It was a “classic” Key West day Thursday. After doing three races in strong winds on Thursday, there are no doubt a lot of sore muscles, aching bones and tired bodies for the sailors on Course 2 (J/70s) and Course 3 (J/88s, J/111s, J122s). Not that anyone was complaining. Light winds on Wednesday led to just one race on Division 2 and 3, and organizers with Premiere Racing were keen to make up for that on Thursday. So the six classes competing on those two courses were sent out an hour early so the race committee could take advantage of east-southeasterly winds that held steady between 10 and 15 knots. The wind was absolutely gorgeous, and also quite stable. We never moved a mark during a race all day, said Wayne Bretsch, principal race officer for Division 3. It was just a beautiful day for sailboat racing. It was surprising to see reigning J/70 World and North American champion Tim Healy sitting in 15th place two days into the regatta. PERSEVERANCE skipper Bennet Greenwald predicted that Healy would battle back to be there in the end and he was spot on. Healy and his crew aboard HELLY HANSEN have steadily climbed into second place in the 54-boat fleet, making a major move on Thursday thanks to a tremendous score line of 2-2-1. Tactician Geoff Becker, trimmer John Mollicone and bowman Gordon Borges comprise the crew aboard HELLY HANSEN, which trails class leader CALVI NETWORK (Carlo Alberini) by three points. Our starts werent great and some things didnt go our way, Healy said when asked about the slow start. Weve dug our way back by doing a little better job of playing the shifts and passing boats. Healy, president of North Sails One-Design, captured the J/70 class win at Quantum Key West in 2013 and 2014. The veteran professional said the fact he had to fight back into contention is further evidence the fleet is getting deeper and stronger. People are learning the boats while the crews are getting better with more experience, he said. Sailing photo credits- Sharon Green/ Ultimate Sailing; Steve Lapkin/ H2oShots; Ingrid Abery; Allen Clark/ Photoboat.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:14:42 +0000
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