European teams fight back

Laurie Fullerton reports from day two of the Acura Miami Race Week (formerly the SORC)

A building southerly breeze matched the momentum of Acura Miami Race Week today when 12 classes vied for top positions over three courses between Biscayne Bay and the Gulf Stream.

Surging numbers of top professional and amateur sailors and large fleets locked in tight racing over four days indicate the renaissance of Acura Miami Race Week [formerly the SORC] is on with attendance more than doubling this year with 1,200 sailors and 142 boats.

Teams from Europe, Canada and twenty-two states throughout the USA vied for position today in strong one-design and PHRF fleets ranging from the state-of-the art Transpac 52 to the classic Etchell.

“We are encouraged at the revitalization of this regatta and we are all here to see this event grow,” said Dan Meyers who is in first place in the PHRF 1 division on his Farr 60 Numbers and is sailing with a core group from Team Alinghi including tactician Brad Butterworth.

The light and unpredictable wind in the early stages of the first race created a reversal of fortune for the European teams in the Farr 40 fleet as Atalanti owned by Stratis Andreadis fell a notch to third place behind Peter de Ridders’ Mean Machine and German Wolfgang Stolz aboard Opus One who is in second place.

In the Transpac 52 fleet, Bambakou owned by John Coumantaros leads the regatta by a mere point over Michael Brennan's Sjambok. “We sailed the boat beautifully but we made a few mistakes that set us back the point,” said Brennan. “If we don’t make any mistakes we have a good chance to come back tomorrow.”

The Etchell fleet made their debut race today with local Miami sailor Scott Piper in the lead by 6 points. “It is fabulous to see a Miami sailor do so well against such a competitive group,” said Principal Race Officer David Brennan. “Scott is a great sailor on the local scene but he is doing extremely well out there against some of the best."

The J/105 fleet wrapped up their first day with three races with Thomas Coates leading by one point.

The tough Melges-24 fleet had tight racing in three races with Jeff Ecklund from Ft. Lauderdale leading by one point.

In the PHRF-3, Gordon Schiff is holding his lead by two points while the J World Racing Team from Annapolis is leading PHRF-4 by two points.

Teams who participate in Acura Miami Race Week along with Key West Race Week are also gaining 2005 Florida Grand Prix awards judged by cumulative points over the two regattas. Currently, the Transpac 52 Michael Brennan's Sjambok and Peter De Ridder's Farr 40 Mean Machine are in contention for a grand prix award and remain in a top position after the second day of racing. The Melges 24 and J/105 fleets are also competing for a Grand Prix award.

“The Grand Prix award combining Key West Race Week and Acura Miami Race Week is a great idea,” Butterworth said. “It would be great to see this become a southern swing from Key West heading north to Miami and on.”

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