Key West line up

A look across the board at the January trip to the Keys

With weeks to go before the final entry deadline, the entry list for Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica is already long on talent and strong on international and national representation. And the traditional last minute crush of entries is yet to descend. It will only get better.

Key West Race Week is so much more than a numbers game, but an early look at the current entries reveals some eye-popping stats. 50 foreign entries from no less than 18 different countries. New York’s 25 and California’s 18 entrants head a list representing 30 different states and eight 2007 class champions have already signed up to defend their titles.

North America’s annual gathering of international grand prix boats, high profile classes and sailing legends takes place January 21 – 25, 2008. The first entry deadline (for no late fee) is December 14.

Team Murka 2 typifies both the international flavor and level of talent that will be there. Successful owner/driver Mikhail Mouratov will helm his Hamble, UK based Swan 45 with advice from tactician Eddie Warden-Owen, who arrives fresh from his critical role as team coach of the Desafio Espanol America’s Cup team in 2007. This international crew has members from Russia, Belarus, the United Kingdom and Australia.

“It is a superb regatta at an ideal time of year with terrific competition and I look forward to joining Mikhail and the boys in January,” commented Warden-Owen.

The Swan 42 class will make its Key West one design class debut, with an impressive 12 boat fleet. Alex Jackson’s Amelia won the recent Swan 42 US National Championship. Jackson and tactician Brad Read will face a mix of Key West veterans and new comers.

Co-owners Glenn Darden and Philip Williamson are Key West veterans with a brand new Swan 42. They’ve added crew members and are looking forward to some great January training and racing. “Key West is at the top of our list and we’ve never found it hard to enlist crew to come down to the Keys in January”, reports Darden.

The high profile Farr 40 class will be warming up for their 2008 World Championship three months later in Miami. Already 24 boats from 10 different countries have entered. Current World Champion Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino heads an all star list that includes 2001 World Champion, 2007 Key West Champion and America’s Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi. It will be a Valencia reunion for many in the afterguard, which features names such as Barker, Butterworth, Hutchinson, Davies and Brady, to name just a few.

The talent laden Melges 24 class is again the biggest class in Key West. Riccardo Simoneschi took class and Acura Boat of the Week honors last January. He will be tested by perennial contenders Brian Porter, Dave Ullman and Bruce Ayers.

The Melges 32 class size keeps growing and will easily top last year’s 20-boat fleet total. Claudio Recchi and his crew on Let’s Roll, dominant in both Key West and Miami last year, will be back to defend. Past champions from other one design and handicap classes, including Michael Illbruck, Jim Swartz and Philippe Kahn, will try their hand in this increasingly competitive sport boat class.

The J/Boats presence in Key West will be as strong as ever with the J/105 and J/80 class leading the way. Expect to see over 30 J/105s on the starting line. A majority of the 2007 top 10 finishers are on the list and are no doubt hoping to unseat champion Tom Coates and Masquerade.

Rounding off the one design classes are a re-energized M 30 fleet and the Corsair 28R multihulls. Steve Marsh, last years Key West and Corsair 28R National Champion will be tactician on the Onsgard / Remmers Fifty-Fifty.

The international handicap rule, IRC, will again feature some intriguing new designs. Dan Meyers’ new IRC 68 Numbers (Rolf Vrolijk) and John Brim’s new 55’ Rima 2 (Riechel/Pugh) will battle in IRC 1 along with a unique scratch boat – the swing keel Wally 80 Highland Fling, driven by Irvine Laidlaw. Laidlaw is a 2-time Boat of the Week winner – on a Swan 53 in 1993 (PHRF) and Farr 60 in 1999 (IMS). Joining the big boat class will be Colm Barrington’s J/V 52 Flash Glove (replacing his IRC2 winning Ker 50 Magic Glove) and at least 4 TP52’s including John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti and Doug DeVos’ Windquest.

Two new smaller designs racing under the IRC rule will include the J/122 Christopher Dragon and the Sllim 37 No Naked Flames (Mark Mills) from Belfast, IRL.

The 2008 PHRF National Championship will again be decided in Key West. Last year’s close contest went to the Beneteau 10R NKE-Electronics from Annapolis, Maryland. Another Chesapeake Bay boat, Linda and John Edwards’ Rhumb Punch took a close second and class honors.

PHRF classes can’t be determined until after entries close. Key West is one regatta where boats hailing from as many as 20 different states leave their local fleets (and often their local handicaps) behind and come together for a true national competition. PHRF Consortium Chairman Bruce Bingman and Event Director Peter Craig welcome the challenge of determining event specific handicaps and establishing class splits that result in fair and competitive racing in all classes.

The Acura Grand Prix Awards, presented to the combined class winners of Acura Key West and the Acura Miami Grand Prix (March 6 - 9, 2008), are highly regarded trophies on the international racing circuit. Perpetual awards are in the offing to the Farr 40, Melges 32 and IRC classes.

Title Sponsor Acura is the Official Vehicle. Nautica is the Presenting Sponsor and Nautica Watches is the Official Timekeeper. Day Sponsor Mount Gay® Rum is the Official Rum. Lewmar (Official Marine Hardware) and Sperry Top-Sider (Official Footwear and Footwear Retailer) both recently upgraded to Day Sponsor. Supporting sponsors are B&G (Official Marine Electronics), Ceasar Marine (Official RIB), Keys Caribbean (Resort Community), New England Ropes (Official Rope), and SLAM (Official Technical Gear).

Acura Key West is also supported by The Florida Keys & Key West Tourism Council. The Historic Seaport at the Key West Bight is the Official Site.

Thirty-five Industry Partners bring their support through a program that is now in its 7th year.

For more information see the event website here.