1. Le Tigre      G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX)      2-10-2-2-6-3-1-1-2-5  34 
 2. Little Feat   Jeff Johnstone     (Newport, RI)       7-7-1-1-4-4-6-3-1-1   35
 3. Rascal        Will Welles        (Newport, RI)       1-3-3-8-5-7-2-5-5-2   41

 9. Kicks         Rose/O'Sullivan    (Seabrook, TX)   9-6-12-3-11-11-4-11-13-12  92

Joe Fly put forth a tremendously consistent effort by finishing fourth or better in 8 of 10 races to total 35 points, six better than runner-up Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I.). "We are quite pleased with our performance. We were by far the fastest boat in the fleet in all conditions. We had a little luck with catching shifts, but our success was due mostly it was our boat speed and crew work."

Farr 40
 1. Joe Fly      Giovanni Maspero    (Rome, ITA)          4-3-4-4-5-2-3-1-3-6   35
 2. Barking Mad  James Richardson    (Newport, RI)        2-5-8-5-7-5-2-3-2-2   41
 2. Nerone       Massimo Mezzaroma   (Punta Ala, ITA)    10-2-3-1-10-1-1-11-1-3 43

Blu Moon helmsman Flavio Favini needed to win the last race and have UKA UKA Racing take third or worse in order to snag the overall victory. At one point in the last race, Favini had put Alan Field’Äôs WTF between Blu Moon and UKA UKA Racing. However, the Italian team rallied on the last leg to win the last race along with the regatta.

"It was unbelievable racing, very close and tense. It was a tough day because Favini match raced with us. There was a moment when he was winning the regatta, but we were able to maintain our concentration and pull it out," said Bressani, who praised the work of tactician Jonathan McKee.

Blu Moon, which had Tiziano Nava aboard as tactician, was runner-up for the second straight year despite winning four races and placing second or third in four others within the 21-boat fleet. "We tried very hard and almost made it, but UKA UKA sailed well all week and deserved to win," Favini said. "They had a little better speed than us upwind and it seemed like every time they made a choice about which side of the course to take it was correct call."

Melges 24 (with discard) - Mid-Winter Championship
 1. UKA UKA Racing   Lorenzo Santini  (Porto Civitanova, ITA) 2-1-2-(5)-1-3-2-1-2-1   15
 2. Blu Moon         Franco Rossini   (Lugano, SUI)           1-4-(9)-2-3-1-1-3-1-2   18
 3. WTF              Alan Field       (Marina del Rey, CA)    3-2-1-4-2-4-3-(8)-3-3   25

Melges 32, John Kilroy's 'Samba Pa Ti' Wins Key West Race Week Melges 32 Division, Named 'Boat Of The Week'

Key West, Fla. - Congratulations to John Kilroy (Malibu, Calif.) on USA-13131 Samba Pa Ti is 2010 Key West Race Week Melges 32 Champion. Along for the sweet ride was Stu Bannatyne calling tactics, Morgan Reeser, Sam Rogers (back-to-back winner), Shana Rosenfeld Phelan, Eric Dorman, Alan Nakanishi and Justin Smart. The energy was pure electricity as Samba accepted honors at tonight's Premiere Racing Yachting awards.

Adding feathers to Kilroy's cap, true icing on the cake, Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti was also named Boat of the Week, a prestigious award at Key West Race Week. Kilroy simply crushed the competition with an unprecedented 18-point advantage over second place finisher Joe Woods (Torquay, UK) on GBR-700 Red. For Woods, second place is bittersweet. This is the second year in a row that Woods has found his Red team, comprised of Paul Goodison on tactics, Dave Lenz, Shane Hughes, Simon Hughes, Jamie Binmore, Chris Cooper and Conner Myant, in second overall at the end of the day. Woods is an extraordinary competitor and a definite class favorite. Without a doubt, sooner or later it is certain he'll find the winner's circle in Key West.

In third overall is none other than Italy's Lanfranco Cirillo (Torri del Benac, Italy) on ITA-212 Fantastica. Cirillo had a tough start to the week, but worked his way steadily up the leaderboard for a great finish. Sailing with Cirillo is tactician Michele Paoletti, Daniele De Luca, Claudio Celon, Riamondo Tonelli, Manuel Giubellini, Eros Paghera and Enrico Verdinelli.

On the final day of racing the fleet was more than content with the warm temperatures and sunshine, however longed for the Thursday’Äôs breezy conditions. Instead, they were forced to deal with light and fickle air that progressively got lighter and trickier. The first start dealt only 5-8 knots with Kilroy looking to have a nice lane upwind. Kilroy's next closest challengers Rod Jabin (Annapolis, Md.) on USA-201 Ramrod took the pin end, and Marty Kullman (Tampa, Fla.) on USA-131 New Wave looked to get a jump up the middle. Jabin assumed the early lead, with a full court press from Woods. On the final upwind leg, Woods overtook Jabin’Äôs lead and won. Jabin was second and Alex Jackson (Riverside, Conn.) on USA-174 Leenabarca was third. Cirillo finished fourth, Kilroy held fast in fifth.

The second race of the day only provided further unsettled breeze as the race committee was continually squaring up the course. In addition, as the wind diminished the course was shortened. Race two, the final race in the ten Key West Race Week Series, started out at 210 with a length of 1.6 nm. Yukihiro Ishida (Toyko, Japan) on JPN-203 Yasha Samarai rebounded from their dissappointing 20th in race one of the day to lead the fleet around the first mark. Kilroy rounded in a solid second position, confirming that his team was the one to beat. Carlo Alberini (Pesaro, Italy) on ITA-186 Calvi Network pulled up into second. Stuart Simpson (London, UK) on GBR-84845 Team Barbarians had an impressive day trying to secure the third place position. Ishida held on for the win with Alberini in second and Simpson holding in for third.

John Kilroy and the Samba Pa Ti team completed an impressive run in the Melges 32 class, largest of the regatta with 22 boats. Stu Bannatyne called tactics while Morgan Reeser and Sam Rogers served as trimmers aboard Samba, which took the lead on Tuesday and never relinquished it - ultimately winning three races en route to an 18-point margin of victory over Red (Joe Woods, Great Britain).

"It's all about the team, which for me starts with Fuzz Foster of North Hawaii and the help he gives us with the sail program," Kilroy said. "The racing team did a tremendous job all week. We were very fast and very consistent in all conditions." Kilroy has enjoyed success in the Farr 40 and TP52 classes before moving into the Melges 32 and coming away with a major title in only his fifth event. There was an added bonus for the Malibu, California resident as Samba Pa Ti was named Boat of the Week.

"That is a tremendous honor and a tribute to the class. This fleet is very competitive with a lot of outstanding teams and a lot of great sailors," Kilroy said. "You really have to work hard to win in the Melges 32 class." Williamson steered White Heat to victory in four of 10 races en route to a final score of 27 points, nine better than IRC 2 runner-up Cool Breeze. The Summit 40 took the lead away from early pacesetter Pugwash (David Murphy, J/122) on Wednesday then held off a late charge by Cool Breeze (John Cooper, Mills 43). Simon Shaw called tactics while Will Howden (jib, spinnaker) and Tim Dawson (main) trimmed for Williamson, who splits his time between London and New Castle, New Hampshire. "It was a great team effort all around," said Williamson, whose previous best finish at Key West was a third in a PHRF class. "It was a great regatta, excellent competition and very tough sailing."

Top Ten Results
 1.  Samba Pa Ti,   John Kilroy       (Malibu, CA)           [14]-1-4-1-11-1-3-6-5-4         36
 2.  Red,           Joe Woods         (Torquay, GBR)          9-6-[19]-6-5-10-1-5-1-11       54
 3.  Fantastica,    Lanfranco Cirillo (Torri del Benac, ITA) [18]-8-12-9-4-4-4-2-4-10        57 
 4.  New Wave,      Michael Carroll   (Clearwater, FL)        2-13-13-3-14-3-2-1-14-[21]     65
 5.  Leenabarca,    Alex Jackson      (Riverside, CT)        [20]-2-7-11-3-15-10-10-3-5      66
 6.  STAR,          Jeff Ecklund      (FtLauderdale, FL)      1-9-[15]-10-7.4-15-8-7-9       68.4
 7.  Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini    (Pesaro, ITA)          12-5-1-8-10-7-16-[19]-9-2       70
 8.  Ramrod,        Rodrick Jabin     (Annapolis, MD)         3-3-11-4-[18]-9-8-17-2-18      75
 9.  Heartbreaker,  Robert Hughes     (Macata Bay, MI)        5-12-6-2-12-14-14-3-[15]-7     75
10.  Yasha Samarai  Yukihiro Ishida   (Toyko, JPN)           11-16-8-7-1-5-17-18-[20]-1      84

Interlodge, owned by Austin Fragomen of New York, captured the TP52 sub-class. Massachusetts-based Bill Lynn called tactics for Fragomen, who was competing in just his second regatta aboard the Judel-Vrolijk design. "We are very pleased to be the top TP52. It was a very tough class and all the boats were sailed extremely well,’Äù Fragomen said. ’ÄúWe learned a lot about our boat this week. It was a nice long regatta with a good mix of conditions."

 1.  Bella Mente:    Hap Fauth       (Newport, R.I)    [Reichel-Pugh 66]  1-1-1-1-1-3-1-1-6-1  17 pts. 
 2.  Highland Fling  Irvine Laidlaw  (Monaco, MON)     [Wally 82]         2-4-4-3-3-4-3-2-1-2  28 
 3.  Interlodge      Austin Fragomen (New York, NY)    [TP52]             4-2-2-2-4-2-2-5-2-5  30 
 4.  Decision        Stephen Murray  (New Orleans, LA) [TP52]             5-3-6-5-6-1-4-4-4-3  41

 1.  White Heat   Mike Williamson (Newprt, RI)     [Summit 40] 1-2-5-4-1-4-5-1-1-3   27 pts
 2.  Cool Breeze  John Cooper     (Cane Hill, MO)  [Mills 43]  6-3-7-6-3-3-2-2-2-2   36 
 3.  Pugwash      David Murphy    (Newport, RI)    [J/122]     2-1-1-2-7-7-3-5-7-5   40 
 4.  Vitesse      Jon Halbert     (Dallas, TX)     [Swan 42]   5-5-6-8-4-2-4-6-3-1   44

 1.  Merlin      Bob Harkrider    (Sarasota,FL)    [Gulfstream 35]:    1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1   10 pts
 2.  Tobiko      Tom Britton      (Peru, VT)       [C.Sprint]:         3-2-2-2-2-3-5-4-2-3   28
 3.  Strategy V  Cliff Farrah     (Destin, FL)     [C.Sprint]:         2-4-3-4-5-4-3-2-3-5   35

 4.  Overdo      John Novak       (Collyville, TX) [Corsair 28R]:   8raf-3-4-5-4-2-4-5-5-4   44

 1. Stark Raving Mad  James Madden          (Oyster Bay, NY) [J/125]     1-1-1-1-1-1-2-4-1-1 14 pts
 2. Mariners Cove     Royal Cork Yacht Club (Cork, IRL)      [Summit 35] 3-2-5-4-2-2-4-1-6-2 31
 3. Rhumb Punch       John/Linda Edwards    (Solomons, MD)   [Farr 30]   2-4-3-3-4-3-5-3-4-4 35

 1. Bluto             Berges / Hall         (Bokeelia, FL)  [Evelyn 32-2]  2-2-2-5-2-2-1-1-1-2 20 pts
 2. Rush              Bill Sweetser         (Annapolis, MD  [J/109]        1-3-4-1-1-1-4-3-2-1 21
 3. L'Outrage         Bruce Gardner         (Annapolis, MD) [Beneteau 10M] 4-1-6-2-4-3-3-2-6-4 35

 8. Soap Opera        Scott Self            (Rockwall, TX)  [Hobie 33]   7-7-8-8-5-6-dnf-dns-dns-dns

 1. Bad Dog           John Chick            (Key West, FL)   [Mariah 27]  1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1  10 pts
 2. Blah, Blah, Blah  Mark Milnes           (Key West, FL)   [J/24]       3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2  21
 3. Nojoe             Naroski/LeBlanc       (Marblehead, MA) [J/24]       2-4-3-5-4-3-5-5-3-3  37

Bella Mente, a Reichel-Pugh 66, owned by Hap Fauth of Newport, R.I., has run away with IRC 1 by winning seven of eight races: 1-1-1-1-1-3-1-1 10pts. At this point, the battle is for second place between the TP52 Interlodge (Austin Fragomen, New York): 4-2-2-2-4-2-2-5 23pts, and Highland Fling: 2-4-4-3-3-4-3-2 25pts. Decision [TP52] Stephen Murray (New Orleans, LA) is at 4th with: 5-3-6-5-6-1-4-4 34pts

In IRC2: There is a great battle going ons between the Summit 40 White Heat (Newport, RI) and the J/122 Pugwash (Newport, RI) those two boats finished one-two in Class 3 at the IRC East Coast Championship off Annapolis in late October and are positioned to do so again in Key West. Skipper Mike Williamson and the White Heat team saw their lead cut to one after Race 7 on Thursday, but rebounded to win Race 8 and push the advantage back to five points. Tactician Larry Leonard, a North Sails professional, admitted Pugwash will need two terrific results and a little good luck in order to overtake its hometown rival from Newport.

"We'll go out and sail the best we can and hope the breaks fall our way," Leonard said. "We can't really engage White Heat because their boat is faster than ours. We just try to sail in the same vicinity."

Hot Ticket [Summit 40] Jim Hightower (Houston, TX) at 4th with: 4-4-3-5-6-1-8-7 38pts,

Vitesse [Swan 42] Jon Halbert (Dallas, TX), at 6th: 5-5-6-8-4-2-4-6 40pts

PH-2: Soap Opera [Hobie 33] Scott Self (Rockwall, TX) at 8th with problems: 7-7-8-8-5-6-10dnf-10dns

Multi: Overdo [Corsair 28R] John Novak (Colleyville, TX) is at 5th with: raf-3-4-5-4-2-4-5 35pts

J/80. Le Tigre, co-owned by Glenn Hilliard and Reese Darden of Forth Worth, Texas, posted a pair of bullets on Thursday to take over the lead in J/80 class, which is contesting its Midwinter Championship at Key West 2010. Little Feat, skippered by J/Boats executive Jeff Johnstone, entered the day atop the 19-boat fleet but exited six points behind Le Tigre.

 1. Le Tigre      G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX)      2-10-2-2-6-3-1-1  27 
 2. Little Feat   Jeff Johnstone     (Newport, RI)       7-7-1-1-4-4-6-3   33
 3. Rascal        Will Welles        (Newport, RI)       1-3-3-8-5-7-2-5   34
 8. Kicks         Rose/O'Sullivan    (Seabrook, TX)   9-6-12-3-11-11-4-11  67

With a steady 15-18 knots of breeze and lumpy seas for the start of race one, Woods had a phenomenal start rounding the top mark in first. Kilroy gave great chase to round in second. The downwind run however was what the fleet signed up for in Key West ’Äî stunning breeze, sunshine and big waves delivered Kullman’Äôs New Wave power, style and speed to round through the gate in second, overtaking Kilroy. It was the tightest fleet racing seen thus far in Key West as Woods pulled off with the win, Kullman held on for second, Kilroy was third, Lanfranco Cirillo (Torri del Benac, Italy) on ITA-212 Fantastica was fourth and Bob Hesse (Elma, N.Y.) on USA-153 Lake Effect was fifth.

Kullman got a tremendous start on the second race, placing him well ahead of the fleet for the lead. Race two was five legs set at 060 with a course length of 1.8 nm. Up the middle and playing a strong left side Kullman found his way to the mark rounding almost neck-and-neck with Hesse. Hesse led the fleet around the offset with Cirillo, Geoff Pierini (Perth Amboy, N.J.) on USA-178 Shakedown and Bob Hughes (Macatawa Bay, Mich.) on USA-201 Heartbreaker in hot pursuit. Kullman was quick to gain control and commanded the remainder of the race leaving Cirillo, Hughes, Woods and Pierini to battle for second thru fourth positions. As the race progressed, the breeze diminished with Kullman taking the win, Cirillo in second and in third, Hughes.

Friday is the last day of racing where partial sunshine is expected to make an appearance yet the breeze potentially will be a lighter than today. Kilroy, who is seated in first overall is quick to acknowledge that this regatta is far from over. John Kilroy has been leading the Melges 32 class since Tuesday and holds a comfortable 10-point advantage with just two races remaining at Key West 2010, the California skipper plans to sail the last day of the regatta the same way he did the first.

"We're not going to do anything different. We'll just go out and sail as well as we possibly can and hope that is good enough to get the job done," Kilroy said. "We don’Äôt really look at the score until the regatta is over. Of course, you always would rather be in the lead going into the last day, but we can’Äôt allow that to change our approach."

"Overall, we're pretty happy. Anything can happen in this fleet. In the meantime, we're going to keep working hard and keep sailing smart, we've learned a lot about tuning our rig this regatta," said Kilroy.

Stay close as each day, the Official Melges 32 blog will be running with brief updates. Daily video uploads can be seen online at Offshore Rules - http://www.offshorerules.com/regattalive/showRegatta.aspx?id=12.

Top Ten Results
 1. Samba Pa Ti,   John Kilroy       (Malibu, CA)          [14]-1-4-1-11-1-3-6         27
 2. New Wave,      Michael Carroll   (Clearwater, FL)        2-13-13-3-[14]-3-2-1      37
 3. Red,           Joe Woods         (Torquay, GBR)          9-6-[19]-6-5-10-1-5       42
 4. Fantastica,    Lanfranco Cirillo (Torri del Benac, ITA) [18]-8-12-9-4-4-4-2        43 
 5. STAR,          Jeff Ecklund      (FtLauderdale, FL)      1-9-[15]-10-7.4-15-8      52.4
 6. Heartbreaker,  Robert Hughes     (Macata Bay, MI)        5-12-6-2-12-[14]-14-3     54
 7. Ramrod,        Rodrick Jabin     (Annapolis, MD)         3-3-11-4-[18]-9-8-17      55
 8. Lake Effect    Bob Hesse         (Youngstown, NY)        8-[19]-3-5-15-13-5-7      56
 9. Leenabarca,    Alex Jackson      (Riverside, CT)        [20]-2-7-11-3-15-10-10     58
10. Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini    (Pesaro, ITA)          12-5-1-8-10-7-16-[19]      59

"We carved a lot out of the lead today. Whether it was enough remains to be seen," Carroll said. "We are certainly in range and have given ourselves a chance. Hopefully, we can sail as well tomorrow as we did today."

Melges 24. Competition is still close with skipper Lorenzo Santini and UKA UKA Racing taking a three-point lead into Friday. Lorenzo Bressani is steering while Jonathan McKee is calling tactics for UKA UKA Racing, which has been remarkably consistent this week. The Italian team has won three races and counts no worse than a third in totaling 12 points - three better than the Swiss entry Blu Moon.

"They are sailing unbelievably. We are going fast, but they are just a click better," said Flavio Favini, helmsman aboard Blu Moon, which won Race 7 and took third in Race 8. ’ÄúWe have a chance, but it is a very small one. After what the UKA UKA guys did today, they deserve to be winning the regatta.’Äù Thursday brought the strongest wind of the regatta with a south-southeasterly delivering 14-16 knots. After three days of shifty conditions, the breeze stabilized and allowed tacticians to focus on boat speed instead of choosing sides of the course. ’ÄúIt was the steadiest wind I’Äôve ever seen, both in terms of velocity and direction,’Äù said Ken Legler, principal race officer on Division 1.

Farr 40. Skipper Giovanni Maspero and the Joe Fly team tacked on two more good results on Thursday and now hold a solid 11-point lead in the Farr 40 class. Tactician Francesco Bruni has made all the right calls this week as the Italian boat has finished fourth or better in seven of eight starts, notching its first victory of the regatta in Race 8. Barking Mad, an American boat skippered by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I., notched a second and third on Thursday to move from fifth to second in the overall standings. Tactician Terry Hutchinson believes Barking Mad has been sailing relatively well all week and finally caught some breaks. "I'm incredibly happy with our performance today. We started the day by setting a team goal of finishing on the podium and this was certainly a step in the right direction," he said. "Joe Fly is sailing really well and will be hard to beat. We just have to continue sailing the way we did today and be in position to capitalize if Joe Fly makes any mistakes."

All the boys on the Highland Fling were happy to hear the weather forecast for Thursday. The Wally 82-footer, easily the largest entry at Key West 2010, has been unable to maximize its potential in the moderate, shifty conditions that predominated the initial three days of the regatta. "We were really, really pleased when we went out this morning and found the breeze was what it was predicted," tactician Peter Isler said. Highland Fling, owned by Irvine Laidlaw of Monaco, responded with its best day of the regatta - posting a second and a third to close to within two points of second place in IRC 1. "We got the sails up and down real well and our maneuvers were terrific. We turned that 82-footer into a small boat today," Isler said.

J/105. Savasana, owned by Brian Keane of Marion, Mass., continued its impressive performance with a pair of seconds on Thursday. Savasana holds a 16-point lead over ghost (Kenneth Colburn, Southport, Maine) and has pretty much clinched the overall victory. "It's been an awesome week of all-around sailing and we're very, very pleased," said Keane, whose team has placed first or second in six of eight races and no worse than fourth.

Skipper Giovannia Maspero and the crew on Joe Fly increased their lead in the Farr 40 class to five points over fellow Italian entry Nerone (Massimo Mezzaroma) on the strength of a 5-2 line on Wednesday. "I think we are sailing fairly well. We have not won a race yet, which is a bit painful since we have been leading at times on the course," Joe Fly tactician Francesco Bruni said. "We cannot complain when we have a five-point lead with four races to go. The owner is steering the boat very well around the course and we are very happy with our boat speed."

Plenty, owned by Alex Roepers of New York, posted its second victory of the series on Wednesday and moved from sixth to third in the overall standings. Hutchinson, the 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, was frustrated because Barking Mad had the lead midway through Race 5 and wound up finishing seventh. Skipper Jim Richardson (Newport, R.I.) and team are tied with the German entry Struntje Light (Wolfgang Schaefer) on points - just two out of third and 10 behind the leader. "Joe Fly is sailing very well so they certainly look like the boat to beat, but there are still plenty of points on the table and things could change quite a bit between now and Friday afternoon," Hutchinson said. "We just have to keep chipping away and hope we get some better karma."

Bella Mente, the Reichel-Pugh 69 owned by Hap Fauth of Newport, R.I., stretched its winning streak to five with a bullet in the opening race on Wednesday and holds a commanding eight-point lead in IRC 1. "I'm very pleased. We have won every start except one and the crew has been just superb in its execution," Fauth said. Kelvin Harrup and Eric Doyle are combining on tactics while Sean Clarkson (main) and Brett Jones (jib and spinnaker) are the lead trimmers aboard Bella Mente, which would probably have to fall apart to lose the regatta at this stage. Fauth did not want to hear any of that talk. "Sure we could be beaten. This will be a boat race right up until the end," he said emphatically. "It was tough out there today. The wind was up and down and clocked hard right then back left a bit. The TP 52s came to the finish line on a much stronger breeze and two of them beat us on corrected time. Things could change quickly if the TP52s get the type of conditions in which they excel."

Decision, a TP52 owned by Stephen Murray of New Orleans, La., became the first IRC 1 entry other than Bella Mente to win a race when it corrected to first in Race 6. Interlodge, a TP52 owned by Austin Fragomen of New York, has finished second in four of six races and heads the pack in what appears to be a battle to be runner-up to Bella Mente. "Bella Mente is very fast and very well-sailed so it will be tough to beat," Fragomen said. "We're most interested in winning the sub-class of TP52s, but obviously while we're doing that we would like to contend for the overall class victory."

Bill Lynn, a professional based in Marblehead, Mass., is calling tactics on Interlodge while Pete McCloskey (main) and Dave Armitage (jib) are primary trimmers. This is only the second regatta for Interlodge since Fragomen took ownership of the Judel-Vrolijk design, which was launched in 2006. "We are still figuring out the boat so it's great to be able to line up against three other TPs and gauge our performance. We are getting a little better every day."

John Kilroy steered Samba Pa Ti to victory in second start on Wednesday to extend his lead in Melges 32 class, largest of the regatta with 22 boats. Completion of six races allowed each boat to drop its worst result and Samba Pa Ti tossed a 14th suffered in Race 1. Star received redress for Race 5 after winning a protest, moving skipper Jeff Ecklund and team up to second place with a score of 29.4 - six-tenths of a point ahead of Ramrod (Rod Jabin, Annapolis). Jabin was a bit downcast on the dock after suffering an 18th in Race 5. "I'm disappointed on a personal level because we were sailing in second and got wrapped up with the IRC 1 boats at a mark rounding and lost about 16 places," Jabin said. "Tomorrow is going to be critical because we’Äôve already sailed our throw-out so every race is a keeper from here on out. We've just got to keep fighting."

Perhaps the most surprising entry in Melges 32 is Yasha Samurai, a newcomer to the highly-competitive, professional-laden class. Owner Yukihiro Ishida of Tokyo, Japan, vaulted from 11th to fifth in the overall standings after winning Race 5 and dropping a 16th from Race 2 and was selected as Mount Gay Rum Boat of the Day. "To be fifth in this fleet with a new team is downright amazing, but I don't pay much attention to scores at this point of a regatta," said Charlie McKee, tactician aboard Yasha Samurai. "We had some good fortune today, but the breeze is supposed to build tomorrow and that could present some challenges." This is only the second Melges 32 event for Ishida, who has sailed Swan designs in Europe and a J/24 back in Japan. McKee, a Seattle native who owns a couple Olympic bronze medals, brings a positive, upbeat attitude as tactician. British pro Gerry Mitchell and Snipe standout Takumi Nakamura are serving as trimmers. "(Ishida) is having a lot of fun and has very good concentration when steering the boat," McKee said. "He is very much a student of the sport. He thinks about the races overnight, analyzes things and comes back the next day with a lot of questions."

Helmsman Lorenzo Bressani won Race 5 and added a third in Race 6 to take sole possession of first place with a low score of nine points. Flavio Favini steered Blu Moon to the exact same results (3-1) on Wednesday and moved into second with 11 points. Field, from Marina Del Rey, Cal., kept pace with a second and a fourth and has 12 total points. "It has been very good competition so far. The top teams have the same speed so the tacticians have been very important. Tactics has probably been 80 percent of the results," Bressani said. "We are hoping tomorrow brings more wind to ensure the speed of the boat is most important."

Top Ten Results
 1. Samba Pa Ti,   John Kilroy       (Malibu, CA)          [14]-1-4-1-11-1         18
 2. STAR,          Jeff Ecklund      (FtLauderdale, FL)      1-9-[15]-10-7.4RDG-2  29.4
 3. Ramrod,        Rodrick Jabin     (Annapolis, MD)         3-3-11-4-[18]-9       30
 4. Calvi Network, Carlo Alberini    (Pesaro, ITA)         [12]-5-1-8-10-7         31
 5. Yasha Samarai, Yukihiro Ishida   (Toyko, JPN)            11-[16]-8-7-1-5       32
 6. New Wave,      Michael Carroll   (Clearwater, FL)         2-13-13-3-[14]-3     34
 7. Red,           Joe Woods         (Torquay, GBR)           9-6-[19]-6-5-10      36
 8. Heartbreaker,  Robert Hughes     (Macata Bay, MI)         5-12-6-2-12-[14]     37
 9. Fantastica,    Lanfranco Cirillo (Torri del Benac, ITA) [18]-8-12-9-4-4        37
10. Leenabarca,    Alex Jackson      (Riverside, CT)        [20]-2-7-11-3-15       38

There is a new leader in IRC 2 as skipper Mike Williamson and the White Heat team overtook early pacesetter Pugwash on the strength of a bullet in Race 5. That was the second win of the week for the Summit 40, which now has a three-point advantage over the J/122 owned by David Murphy (Newport, R.I.). Simon Shaw of Great Britain is calling tactics for Williamson, who splits his time between homes in London and New Castle, New Hampshire. This is the second time in three months that White Heat and Pugwash have squared off, having finished one-two in Class 3 at the IRC East Coast Championship off Annapolis in late October.

Jeff Johnstone placed fourth in both starts on Wednesday and moved from second to first in J/80 class (which attracted 19 boats for this its Midwinter Championship), G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX) moved up one place to 2nd.

J/80:

 1. Little Feat   Jeff Johnstone     (Newport, RI)       7-7-1-1-4-4
 2. Le Tigre      G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX)      2-10-2-2-6-3 
 3. Rascal        Will Welles        (Newport, RI)       1-3-3-8-5-7
 9. Kicks         Rose/O'Sullivan    (Seabrook, TX)      9-6-12-3-11-11

J/105:

 1. Savasana        Brian Keane      (Marion, MA)     2-1-4-2-1-4
 2. Ghost,          Kenneth Colburn  (Southport, ME)  6-4-2-3-6-5
 3. Blackhawk       Scooter Simmons  (San Francisco)  3-5-9-7-4-3
 6. Solaris         Bill Zartler     (Houston, TX)    8-7-1-8-5-8
 8. Big Booty       Patrick Eudy     (Charleston, SC) 4-2-5-6-12-11
 9. Creatv Destruct James Williams   (St Louis, MO)   9-9-3-10-9-2
12. Radiance        Bill Lakenmacher (Houston, TX)   11-14-6-13-11-9

In IRC2: Hot Ticket [Summit 40] Jim Hightower (Houston, TX) at 3rd with: 4-4-3-5-6-1

Vitesse [Swan 42] Jon Halbert (Dallas, TX) 5th with 5-5-6-8-4-2

PH-2: Soap Opera [Hobie 33] Scott Self (Rockwall, TX) is at 7th with: 7-7-8-8-5-6

Multi: Overdo [Corsair 28R] John Novak (Colleyville, TX) is at 4th with: raf-3-4-5-4-2

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.

Farr 40: 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.

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’Äôs 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.

J/80:

 1. Rascal        Will Welles        (Newport, RI)       1-3-3-8
 2. Little Feat   Jeff Johnstone     (Newport, RI)       7-7-1-1  	
 3. Le Tigre      G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX)      2-10-2-2
 4. Kicks         Rose/O'Sullivan    (Seabrook, TX)      9-6-12-3

 1. Savasana        Brian Keane      (Marion, MA)     2-1-4-2
 2. Ghost,          Kenneth Colburn  (Southport, ME)  6-4-2-3
 3. Big Booty       Patrick Eudy     (Charleston, SC) 4-2-5-6 
 4. Solaris         Bill Zartler     (Houston, TX)    8-7-1-8
10. Creatv Destruct James Williams   (St Louis, MO)   9-9-3-10
11. Radiance        Bill Lakenmacher (Houston, TX)   11-14-6-13

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.

Melges 24: 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’Äôt totally obvious which side of the course was favored."

IRC 1 & 2: Bella Mente and Pugwash extended their leads in IRC 1 and 2, respectively, with a second straight strong day of racing. Bella Mente, a Reichel-Pugh 69-footer owned by Hap Fauth of Newport, R.I., has sailed very impressively in winning all four races.

"We are coming off a very successful summer season in Europe in which we won the Med Cup and several other regattas. Right now, the crew is on top of its game and we are getting the most we can out of the boat," Fauth said.

Pugwash owner David Murphy looked quite content on Tuesday afternoon as he ate finger sandwiches and sipped green labeled beer aboard his Lyman-Morse 90-foot motor yacht, berthed at the end of the Galleon docks. Murphy deserved to enjoy happy hour after opening Key West 2010 with a stellar line of 2-1-1-2. The New York resident is a newcomer to competitive sailboat racing who has enjoyed tremendous early success.

Pugwash, a J/122 based in Newport, R.I., has won four of the seven events it has entered since Murphy took delivery in June. North Sails professional Larry Leonard is calling tactics for Murphy, who is looking to add Key West to his impressive list of victories that includes Chester Race Week and the Edgartown Round the Island Race.

"All the credit goes to the crew. Larry is the mastermind while our trimmers are terrific. I'm just kind of like Forrest Gump. I just focus on driving the boat," Murphy said.

Savasana stretched its lead in J/105 class with a fourth and a second on Tuesday as skipper Brian Keane looks to repeat as winner of Key West. Mike Danish is serving as tactician for Keane, who praised the performance of second-place Ghost and said Savasana has to keep putting up good results.

"Ghost sailed great today and certainly is pushing us," Keane said. "Ideally, our goal is to finish in the top five of every race and win each day. It's all about avoiding the big mistake."

North professional Will Welles holds the lead in J/80 class for the second straight day despite an eighth in Race 4. Jeff Johnstone of J/Boats steered Little Feat to a pair of bullets on Tuesday to close within one point of Welles and the Rascal team.

Johnstone may be with the company that designs the boat, but admitted even he can learn new tricks on the race course after finishing seventh in both races on Monday. "It was one of those things were you had to go left, but you couldn't bite off more than you could chew," Jeff Johnstone said, referring to how he played the shifts a bit differently on Tuesday.

In IRC1: Decision [TP52] Stephen Murray (New Orleans, LA) is at 5th with 5-3-6-5

In IRC2: Hot Ticket [Summit 40] Jim Hightower (Houston, TX) at 3rd with 4-4-3-5, Vitesse [Swan 42] Jon Halbert (Dallas, TX) 5-5-6-8

PH-2: Soap Opera [Hobie 33] Scott Self (Rockwall, TX) is at 8th with 7-7-8-8

Multi: Overdo [Corsair 28R] John Novak (Colleyville, TX) is at 5th with raf-3-4-5

Results, photos and news: www.Premiere-Racing.com

Janaury 18, Key West, Florida 2010 , - Sunny skies, 75-degree temperatures and solid wind produced an ideal opening day for the week-long event, organized by Premiere Racing.

IRC 1: Competitors reported wind shifts ranging from five to 50 degrees, which kept tacticians on their toes. Bella Mente, Hap Fauth (Newport, RI) is leading Division 1, at 4th is Decision, Stephen Murray (New Orleans, LA).

Bella Mente, a Reichel-Pugh 66-footer was the opening day pacesetter in IRC 1 class, which features the largest boats in the regatta. Kelvin Harrup is calling tactics aboard Bella Mente, which won both races on Monday and holds a four-point lead over 2nd place TP52 Interlodge (Austin Fragomen) and the Wally 82 Highland Fling (Irvine Laidlaw).

"Today was an ideal Bella Mente day, absolutely ideal conditions for our boat," Fauth said. "Give me a few more days like this and I'll be a happy camper." Highland Fling is by far the biggest boat entered in Key West 2010 and was expected to sail around the IRC 1 course by itself. However, Fauth said Bella Mente was able to keep the 82-footer in range in Monday's flat water and less than 10 knots of wind. "Off the wind in this type of breeze, we're very competitive with Highland Fling," said Fauth, noting that owner Irvine Laidlaw and his 24-man crew are learning the newly-launched maxi. "They're still shaking her down so we haven’Äôt seen her top end by any means."

IRC 2: "The wind speed was up and down and it was shifting as much as 45 degrees so there were plenty of opportunities to gain or lose," said North Sails professional Larry Leonard, tactician aboard the J/122 Pugwash, which is leading the IRC 2 class after posting a first and a second on Monday. "It was very tactical racing and we got fortunate a few times. We managed to hit more shifts than we missed." At 3rd is Hot Ticket, Jim Hightower (Houston, TX), and at 6th. Vitesse, Jon Halbert (Dallas, TX).

Farr 40: No skipper sported a broader smile on the dock afterward than Wolfgang Schaefer, who won a race in Farr 40 class for only the second time in four trips to Key West. Schaefer steered Struntje Light to victory in Race 2 after finishing sixth in Race 1 and holds the overall lead via tiebreaker over both Barking Mad, Jim Richardson (Newport, R.I.) and Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero (Rome, Italy).

"I am very happy because this is a new boat and a fairly new team. It is also the first time in nearly 40 years that I am steering with a tiller," said Schaefer, whose previous Struntje Light had a wheel.

Melges 32: Rod Jabin and his crew aboard Ramrod posted a pair of third place results to grab the early lead in Melges 32, which is loaded with professional talent like the Farr 40 and Melges 24 classes. Jabin is a former Farr 40 owner who moved into the Melges 32 last spring and enjoyed immediate success ’Äì winning the Gold Cup held off Fort Lauderdale in early December. America's Cup veteran Gavin Brady is calling tactics for Jabin, who has picked up right where he left off last month here in Key West.

"You take an average boat and put Gavin Brady onboard it makes a big difference," Jabin said. "I did a reasonable job of getting us off the start line and Gavin did a great job of positioning the boat".

Jabin has a crew comprised entirely of fellow Annapolis residents and said the ability to get out on the water and practice together on a regular basis should not be underestimated. "We have worked very hard with North Sails on rig tune and that has been a big help," said Jabin, who practiced with John Kilroy and the Samba Pa Ti team last week. "I don't think we're the fastest boat out here, but our rig is set up well while our crew work and tactics are strong."

In 2nd place is Star Jeff Ecklund (Ft Lauderdale, FL), and at 3rd. Samba Pa Ti John Kilroy (Malibu, CA).

Click for Melges 32 2nd Day results and Day One on video

Melges 24: Early competition is also close in the 21-boat Melges 24 class as two of the top contenders ’Äì UKA UKA Racing and Blu Moon ’Äì both won a race. Helmsman Lorenzo Bressani also posted a second as the Italian team took a two-point lead on the Swiss entry. UKA owned by Lorenzo Santini of Porto Civitanova and featuring American Jonathan McKee as tactician, was declared the Nautica Watches Boat of the Day.

Flavio Favini, helmsman aboard Blu Moon, posted a fourth in Race 2 and was happy to get through the first day in good shape. "It was light and shifty, which is something we have encountered before here. It was a bit tricky for the tacticians, but all in all very nice racing conditions," Favini said. "I thought the race committee did a great job of setting the course very quickly between races. They hurried to get the fleet started again while there was still good wind."

J/105: Brian Keene (Marion, Mass.) is off to a good start in his bid to repeat as J/105 champion at Key West, steering Savasana to a first and a second on Monday. At 2nd is Big Booty, Patrick Eudy (Charleston, SC), at 9th Solaris, Bill Zartler (Houston, TX), at 10th Creatv Destruct, James Williams (St Louis, MO), at 12th Radiance, Bill Lakenmacher (Houston, TX).

J80: North Sails professional Will Welles (Newport, R.I.) won Race 1 and took third in Race 2 on Rascal to jump ahead in the 19-boat J/80 class, which is contesting its Midwinter Championship at Key West 2010. Le Tigre G Darden/R Hillard (Ft Worth, TX), are at 5th with a 2nd and 10th. At 9th is Kicks, Rose/O'Sullivan (Seabrook, TX), with a 9th and 6th,

PH-1: Stark Rav. Mad, [J-125] James Madden (Oyster Bay, NY) is at 1st. 4th is Revolution [1D35], C Buckner/F Prelle (Houston, TX)

PH-2: Rush, [J/109] Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, MD) is at 1st, at 7th is Soap Opera, [Hobie 33] Scott Self (Rockwall, TX).

Multi Hull: Premiere Racing has introduced a handicap multihull class at Key West 2010 and all involved were eager to see how it would work out. Merlin, a Gulfstream 35 that is scratch boat in the fleet and the lone catamaran, notched two bullets to seize the early lead. "Today's conditions favored us because we have more sail area," said tactician Doug Fisher, a Florida-based professional with Ullman Sails.

Skipper Bob Harkrider and the Merlin team are sailing out in front of the six smaller trimarans in the class and thus have to focus on sailing their own race. "It's all about going fast and going in the right direction. In a fleet like this in which the boats are so different, you need to make sure you take care of yourself’Ķ which is probably what you should do most of the time anyway," Fisher said. At 5th is Overdo [Corsair 28R] John Novak (Colleyville, TX)

We monitor the Internet as closely as we can, but sometimes hypertext links may end up as dead ends, addresses may change and these changes escape us for a while. If you become aware of changes worthy of note, fun things to see on the Internet or simply have some ideas for enhancing our promotion of sailing, e-mail us: jonBproducer at gmail.com