Key West 2010, ribalta italiana
Farr 40Melges 24Melges 32MonotipiaVela 20 Gennaio 2010 Zerogradinord 0
[singlepic id=4862 w=300 h=204 float=left]Key West 2010 – Key West – Secomda giornata di regate a Key West, dov’è in corso di svolgimento la Key West Race Week. Il favore delle condizioni meteo ha permesso di portare a termine altre due prove per ognuna delle classi impegnate tra le boe del primo evento della stagione 2010.
Due quarti hanno permesso a Joe Fly di rompere l’equilibrio al comando della flotta Farr 40. Lo scafo di Giovanni Maspero conduce ora la graduatoria con un punto di margine au Nerone di Migliori-Vascotto, premiato con il titolo di Boat of the Day grazie a un primo e un terzo che gli hanno permesso di mettere nel cassetto dei ricordo il decimo rimediato solo ventiquattro ore prima. La giornata non è stata delle migliori per Struntje Light, scivolato in terza posizione dopo aver assaporato i piaceri della vetta.
Cambio della guardia anche tra i ventidue Melegs 32, dove Samba Pa Ti, nome storico degli scafi armati da John Kilroy, ha sopravanzato di un punto Ramrod di Rod Jabin, comunque in piena lotta per il successo. Protagonista della giornata è stato anche l’equipaggio di Calvi Network di Carlo Alberini che, grazie a un primo e un ottavo, ha scalato svariate posizioni portandosi a ridosso del podio provvisorio a soli sei punti dalla vetta. Stenta invece a trovare il giusto passo Fantastika di Lanfranco Cirillo, relegato ancora oltre la decima posizione.
Resiste invece Uka Uka Racing al comando della flotta Melges 24, anche se l’equipaggio di Lorenzo Bressani divide la piazza con WTF di Alan Field, risalito dalla terza posizione a spese di Blu Moon, incappato in un nono che al momento lo relega a sei punti di distanza dalla coppia di testa. Qualora i trend dovessero confermarsi tali anche dopo il conteggio dello scarto, nella lotta per il podio potrebbe inserirsi anche Hoodlum Racing di Paul Hulsey, l’unico scafo che sino ad ora è stato capace di tenere il passo del gruppetto dei migliori.
Sentito in banchina
Vasco Vascotto, tattico di Nerone: “Oggi abbiamo regatato veramente bene è stata una giornata in cui siamo riuscito a fare le cose semplicemente e bene, gestendo situazioni difficili con molta tranquillità, adesso dobbiamo rimanere concentrati per comntinuare a far bene sino alla fine”.
Per consultare i risultati clicca qui.
KEY WEST 2010, LEAD CHANGE ON DAY TWO
[Key West 2010 Press Release] Another day of good wind brought two more races and a shakeup in some of the standings in many of the 11 classes at Key West 2010, presented by Nautica.
A northeast wind that started off at seven knots and built to 13 allowed organizers with Premiere Racing to remain on schedule for a 10-race regatta. Some of the professionally-crewed grand prix classes saw the overall lead change hands while other classes saw the opening day pace-setters strengthen their grip on first place.
Joe Fly, an Italian entry skippered by Giovanni Maspero posted a pair of fourths on Tuesday to take over the lead in Farr 40 class. Francesco Bruni is calling tactics on Joe Fly, which began the day in third and now leads fellow Italian boat Nerone by one point.
Nerone, skippered by Massimo Mezzaroma of Punta Ala, had a terrific Tuesday with a first and a third to jump from sixth to second in the overall standings. Vasco Vascotto is tactician on Nerone, which was named Sperry Top-Sider Boat of the Day.
Struntje Light, skippered by Wolfgang Schaefer of Germany, fell out of first place despite winning Race 3. Schaefer was remained optimistic despite falling to third overall due to an 11th in Race 4.
“Of course, we are very happy to be in the game. We came here to get some experience in the new boat and so far our boat speed has been very good,” said Schaefer, who took delivery of a Farr 40 formerly owned by Peter de Ridder a few days before the regatta.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark had planned to compete in Farr 40 class at Key West 2010, but wound up having to attend the World Future Energy Summit in the United Arab Emirates. However, the prince still entered his boat and has been following the results very closely each day. He was no doubt thrilled to see that Nanoq won Race 3 on Tuesday with Anders Myralf on the helm and Volvo Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking calling tactics.
“We wish Frederik was here to enjoy this win with us, but we understand that he has to take care of his official work as prince,” Myralf said.
Nanoq’s crew has not sailed together since the Farr 40 European Championship in Sardinia so that is why Prince Frederik felt it was important for the boat to race at Key West. Tuesday’s victory brought some positive reinforcement about Nanoq’s new rig setup.
“We had a very good start, hit the first couple shifts and rounded the first mark just ahead of Joe Fly. We then had a very good downwind leg and were able to extend the lead to five boat lengths at the bottom mark. We just covered the fleet from there,” Myralf said.
Barking Mad, skippered by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I., rallied from last in the 12-boat fleet to fifth in a race for the second straight day and is fourth overall.
In the Melges 32 class, John Kilroy and his team aboard Samba Pa Ti had a superb day on the water and vaulted from third to first in the 22 boat class. Stu Bannatyne is calling tactics while fellow pro Morgan Reeser is trimming the main for Kilroy, who won Race 4 and placed fourth in Race 3 to move ahead of Monday leader Ramrod (Rod Jabin, Annapolis) by a point.
“We had confidence in our boat speed based off of yesterday so today wanted to have good clean starts so we could get clear lanes,” Kilroy said. “We were seventh at the last mark in the first race and rallied to get a fourth. We got a great start in the second race and were able to just extend and extend. Stu did a great job on tactics today while Morgan and Sam Rogers did a great job of trimming.”
This is only the fifth Melges 32 event for Kilroy, who has competed in Key West with a Farr 40 and a TP52 among other designs. The Malibu, California resident loves the exciting sport-boat and said the competition in the class is intense.
“This fleet is so close that one small mistake can cost you 10 or 15 boats. It’s the outhouse or the penthouse and you just have to try to stay in between and hope to be there at the end,” he said.
There is a new leader in the 21-boat Melges 24 class as well with Alan Field and his USA-587 team moving into a tie with Uka Uka Racing. Former College of Charleston All-American Steve Hunt is calling tactics for Field, a California resident who won Race 3 on Tuesday then tacked on a fourth in Race 4.
“It’s pretty shifty out there so it’s important to be in the front row and able to control your own destiny. Alan won the start (in Race 3) and that allowed me to play the shifts better,” said Hunt, who spent seven years mounting an Olympic campaign in 470 class. “Our boat speed is pretty decent and we really improved our tacking today.”
Field finished a somewhat disappointing 11th at the Melges 24 Worlds in October and Hunt admitted a win in Key West would help ease the sting of that result. “At the worlds Alan had a little trouble getting off the line, but here in Key West he is starting the boat much better, which makes a huge difference.”
Uka Uka Racing, the Italian entry owned by Lorenzo Santini and helmed by Lorenzo Bressani, now has an impressive series line of 2-1-2-5. Tactician Jonathan McKee, a Seattle native, said strategy and boat-handling have been paramount in the shifty conditions. “It’s not really about boat speed and much more about positioning,” he said. “Today was less shifty than yesterday, but it still wasn’t totally obvious which side of the course was favored.”
To read the results click here.
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