Sunny Skies and Strong Breezes for Quantum Key West 2012

KEY WEST -- Quantum Key West 2012 got off to a roaring start as strong breeze and sunny skies greeted the fleet of 112 boats in 12 classes. Northeast winds that started off at 15 knots and built to 20-plus challenged crews on Sunday, the opening day of the 25th anniversary regatta, organized by Premiere Racing.

"It was a classic Key West day - beautiful weather with breeze on," said John Kilroy, skipper of the Melges 32 Samba Pa Ti. "These are the type of sailing conditions we all come down here for. We'd love to have a few more days like this."

That's because Kilroy and the Samba Pa Ti team performed extremely well in the heavy air, winning both races in the talent-laden 19-boat fleet. The California entry got a great start and led wire-to-wire in Race 1 then won a great battle with Hedgehog and Pisces in Race 2.

"We seem to have real good speed and our crew is sailing the boat well," said Kilroy, who has Italian Lorenzo Bressani aboard as tactician. "The second race was a real fight and we had a kite wrap that cost us some boats, but we were able to use our speed to come back."

Samba Pa Ti was among eight boats that posted a pair of bullets on Monday. Quantum Racing began the regatta in impressive fashion by topping the eight-boat IRC class, comprised entirely of state-of-the-art 52-foot racing machines. Skipper Doug DeVos did a superb job of driving the Botin Partners design while veteran professional Terry Hutchinson called tactics.

"You can't win the regatta on the first day, but you can certainly lose it. We're happy to have put up some good results to start off," Hutchinson said. "We have a great group of guys sailing the boat and they were spot-on today. We sailed really well in both races."

Quantum beat Vesper in Race 1 and PowerPlay in Race 2. Vesper, which won the 2009 Audi Med Cup while owned by Quantum Racing, has been optimized to the IRC rule by owner Jim Swartz and tactician Gavin Brady and showed great downwind speed. However, Vesper was unable to hoist a genoa in Race 2 and finished sixth.

"We've got a huge advantage on Quantum downwind so hopefully we can maximize that moving forward," said Brady, adding that shore crew had already fixed the headsail issue.

Breakages were common in the 52-foot class as Interlodge did not start the second race while Highland Fling did not finish it.

Ran, a Judel-Vrolijk 72 owned by Niklas Zenstrom of England, set the pace in the Mini Maxi class. British tactician Adrian Stead said this is the team's fourth season sailing the boat and the crew work was flawless.

"All of our maneuvers were very good. The lads really did a tremendous job," Stead said. "I thought we got the most out of the boat both upwind and downwind. We're just very pleased with our performance overall. You can't ask for more than two wins."

Members of the Ran shore crew who were on the water in a support boat were the true heroes of the day as there was a scary incident during Race 2. Keith Glynn, bowman aboard the Farr 40 Barking Mad, was thrown overboard when the boat got rocking in lumpy seas. Glynn knocked his head on a stanchion on the way over the side and was woozy in the water.

Troy Kennedy was piloting the Ran support boat and was in the vicinity near the downwind mark when word came over the radio about a man overboard. Teammate Barney Depledge spotted Glynn in the water just in time as the Irishman had been struggling and started going under. Depledge did not hesitate and dove into rescue the young man, who was taken to a medical center in Key West for observation.

"(Glynn) was exhausted and had swallowed a lot of water. If Barney hadn't jumped in he may not have made it," Kennedy said. "It was a pretty close call, but (Glynn) recovered on the way back to port and was in pretty good spirits."

New Zealand skipper Willem Wester has Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking aboard his Grand Soleil 46 as tactician and the two combined to sail Antilope to victory in both races. Meanwhile, British skipper Joe Woods and the Red team got the gun twice to take the early lead in Farr 400 class, which is making its debut at Quantum Key West 2012.

Other double winners on opening day were Groovederci (Deneen Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Cal.) in Farr 30 and West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes (Bora Gulari, Detroit, Mich.) in Melges 24 and the J/122 Teamwork (Robin Team, Lexington, N.C.) in the J Boats subclass.

Another Groovederci, a Farr 40 sailed by John Demourkas, was named Nautica Watches Boat of the Day. Groovederci overcame some problems to finish fourth in Race 1 then got the gun in Race 2 and leads by virtue of tiebreaker over the German entry Struntje Light (Wolfgang Schaefer). Linda Calvert presented the Boat of the Day trophy on behalf of Nautica Watches, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary as an Industry Partner for Key West Race Week.

"We had issues in the first race. I did a double tack and then we fouled the Turkish boat and had to do a 720. We were way, way back, but I had the best downwind run of my life and we rebounded to finish fourth, which really saved the day," said Demourkas, who has Cameron Appleton aboard as tactician. "Fortunately, I got over the jitters and sailed much better in the second race."

Forecasts call for strong winds again on Tuesday and organizers are hoping to complete three races, which would get the five-day regatta halfway to the stated goal of 10 races. Regatta dates are January 15 - 20, 2012.

Place, Yacht Name, Yacht Type, Owner/Skipper, City, State, Country, Results, Total Points

KWRW Division 1 Course

Mini Maxi (IRC 1) (IRC - 3 Boats)

1. Rán, JV 72, Niklas Zennstrom , Southampton, Hampshire, UK, 1-1;2

2. Numbers, JV 66, Daniel Meyers , Boston, MA, USA, 3-2;5

3. Shockwave, Reichel/Pugh, George Sakellaris , Framingham, MA, USA, 2-3;5

52 Class (IRC 2) (IRC - 8 Boats)

1. Quantum Racing, TP 52, Doug DeVos , Grand Rapids, MI, USA, 1-1;2

2. PowerPlay, IRC 52, Peter Cunningham , George Town, Grand Cayman, CAY, 3-2;5

3. Vesper, TP 52, Jim Swartz , Park City, UT, USA, 2-6;8

4. TeamOrigin 1851/ Team Bella Mente, TP 52, Hap Fauth , Minneapolis, MN, USA, 4-4;8

5. Mayhem, TP 52, Ashley Wolfe , Calgary, AB, CAN, 6-3;9

6. Anema & Core, JV 52, Ennio Staffini , Annapolis, MD, USA, 5-5;10

7. Highland Fling XII, IRC 52, Irvine Laidlaw , Monaco, Monaco, 7-9/DNF;16

8. Interlodge, IRC 52, Austin and Gwen Fragomen , Newport, RI, USA, 8-9/DNS;17

IRC 3 (Shared start with High Performance) (IRC - 5 Boats)

1. Antilope, Grand Soleil 46, Willem Wester , Breskens, Zeeland, NED, 1-1;2

2. Cool Breeze, Mills 43 Custom, John Cooper , Cane Hill, MO, USA, 3-2;5

3. Sarah, X-41, Greg Manning , Warwick, RI, USA, 2-4;6

4. White Gold, J 44, James D. Bishop Sr. , Jamestown, RI, USA, 4-3;7

5. Vitesse, Swan 42, Jon Halbert , Dallas, TX, USA, 5-6/DNF;11

Farr 40 (One Design - 7 Boats)

1. Groovederci, Farr 40, John Demourkas , Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 4-1;5

2. Struntje light, Farr 40, Wolfgang Schaefer , Lueneburg, GER, 2-3;5

3. Flash Gordon, Farr 40 , Helmut Jahn , Chicago, IL, USA, 1-5;6

4. Enfant Terrible, Farr 40, Rossi Alberto , Ancona, ITA, 7-2;9

5. Charisma, Farr 40, Nico Poons , Monaco, Monaco, 5-4;9

6. Barking Mad, Farr 40, James Richardson , Boston, MA, USA, 3-8/DNF;11

7. Provezza 8, Farr 40, Ergin Imre , USA, 6-6;12

Farr 400 (One Design - 5 Boats)

1. Red, Farr 400, Joe Woods , Torquay, Devon, UK, 1-1;2

2. Team Premier NorCal, Farr 400, H. Blackett & S. Shapiro , Piedmont & Palo Alto, CA, USA, 3-2;5

3. Meridian X, Farr 400, W.S. Shelhorse , Virginia Beach, VA, USA, 2-3;5

4. Spaceman Spiff, Farr 400, Rob Ruhlman , Cleveland, OH, USA, 5-4;9

5. BLADE, Farr 400, Mick Shlens , Palos Verdes Estates, CA, USA, 4-5;9

High Performance (Shared start with IRC 3) (ToT - 4 Boats)

1. Big Booty, Lutra 42, Pat Eudy , Charleston, SC, USA, 2-1;3

2. Carbonado, McConaghy 38, Rob & Sandy Butler , Collingwood, Ont, CAN, 1-3;4

3. Stray Dog, GP 42 B&C, Charles Engh , Lusby, MD, USA, 3-2;5

4. XS, Custom 41, Douglas Fisher , Sarasota, FL, USA, 4-5/DNS;9

KWRW Division 2 Course

Melges 32 (One Design - 19 Boats)

1. Samba Pa Ti, Melges 32, John Kilroy, Jr. , Los Angeles, CA, USA, 1-1;2

2. Hedgehog, Melges 32, Alec Cutler , Pembroke, BER, 4-2;6

3. Mascalzone Latino, Melges 32, Vincenzo Onorato , Milano, MI, ITA, 2-4;6

4. Pisces, Melges 32, Benjamin Schwartz , Brightwaters, NY, USA, 3-3;6

5. Catapult, Melges 32, Joel Ronning , Minneapolis, MN, USA, 5-6;11

6. Warpath, Melges 32, Stephen Howe , San Diego, CA, USA, 12-5;17

7. Sicktrix32, Melges 32, Geoffrey Pierini , Hopelawn, NJ, USA, 9-8;17

8. Mojo, Melges 32, Steve Rhyne , Seabrook, TX, USA, 6-12;18

9. Celeritas, Melges 32, Malcolm Gefter , Newport, RI, USA, 8-10;18

10. Swing, Melges 32, Keisuke Suzuki , Ashiya, Hyogo, JPN, 11-9;20

11. Robertissima 1, Melges 32, Roberto Tomasini Grinover , Lugano, SUI, 7-14;21

12. Heartbreaker , Melges 32, Robert Hughes , Ada, MI, USA, 10-13;23

13. Intac, Melges 32, Mark Plaxton , Tortola, BVI, 18-7;25

14. SLED, Melges 32, Takashi Okura , Tokyo, JPN, 14-11;25

15. Arethusa, Melges 32, Phil Lotz , Newport, RI, USA, 13-18;31

16. Flat Stanley, Melges 32, T. Sheehan / T. McSweeney , Cleveland, OH, USA, 15-16;31

17. Dark N'Stormy, Melges 32, Edward Tillinghast , New York, NY, USA, 17-15;32

18. Esmeralda, Melges 32, Makoto Uematsu , Tokyo, JPN, 16-19;35

19. Roxanne, Melges 32, Dario Galvão , Curitiba, PR, BRA, 19-17;36

Melges 24 (One Design - 15 Boats)

1. West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes, Melges 24, Bora Gulari , Detroit, MI, USA, 1-1;2

2. WTF, Melges 24, Alan Field , Los Angeles, CA, USA, 3-2;5

3. Blu Moon, Melges 24, Franco Rossini , Chiasso, SUI, 2-3;5

4. Monsoon, Melges 24, Bruce Ayres , Costa Mesa, CA, USA, 5-4;9

5. Battle Rhythm, Melges 24, Guy Mossman , Mt Pleasant, SC, USA, 4-7;11

6. Convexity, Melges 24, Don Wilson , Chicago, IL, USA, 6-5;11

7. Navega Racing, Melges 24, Kurt Winkelmann , New York, NY, USA, 8-6;14

8. Party Girl, Melges 24, Jens Altern Wathne , Loddefjord, Bergen, NOR, 7-8;15

9. Hot Mess, Melges 24, Rob Britts , St. Petersburg, FL, USA, 10-9;19

10. Black Seal, Melges 24, Richard Thompson , Castel, Guernsey, 9-12;21

11. Tramp, Melges 24, Thomas Ritter , Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA, 11-10;21

12. Zingara, Melges 24, Richard Reid , Toronto, ON, CAN, 13-11;24

13. Mojito, Melges 24, Catharine Evans , Annapolis, MD, USA, 12-13;25

14. Shockwave, Melges 24, Steven Boho , Lake Geneva, WI, USA, 14-14;28

15. Bologney Blowout!, Melges 24, Nate Duer , Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH, USA, 15-16/DNS;31

KWRW Division 3 Course

Farr 30 (One Design - 7 Boats)

1. Groovederci, Farr 30, Deneen Demourkas , Santa Barbara, CA, USA, 1-1;2

2. Theend, Farr 30, Richard Goransson , Stockholm, Ingaro, SWE, 2-2;4

3. Gotcha, Farr 30, Nate Tower , Baltimore, MD, USA, 3-3;6

4. Mummbles, Farr 30, Brad Kauffman , Annapolis, MD, USA, 4-4;8

5. Rhumb Punch, Farr 30, John and Linda Edwards , California, MD, USA, 5-5;10

6. Just Plain Nutz, Farr 30, Norm Dean , Pleasant Valley, NY, USA, 6-6;12

7. Farr 2 Tangley, Farr 30, Ron Switzer , Charlottetown, PE, Canada, 8/DNC-8/DNC;16

J 80 (One Design - 18 Boats)

1. Le Tigre, J 80, Darden Hillard , Fort Worth, TX, USA, 1-2;3

2. BAB - Team Gringo, J 80, Ryan Glaze , Rockwall, TX, USA, 2-3;5

3. Rocad Racing, J 80, Mikael Lindqvist , Bromma, SWE, 8-1;9

4. Bob Dylan, J 80, Mike Sudofsky , Marion, MA, USA, 3-6;9

5. Vayu 2, J 80, Ron Buzil , Evanston, IL, USA, 5-4;9

6. Savasana, J 80, Brian Keane , Weston, MA, USA, 4-5;9

7. Rumor, J 80, John Storck Jr , Huntington, NY, USA, 7-7;14

8. Tiamo, J 80, Bruno Pasquinelli , Dallas, TX, USA, 6-11;17

9. Church Key, J 80, Chris & Liz Chadwick , Annapolis, MD, USA, 9-8;17

10. CoolJ, J 80, Alexander Kraus , Alexandria, VA, USA, 11-9;20

11. Andale, J 80, Al Poindexter , Houston, TX, USA, 10-10;20

12. Courageous, J 80, Gary Panariello , Manhasset, NY, USA, 13-12;25

13. USA 11, J 80, Bert Carp , Annapolis, MD, USA, 12-13;25

14. Blind Faith, J 80, Kristen Berry , Annapolis, MD, USA, 17-14;31

15. Confederate Ram, J 80, Joe Corriher , Charlotte, NC, USA, 14-17;31

16. Bear Instinct, J 80, Dave Manheimer , Annapolis, MD, USA, 16-15;31

17. Willy T, J 80, Jeff Jordan , Annapolis, MD, USA, 15-16;31

18. Frivolous, J 80, Daniel Goldberg , Mamaroneck, NY, USA, 18-19/DNS;37

PHRF 1 (ToD) (PHRF - 10 Boats)

1. Teamwork, J 122, Robin Team , Lexington, NC, USA, 2-1;3

2. Tres Hombres, 1D35, Kitterman, Tyer, Ghormley , Seabrook, TX, USA, 1-3;4

3. Mental, J 111, Paul Stahlberg , Barrington, IL, USA, 3-2;5

4. Wicked 2.0, J 111, Douglas Curtiss , South Dartmouth, MA, USA, 4-4;8

5. Rush, J 109, Bill Sweetser , Annapolis, MD, USA, 5-5;10

6. Revolution, 1D35, Prelle, Buckner, Womack , Houston, TX, USA, 6-6;12

7. Hot Ticket, J 120, Mike Kirkman , Novi, MI, USA, 7-8;15

8. GameChanger, 1D35, Marcie & Dave Smith , Oakville, Ont, CAN, 9-7;16

9. Warlock, J 111, Tom Hickey , St. John's, NL, CAN, 8-11/DNF;19

10. Heat Wave, J 109, Gary Weisberg , Gloucester, MA, USA, 10-9;19

PHRF 2 (ToD) (PHRF - 11 Boats)

1. Tangent, Cape Fear 38, Gerry Taylor , Annapolis, MD, USA, 2-1;3

2. L'Outrage, Beneteau 10m Finot/Faus, Bruce Gardner , Annapolis, MD, USA, 1-2;3

3. Max Power, J 105, Gerrit Schulze , Voorhees, NJ, USA, 4-3;7

4. Kalevala II, Grand Soleil 37 B&C, Tapio Saavalainen , Washington, DC, USA, 3-4;7

5. Island Flyer, Wauquiez Centurion 40s, Denny Manrique , Tonka Bay, MN, USA, 6-5;11

6. Renegade, Soverel 33, Jim & Julia Graham , Annapolis, MD, USA, 5-6;11

7. Still Crazy, J 95, Ed Palm , Grosse Pointe Shores, MI, USA, 7-7;14

8. Waco Kid, Jeaneau Sunfast 3200, Martin Grow , Rensselaer, IN, USA, 10-8;18

9. Bond ...James Bond, J 80, Dave Whealon , Fond du Lac, WI, USA, 8-10;18

10. Caribbean Soul 2, Mac 30, David McAleer , West Chester, PA, USA, 9-11;20

11. Nanuq, Sabre 426, Glenn Doncaster , Raleigh, NC, USA, 12/DNF-9;21

J Boats Subclass (ToT) (ToT - 7 Boats)

1. Teamwork (J), J 122, Robin Team , Lexington, NC, USA, 1-1;2

2. Mental (J), J 111, Paul Stahlberg , Barrington, IL, USA, 2-2;4

3. Wicked 2.0 (J), J 111, Douglas Curtiss , South Dartmouth, MA, USA, 3-3;6

4. Rush (J), J 109, Bill Sweetser , Annapolis, MD, USA, 4-4;8

5. Hot Ticket (J), J 120, Mike Kirkman , Novi, MI, USA, 5-5;10

6. Heat Wave (J), J 109, Gary Weisberg , Glouchester, MA, USA, 7-6;13

7. Warlock (J), J 111, Tom Hickey , St. John's, NL, CAN, 6-8/DNF;14