Perfect Days in Paradise

Dobbs Davis gives us his treatise on the first two days of racing at Key West

Yes, a blatently promotional title meant to piss off those not here, but the first two days of racing here at Terra Nova Trading Key West Race Week could not have been much better. A vigorous jet stream and strong High pressure centre in the Midwest brought record low temperatures to most of the eastern half of the US, even here in Key West, though as people here say shorts are always preferable to snow shovels. And while a little chilly at 16degC, the shifty 8-14 knot northeasterlies under cloudless skies gave tacticians plenty to chew on, with no one team able to dominate in any of the more competitive classes.

Keelboat legend Vince Brun did a great job of guiding Crocodile Rock helmsman Scott Harris through the shifts and streaks of breeze on the first day to lead the Farr 40 class on an impressive 2-2 start to the week's scorecard.

The class of two dozen entries has its usual collection of all-star tacticians, some recently returned from Auckland, yet that experience alone has not guaranteed success. In fact, no one on George Andreadis' Atalanti XII was in Auckland, yet tactician Robbie Haines has led the team to scores of 3-1-2 in the last three races to capture the lead from Crocodile Rock at the end of play today.

Having Atalanti take the lead will seem like deja vu, since they've won not just the class but the overall Boat of the Week Trophy in the previous two years. But besides Crocodile Rock there are other class newcomers on the top of the leaderboard. Lying only one point out of second is Giovanni Arrivabenne and his Italian team on Bottadi Culo, only his second regatta after his debut at the Worlds in Nassau last November. Though an amateur competitor, Arrivabene has been active and successful in big boat sailing, most notably having steered the beautiful 12 metre Nyala to victory in the
Classic division at the America's Cup Jubilee.

Non-US entries are managing to dominate the Mumm 30 class, with Australian Richard Perini's team on Foreign Affair leading the Italians on Cristofori Pierpaolo's Printel-Wind. In third place, German Bent Dietrich's Rainbow has been enjoying their best regatta to date, while Diamuid Foley's Irish entry on Mammy! lies fourth.

In the Melges 24s, the entries are only a little fewer than last year's World Championship event held here, but like most other classes there are some fresh faces at the top of the standings. Bruce Ayres' Monsoon has managed to stay in the top ten, an impressive feat in the 57-boat fleet, while only three points back runner-up Franco Rossini's Blu Moon lies in wait.



An interesting sidebar in this class is Philippe Kahn and his son Samuel "Shark" Kahn are both campaigning their own Pegasus entries. The elder Kahn has had broad yachting interests, ranging from Transpac first-to-finish contenders, to Farr 40s, to Mumm 30s, to Melges 24s, and most recently to Finns. While many would start from one and graduate to another, Kahn has chosen the shotgun approach, training in several at the same time with high-profile coaching provided by talent such as multiple Gold Medalist Mark Reynolds.

Since the explosive growth and popularity of one-design sailing, it's been a few years now since a promising new design has debuted in Key West. Farr's new 36, however, has reversed this trend, showing fast, clean lines, lively performance, and several innovations in layout and design that has head's turning. Two were expected, but only one made the trip from builder DK Composites in Malaysia, with owner Markus Liala assisted by Peter Morton of Farr International UK. Complementing the boat's high-tech innovations are the Cuben Fibre sails made by Quantum.

The weather forecast indicates tomorrow's midweek racing will likely consist of light air frustration, but the sun will be shining and the temperatures may even reach bikini values...