiss’ WICKED
2.0.
Not
to be outdone by their sisterships, the J/88s are also hosting their
inaugural J/88 Midwinter Championship with eight boats participating on
the Division 3 course area. As the 2015 PHRF Class winner, Iris Vogel’s
DEVIATION from Long Island Sound is hoping to repeat the magic that led
to her first major regatta win in the J/88s. Chasing her hard will be a
rogue’s gallery of teams, such as the recent AYC Fall Series winner
WINGS, skippered by Mike Bruno from American YC; a top team from Lake
Ontario- Joe & Jeff Pawlowski’s EASY EIGHTS from Youngstown YC; Doug
McKeige’s JAZZ crew that won class in the Manhasset Fall Series; and,
last year’s Charleston Race Week winner and second in KWRW, Rob Butler’s
TOUCH2PLAY RACING from Collingwood, Ontario. Two “newbies” to the fleet
include the new J/88 Oceanvolt model- BLONDIE 2 (sailed by Tod Patton
and Jeff Johnstone) and Gary Panariello’s COURAGEOUS from San Francisco,
CA.
The
fifty-five J/70’s registered are by far the largest fleet at the
regatta for the fourth year in a row. They will be sailing on the
Division 2 course area, the first one to the east out of the ship
channel on the south side of the island. The level of competition
continues to improve and several of the top teams from the J/70 Worlds
in La Rochelle, France are participating. Like last year, the foreign
contingent continues to expand, with teams sailing from nine countries-
Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Finland, Spain, Norway,
and France! There are many new faces in the crowd that are
well-prepared, fast and smart. Will Jud Smith’s AFRICA continue to
maintain pace after winning the North Americans in San Diego? Or, will
the past two World Champions (Tim Healy’s HELLY HANSEN from Newport, RI
and Julian Fernandez’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO from Valle de Bravo, Mexico)
stay in the hunt for a podium finish? In either event, they will have
the 2015 Key West Midwinter Champion, Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK
from Pesaro, Italy, setting a blistering hot pace, too. Several J/70 contenders that have posted multiple top five finishes in major regattas include Doug Strebel’s BLACK RIVER RACING, Joel Ronning’s CATAPULT, Bob Hughes’ HEARTBREAKER, Tim Molony’s JOUST, Dan & Gannon Troutman’s PIED PIPER (5th @ KWRW 2015), Tom Bowen’s REACH AROUND, Peter Duncan’s RELATIVE OBSCURITY, John Brim’s RIMETTE, Brian Keane’s SAVASANA, Peter Vessella’s RUNNING WILD and Henry Filter’s WILD CHILD.
In
the world of handicap racing, the famous J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE from San
Francisco Bay will be sailing in IRC 2 Class on the Division 1 race
area. The class may be in for a shocker, as the DT gangster’s have
“four-peated” the Rolex Big Boat Series on the Bay, winning the IRC
Class against the hottest West Coast offshore teams.The ORC 1 Class will see two world-class J/122 teams vying for class honors- past Key West Champions TEAMWORK (with Robin Team on the helm) and Paul Milo’s ORION from Virginia (an Annapolis-Newport Race winner). They will be challenged by Peter Sulick’s J/100 SKYFALL from Naples, FL.
The ORC 2 Class has two J/80s dueling for class supremacy, including Peter Boland’s ACQUA VELOCE from San Francisco Bay and Henry DeGroot’s WIRED from Buzzards Bay.
Finally, the “just-for-fun” random-leg class called Performance Cruising will see Denise Imhoff’s J/22 FLEEBOFLAM from Ventura Sailing Club in California sailing against an enormous range of boats up to 58 feet long! Sailing photo credit- Steve Lapkin.com and Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing and Allen Clark/ Photoboat.com. For more Quantum Key West Race Week sailing information
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