KEY
WEST
2008
•
presented
by
Nautica
•
Volume
XXI,
Number
1
•
M o n d a y,
RaceWeekNews
January
21,
2008
Ken Stanek / kenstanek.com
ACURA
UNITED NATIONS
The competition in the 10-boat IRC 1 class will provide some very close racing on Division 2. Doug DeVos and his Windquest crew are back looking to improve on their 3rd place finish from last year. Five other TP52’s will join the Holland, Michigan entry in race week’s big boat class.
By Bill Wagner
R
acing programs from 18 different nations have gathered in this idyllic Key West sailing venue with a common goal of competing successfully against the world’s best. One quarter of this year’s entrants — a record 60 foreign boats — will compete in 12 of the 16 classes. It should come as no surprise that the Farr 40 class features 17 foreign entries from 10 different nations. “The global reputation of Acura Key West continues to grow as evidenced by the record number of foreign entries,” longtime event director Peter Craig said. “One would be hard pressed to find a year where there was more talent, with this 21st edition featuring an impressive list of champions from the America’s Cup, Olympic and Volvo Ocean Race arenas.” A quick glance at the scratch sheet tells that story — among the tacticians are Cayard, Barker, Butterworth, Bekking, Isler and Hutchinson to name but a few. International participation isn’t the exclusive domain of grand prix classes as demonstrated with foreign entries in the J/105, J/80, IRC 2, Corsair 28R, and three PHRF classes. Nations will unite to compete in the 11th annual International Team Competition for the Nautica Watches
trophy. This “side competition” with a focus on national pride will feature eleven 3-boat teams from the Farr 40, Melges 32 and Melges 24 classes. Team Switzerland is back to defend their 2007 title with Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi and Franco Rossini’s Blu Moon joined by Claudio Recchi’s Let’s Roll. The host nation and neighboring Canada can boast of diversity with a remarkable 35 states and 4 provinces represented this year. While it’s not surprising to see a good number of Florida boats (23), and popular coastal states like New York (31), California (22) and Maryland (17) leading the charge, it’s refreshing to have boats and owners hailing from states such as Alaska, Colorado, Missouri and Montana. Professional race management has been a hallmark of Premiere Racing events, in no small part due to the talent and experience of 4 long-time Principal Race Officers. They too come from across the country — Ken Legler (Massachusetts), Bruce Golison (California), Dave Brennan (Florida), and Wayne Bretsch (Maryland) — and their capable teams will again be managing the racing on Divisions 1–4 respectively. With true national representation it is only fitting that the PHRF National Championship be decided at
In the News: Sponsor Update . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Event Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Preliminary Scratch Sheets . 6-11 The Nautica Trophy . . . . . . . 13 Sponsor Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PHRF Championship Scoring . 17 Fun Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Acura Key West. Sixty boats divided into 6 classes will compete for the title with beautiful Chelsea Clocks awarded to the top 3 finishers. Bob Oberg’s (Annapolis, MD) Beneteau First 10 captured the inaugural championship by the slimmest of margins last year. The unique championship formula was created by Bruce Bingman and other members of the event’s PHRF Consortium, He expects the 2008 competition to be just as close this year. “Last year, three boats were in contention and it came down to the last race,” Bingman said. “It was so close that teams that had already clinched their class had to sail on the final day in order to maximize their point total.” The debut of new designs is always a much anticipated component of the Key West extravaganza. The list of new boats this year includes Dan Meyer’s Judel/ Vrolijk 66-footer Numbers, John Brim’s R/P55 Rima 2, a pair of new J/122s, the Mark Mills designed Sllim 37 and 2-time Boat of the Week winner Irvine Laidlaw with his latest Highland Fling, a swing keel Wally 80. There’s an even split of one design and handicap starts with 8 classes each, however, nearly 70% of the entries are racing in one design arena. Once again the Continued on next page.
Monday is Nautica Watches Day The Acura Trophy . . . . . . . . . . 2007 Champions . . . . . . . . . . . Shoreside Activities . . . . . . . . Afternoon Entertainment . . . Site Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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