Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard FD July August September 2023

Quantum Key West Race Week - Day 2

by Storm Trysail Club 18 Jan 2017 17:56 AEDT 15-20 January 2017

Lewmar Day won by J/88 Hijinks as conditions continue to provide thrilling racing

To the delight of the more than 600 sailors competing in the 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week, Day 2's racing nearly mirrored Day 1's memorable conditions.

Today, Lewmar Day, offered more stellar racing in 15- to 20-knot winds amid sunny skies and warm air temperatures. To borrow from a familiar phrase, "Race. Rinse. Repeat."

"It was another challenging, windy day, but these are the conditions you expect down here," said Kris Werner (Rochester, NY), tactician for Laura Weyler's (Williamsville, NY) J/88 Hijinks. "We made the comment sailing in both days to take a look around: it's just beautiful here. We've had two perfect days of sailing and couldn't ask for more. It's been great."

Hijinks is Weyler's first boat. She's never competed at race week before and today is a day that will live in her memory forever. Hijinks was named Boat of the Day after posting victories in both races. The crew now has the low score of 5 points and leads Ryan Ruhlman's (Bratenahl, OH) Spaceman Spiff by 6 points.

"This is very exciting," said Weyler. "I have an outstanding crew."

"It was her idea to come here and do this and get the whole Key West Race Week experience," said Werner. "It's a little beyond her skill set to handle the boat on the start line so she's crossing the rail and soaking it all in."

Ruhlman's father, Rob Ruhlman (Cleveland, OH), sailing the J/111 Spaceman Spiff, said that conditions like today are what keeps him coming back year after year. "I've done race week 15 or 20 times and like the format. I like that it's not a two- or three-day regatta. It's always a great experience. Very few places are like Key West," said Rob Ruhlman.

With two 2nds today, Spaceman Spiff leads the J/111 Class with the low score of 7 points. Peter Wagner's (Atherton, CA) Skeleton Key, the defending class champion, moved up to second by winning both of today's races and trails by 6 points.

"Our buddies on Skeleton Key sailed really well today," said Rob Ruhlman. "I'm happy that we were able to dig out of a few holes. We dug out from 4th or 5th at the windward mark in the first race and had a bad start in the second race. The racecourse seemed very open. There was no particular emphasis on one side or the other."

As for staying ahead of Skeleton Key, Rob Ruhlman said, "We beat them both times yesterday, so they can be beat. They're a good team, but this class is very good. The boats are incredibly evenly matched; it's close, tight racing. The winner is usually the team that doesn't make mistakes. It's very difficult from a boatspeed standpoint to make up lost ground."

In the Flying Tiger 7.5m Nigel Brownett's (Long Beach, CA) Hogfish Racing won both of today's races and has a 1-2-1-1 scoreline, good for a 4-point lead over Brian Tyrell's (Benton City, WA) 04. Brownett is sailing with longtime friends Andrew Kerr (Seattle, WA), Jahn Tihansky (Annapolis, MD) and Paul Molenda (Chicago, IL).

"We're still getting up to speed on the boat but seem to be getting a handle on it," said Brownett, who admitted to being a bit banged up by the conditions. "There was huge wind yesterday and today. It's typical Key West sailing, the stuff you come to expect and why we come here."

In the 52 Super Series, Ergin Imre's Provezza IX from Turkey, with Peter Holmberg of the U.S. Virgin Islands driving and Tony Rey (Middletown, RI) calling tactics, had the low score of the day with 4 points from two 2nd-place finishes and climbed up to fifth in the standings with 21 points. Harm Müller Spreer's Platoon from Germany leads with 14 points.

"We had a discussion on the way out about how badly we had done the day before and set our goal for ourselves to back each other and be a team and to rebuild our confidence and get back on the horse," said Holmberg, a past match racing world champion. "The team did an awesome job. We sailed the boat really well and got some good results."

Todd Stuart's (Key West, FL) White Rhino (Swan 56) won the lone race in the Performance Cruising Class. White Rhino finished 30 minutes ahead of Ken Johnson's (Stoughton, WI) Grateful Red and corrected out to a 13-minute victory.

"We're switching up the crew positions every race," said Matthew Mullan, the boat captain. "We're worried that if the wind gets lighter our friends on Grateful Red will bring out their new sails and give us a run. They don't want to use the new sails in winds over 20 knots and the mainsail they're using has done at least two trans-Atlantic crossings."

The ORC Class saw Alex Sastre's (Coconut Grove, FL) High Noise (Italia Yachts 9.98m) take the daily win with a 3-1. High Noise moved up to third in the standings, but Chris and Karen Lewis' (Houston, TX) Kenai (J/44) and J.D. Hill's (Houston, TX) Second Star (J/122) still hold 1-2 in the overall standings, separated by 2 points.

In the J/70 Class, Carlo Alberini's Calvi Network from Italy posted another solid 1-2-5 and leads with the low score of 14 points. Tim Healy's (Jamestown, RI) New England Ropes holds second with 26 points while Glenn Darden's (Fort Worth, TX) Hoss is third with 36 points.

Dan Cheresh (Saugatuck, MI) Extreme2 also put up some more steady finishes, going 1-3-1 on the day to lead the the C&C 30 One Design class with the low score of 8 points, good for an 8-point lead over Kip Meadows' (Raleigh, NC) RoXanne.

Racing resumes tomorrow with the first warning signal for all three divisions scheduled at 11:00 am. For more information, please visit the Quantum Key West Race Week web site at www.keywestraceweek.com.

Related Articles

Rolex Fastnet: Steady conditions expected
Competitiors are expected to start in a 12-14kt Westerly and assisted by the easterly tide. Predictwind's metrologist Arnaud Monges expects the Rolex Fastnet Race to get underway in a 12-14kts WSW breeze, with a building current from an easterly direction. Using weather routing we have predicted finish times for the Ultims and AC25 yachts. Posted today at 1:05 am
Fastnet Race 2025 | Pre-Race Interviews
Interviews with Gordon and Charlie Maguire, David Witt, Mark Bradford, and Luke Parkinson Interviews with Gordon and Charlie Maguire, David Witt, Mark Bradford, and Luke Parkinson Posted today at 12:19 am
Fastnet Race 2025 | David Griffith and Whisper
Discover the motivation for entering Whisper in the Fastnet Race and getting boat to the UK David Griffith's JV62, Whisper, is in the UK for the Fastnet. Discover the motivation for entering Whisper in the Rolex Fastnet Race and the logistics of getting the boat to England, as well as hear from crew member Jules Hall. Posted today at 12:09 am
Admiral's Cup 2025 | Zen's a winner!
Big day. Big results. A bullet marks a special day... The end of racing, and only the Fastnet to come. Zen collects a bullet from the final three inshore races. Posted today at 12:04 am
Rolex Fastnet Race/Admirals' Cup: Big questions
"So far we've under performed as a boat in the Admirals' Cup. We're looking to put that right." The defending Rolex Fastnet champion, Caro (NZL) faces some big questions given their performances to date in the Admirals' Cup. However the Botin 52 has a reputation for scoring strongly in longer offshore racing - will they repeat in 2205? Posted on 25 Jul
Canada's entry into the iconic Rolex Fastnet Race
Team Be Water Positive returns to settle unfinished business Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive will line up this weekend for the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race, one of the most iconic offshore races in the world. Posted on 25 Jul
Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam Day 7
Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title Sarah-Quita Offringa survives Super Final scare to earn 16th Freestyle world title and 27th overall, while Yentel Caers powers to victory in Men's. Posted on 25 Jul
Vaikobi V-DRY-X Team Kit
We speak to Pat Langley and Bart Milczarczyk V-DRY-X is a major launch for the Australian technical clothing brand Vaikobi, launching into the yacht racing team market with high performance outer layer clothing specifically designed to be customised with the branding and colours of that team. Posted on 25 Jul
Admiral's Cup Tom Hicks Thursday Photo Gallery
He is always ready to capture Solent action Tom Hicks is always ready to capture Solent action, and the Admiral's Cup naturally delivered. These shots are from Thursday 24th July 2025. Posted on 25 Jul
WASZP Games 2025 Day 4 Photo Gallery
A snapshot of the day by Mark Jardine It was a case of grabbing the wind and sunshine while it lasted on Day 4 of the 2025 WASZP Games, and each of the fleets got a bit of racing in before the rain started to fall and the breeze died away. Posted on 25 Jul
Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTERExcess CatamaransSwitch One Design