Acura Miami Grand Prix - Day 3
by Bill Wagner 8 Mar 2009 09:53 GMT
5-8 March 2009
It's far from over
Strong performances on Saturday by top contenders has put pressure on the leaders of the two largest classes going into the final day of racing at the Acura Miami Grand Prix.
Skipper John Kilroy and his crew aboard Samba Pa Ti put up a first
and a second on Saturday and have pulled within striking distance of
series-long leader Bliksem in Melges 32 class. Nerone, the Italian entry
skippered by Massimo Mezzaroma, has led the Farr 40 class after each day
of action, but has been unable to shake Joe Fly and Goombay Smash.
Meanwhile, Dan Woolery and the Soozal team increased their lead in
IRC 2 class while Niklas Zennstrom and the Ran crew strengthened their
hold on IRC 1 during another picture-perfect day off South Beach. Steady
15-knot easterly winds enabled organizers to get off three starts, which
means Premiere Racing will almost certainly meet its goal of conducting
a 10-race series.
“We had three really excellent races today. We had a bright sunshiny
day and gin clear water,” principal race office Dave Brennan said. “It
was really close competition in all the classes, especially coming
downwind at the finishes.”
Pietar Taselaar has steered Bliksem to first place finishes in four
of seven races that count and has led the 19-boat Melges 32 class since
the outset. However, Kilroy notched a first and a second on Saturday and
sits just seven points behind the pacesetter.
“We have managed to get ourselves into contention. I feel good about
where we stand going into the last day,” Kilroy said. “The Bliksem guys
are sailing very, very well and will be hard to beat, but we have at
least given ourselves a chance.”
Kilroy, who competed at Acura Miami Grand Prix aboard a TP52 last
year, is a newcomer to the Melges 32 class with this being just his
third regatta. A successful skipper in a variety of big-boat designs,
the San Francisco resident seems to have climbed the learning curve
quite quickly.
“I have always loved one-design sailing and this is some of the best
I’ve ever done,” Kilroy said. “This boat is very exciting in terms of
performance and requires a lot of energy. It’s a building class that has
attracted a lot of great sailors.”
Samba Pa Ti led at the first weather mark in three of the initial
five races without winning so yesterday’s bullet was a monkey off the
team’s back. “John does a really solid, consistent job of driving and
we’ve had outstanding upwind speed the whole regatta,” tactician Morgan
Reeser said. “It should be interesting tomorrow between us and Bliksem.
Both boats have stumbled in a race so it could come down to one bad
start, one big mistake.”
Nerone continued its stellar series with a first and a fourth on
Saturday, but a seventh in Race 6 helped the competition in the 12-boat
Farr 40 class, which does not allow a throw out. Giovanni Maspero and
the Italian team on Joe Fly posted a superb line of 4-2-2 yesterday
while Doug Douglass and the boys aboard Goombay Smash equaled that score
total with results of 3-3-1.
That leaves Nerone clinging to a three-point lead over Joe Fly and a
six-point advantage on Goombay Smash. Tactician Vasco Vascotto is
concerned even though Nerone has won four of eight races so far.
“It is normal in the Farr 40 class to go into the last day with the
regatta still up for grabs. We just have to keep fighting,” Vascotto
said. “We have been very fortunate so far in overcoming some bad starts.
Hopefully, we can get off the line better in the two races tomorrow.”
Nerone rallied from a significant deficit to win Race 7 today,
passing Joe Fly in the last 10 meters. “It was one of the most exciting
races I’ve ever experienced. To come from behind and win at the very end
like that was very uplifting for our team.”
The Acura Boat of the Week, awarded to the class with the closest most
competitive overall racing, will not be decided until the final gun and
it appears the honor will come down to the winner of either the Melges
32 or Farr 40 class.
Ran captured IRC 1 class at Acura Key West 2009 in impressive
fashion and has picked up right where she left off at the Acura Miami
Grand Prix. Helmsman Tim Powell and tactician Thierry Peponnet have
clearly developed a nice chemistry as the British TP52 has won six of
eight races.
Soozal, a newly-launched King 40 designed by Mark Mills of Ireland,
is also seeking to pull off a sweep of the two winter regattas organized
by Premiere Racing. Woolery steered his rocket ship to five straight
first place finishes in an extremely competitive seven-boat fleet.
“Our keel is spot-on and that has proven to be a real weapon. We
have a few degrees worth of pointing on the rest of the fleet, if we
want to go higher we can,” Woolery said.
Ran and Soozal are neck-and-neck in the battle for the Acura Grand
Prix Championship, awarded for best combined scores at Acura Key West
and the Acura Miami Grand Prix.
“I just found out about that competition today and certainly that
would be a nice added treat,” Woolery said.
The Farr 40 and Melges 32 Acura Grand Prix Championships will also
have to wait until the end of the last day, as Joe Fly holds but a
nine-point lead over fellow Italian entry Mascalzone Latino (Vincenzo
Onorato) in the Farr 40 class and New Wave has only a 10-point advantage
on Red (Joe Woods, Great Britain) in the Melges 32 class.
The 10-race series, being held on a course set just off the north end of
Key Biscayne, concludes on Sunday.
Acura Miami Grand Prix Results: (provisional after 8 races)
Farr 40 (12 entries)
1, Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma, Punta Ala, Italy, 1-1-2-7-1-7-1-4=24pts
2, Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero, Como, Italy, 2-5-4-4-4-4-2-2=27pts
3, Goombay Smash, Doug Douglas, Newport, R.I., 5-2-7-3-6-3-3-1=30pts
Melges 32 (19 entries) - with discard
1, Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, St Inigoes, M.D., 1-1-1-2-(-7)-5-1-3=14pts
2, Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy, San Francisco, C.A., 2-6-3-4-3-2-(-9)-1=21pts
3, Red, Joe Woods, Torbay, UK, 7-8-2-3-2-(-9)-4-6=32pts
IRC 1 (4 entries)
1, RAN, Niklas Zennstrom, Hamble, GBR, 1-1-1-2-3-1-1-1=11pts
2, Rio, Charles Dunstone, Cowes, GBR, 2-2-3-1-1-2-2-3=16pts
3, Synergy, Sergey Pichugin, Moscow, RUS, 3-3-2-3-2-4-3-2=22pts
IRC 2 (7 entries)
1, Soozal, King 40, Daniel Woolery, Pt Richmond, C.A., 2-1-4-1-1-1-1-1=12pts
2, Ciao, AC 40, Philippe Paturel, Halifax, CAN, 1-3-2-2-2-3-2-2=17pts
3, Gold Digger, J/44, James Bishop, Jamestown, R.I., 3-2-1-3-3-2-3-5=22pts
Acura Grand Prix Championship: (provisional after 8 races)
Farr 40
1. Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero, Como, ITA, 62 pts
2. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, Napoli,ITA, 73 pts
3. Barking Mad, James Richardson, Newport, RI, 77 pts
Melges 32
1. New Wave, M Carroll/M Kullman, Clearwater, FL, 122 pts
2. Red, Joe Woods, Torbay, GBR, 132 pts
3. Ninkasi, John Taylor, Big Sky, MT 164 pts
IRC Combined
1. Ran (TP52), Niklas Zennstrom, Hamble, GBR 29 pts
2. Soozal (King 40), Daniel Woolery, Pt. Richmond, CA, 31 pts
3. Rio (TP52),Charles Dunstone, Cowes, GBR, 44 pts