| KEY WEST, FL, USA-(23-1-2003) Big winds, collisions and a contentious crocodile have brought Terra Nova Trading Key West 2003 to its climax Friday. A new weather front sweeping the southernmost corner of the country was forecast to hit town with winds up to 25 knots and accelerate the action into frenzy.
How rough was it Thursday? The grounds around the race jury tent looked like a Farr 40 class meeting afterward. The heaviest protest activity revolved around a three-way contretemps in which Jim Richardson's Barking Mad from Newport, R.I. claimed it was bitten by a denizen of a nearby swamp---namely, the Scott Harris/Alexandra Geremia Crocodile Rock from Santa Barbara, which wound up crunched between Barking Mad and Vincenzo Onorato's Breeze from Italy.
The race jury disagreed and Barking Mad was disqualified for failing to yield to Croc. Unlike the other three courses, there are no throwouts in Division 1, which also includes the 1D35s and Mumm 30s, so the jury's decision is not only final but sometimes fatal.
Before protests were resolved, Crocodile Rock, with two fourth places Thursday, was in first place by nine points over Barking Mad, which then fell to fourth as Croc walked away from the hearing with a near-insurmountable 20-point lead over John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti. George Andreadis' Atalanti XII, looking for its fourth consecutive title here, was a distant third and all but out of the hunt.
Barking Mad, Crocodile Rock and Breeze were near the second windward mark in Thursday's second race, with Breeze on starboard tack and the other two on port. Barking Mad, windward of Croc by less than an arm's length, bore away to duck Breeze at about the same time Croc started to tack. Moments later, all three boats were three abreast, stalled head to wind and slamming sides.
Back on shore, the mood of Richardson's tactician, Volvo and America's Cup veteran Gavin Brady, was appropriate to the boat's name.
`Quite simply, Crocodile Rock put us and then the Italian boat in a situation where there was no way to avoid a serious collision,` Brady said. `We were one foot apart and we were just dipping to duck the Italians and [Crocodile Rock] just spun up.`
Crocodile Rock helmsman Scott Harris and tactician Vince Brun did not immediately comment, but two crew members and a sailor on another boat not involved in the incident said Crocodile Rock was forced to tack to avoid a collision with a second Italian boat, Bottadi Culo, which was following Breeze on the starboard tack layline.
A Croc crew member said his boat followed the rules because `we hailed Barking Mad for room to tack and then hailed them again. By then we didn't have any choice.`
Nobody was seriously injured and the boats sustained superficial damage. Buddy Cribbs' 1D35, Victory, from Palm Beach, Fla., was not as lucky. Victory took what Cribbs called a `full-on T-bone` in the middle of its port side from Hugh O'Brien's Ripple, Stonington, Conn. A gaping hole was patched over with a heavy application of duct tape.
Cribbs' sail trimmer, Jon Rogers of San Diego, said, laughing, `I almost got killed today. When we were on the starboard tack layline. When they were 20 boat lengths away on port tack, I got a little nervous, and when they were six lengths away I yelled, 'Don't even think about it!' `
A chagrined O'Brien, who suffered a cut index finger, said, `We thought we had 'em [crossed]. We didn't have 'em. We withdrew. We had no leg to stand on.`
David Kirk's Détente, Chicago, clinched the class with its fifth consecutive win, and Richard Perini's Foreign Affair from Sydney, Australia, has a vise grip on defending the Mumm 30 title he won last year.
In the International Team Competition for the Key West Trophy, there are 10 teams but only two contenders. Going into the last day, Italy's Breeze (Farr 40), Printel-Wind (Mumm 30) and Joe Fly (Melges 24) has gone from one point behind Germany's Struntje light, Rainbow and Blu Moon, respectively, to one point ahead, 84-85.
Terra Nova Trading Key West 2003 sponsors include Terra Nova Trading L.L.C., Mount Gay Rum, RealTick(r), Lewmar Marine, Nautica Watches, Nautica Eyewear, Pearson Yachts, Samson Rope Technologies, Saucony and the Florida Keys & Key West Tourist Development Council. The Historic Seaport at the Key West Bight is the Official Site.
The Performance Sailing Industry Partner Program is in its second year, with 24 members at press time. Participating companies and details about the program are on the event web site.
Racing is scheduled Monday through Friday, Jan. 20-24, on four circles off the south shore of the island. Registration is on Sunday, Jan. 19. The regatta is open to entries in PHRF, one-design and IMS classes of 24 to 85 feet LOA. PHRF entries must have a rating of 175 or lower.
Class leaders (after 7 of 9 races, except 6 of 9 in Div. 2):
FARR 40 (24 boats)---Crocodile Rock, Scott Harris/Alexandra Geremia, Santa Barbara, 2-2-4-17-5-4-4, 38 points.
1D35 (8)-Détente, David Kirk, Chicago, 2-2-1-1-1-1-1, 9.
MUMM 30 (15)-Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, 2-3-4-1-4-1-3, 18.
MELGES 24 (57)---Blu Moon, Flavio Favini, Switzerland, 2-4-(12)-7-4-1-3, 21.
J/105 (29)---Wet Leopard, Jim Sorensen, Sag Harbor, N.Y., (12)-1-7-1-3-9-7, 28.
J/80 (22)---Warrior, Craig and Martha White, Fort Worth, Tex., 1-2-1(9)-1-3-4, 12.
J/29 (10)---Hustler, John and Tony Esposito, City Island, N.Y., 1-2.2-1-(3)-3-2-3, 12.2.
TARTAN 10 (8)---Liquor Box, Robert and Bill Lehnert, Cutchogue, N.Y., 1-(2)-1-1-1-1-1, 6.
CORSAIR 28R (14)---Tie between Hot Flash, Robert Gleason, Wareham Mass., 1-3-1-6-6-3, and Bad Boys, Bob and Doug Harkrider, Belvedere, S.C., 7-1-7-2-2-1, 20.
IMS (4)---Idler (N/M 50), George David, New York, 1-1-2-1-1-1, 7.
PHRF 1 (5)---Rosebud (Transpac 52), Roger Sturgeon, San Francisco, 1-1-2-2-1-3, 10.
PHRF 2 (6)---Bandolier (1D48), Charles Burnett III, Seattle, 2-4-1-2-3-2, 14.
PHRF 3 (12)---Tsunami (Farr 395), Ostberg/Aras/Daily, Annapolis, 1-1-2-1-5-3, 13.
PHRF 4 (10)---New Wave (Henderson 30), Michael Carroll, Clearwater, Fla., 1-1-1-1-5-1, 10.
PHRF 5 (13)---Fitikoko (Tripp 38 ML), Andrew Wilson, Annapolis, 3-2-1-3-7-5, 21.
PHRF 6 (12)---Defiance (B-32), Scott Taylor, Long Beach, Calif., 1-4-(13)-2-1-1-3, 12.
PHRF 7 (10)---Invincible (N/M 30), Brian Lees/Jeff Gastrau, Annapolis, 1-1-1-1-(2)-1-1, 6.
PHRF 8 (9)---Hot Ticket (Farr 37), Jim Hightower, Houston, Tex., (5)-1-4-1-4-1-1, 12.
PHRH 9 (10)---Areopagus, Ed Tillinghast III, New York, (5)-5-1-1-3-1-2, 13.
PHRF 10 (12)---Rumblefisch (J/24), Peter Fischel, Savannah, Ga., 1-3-1-(4)-2-1-1, 9.
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