2013 Key West Race Week [JUST ACTION] by Leighton O'Connor

Quantum Key West News: Azzurra still hold the tie break edge

Key West, 24th of January 2013
Azzurra still hold the tie break edge

After two more great races for the 52 SUPER SERIES at Quantum Key West 2013 the top two boats Azzurra and Rán Racing still remain tied on the same points aggregate. Alberto Roemmers’ Azzurra team which flies the colours of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda still just hold the edge overall but on the strength of countback, having now won three races.



In the same type of puffy, shifty offshore breeze of 13-18kts which also produced challenging racing Wednesday, Thursday’s notable improvement in the conditions was merely that the sun shone longer and stronger. Azzurra paired an outstanding win in Race 7 with a fourth place from Race 8 that allowed the iconic team which holds the 52 SUPER SERIES title to keep Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing only just in check going into Friday’s final two scheduled races.

In turn the Zennström crew kept the pressure on Azzurra with their second place in the first race and then they got the better of the champions in a straight head to head match race up the final beat for third and fourth in Race 8.

For the Azzurra team everything clicked perfectly in that first race, better than at any stage yet this season – according to tactician Vasco Vascotto - and they were able to work the shifts and the gusty breeze to maximum advantage. At one point they were over 200 metres ahead of the second placed Rán Racing, in part attributable to a great first run when they turned a 40 metre lead at the first top mark to at least 120 metres by the downwind turn. Doug DeVos’ Quantum Racing held themselves in the hunt for the overall title with third in this race but they still went into Race 8 with a four points deficit on Azzurra.

Quantum Racing knew they needed a high calibre result to give themselves a chance of still being title contenders Friday. That they started well from close to the pin end of the start line and lead at the first windward mark seemed to have set them up for their third win of the series. But Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s Interlodge sailed a great first beat to round second and were then able to pass Quantum on the second run. But Andy Horton and Ed Baird read the extra pressure and left shift best on the final beat and were able to get out there, Quamtum Racing easing past Interlodge. This last upwind saw some of the most exciting upwind racing so far, with Quantum Racing containing Interlodge by a boat length in their duel and Rán Racing going toe to toe in an exciting battle against Azzurra.

Vasco Vascotto (ITA), Azzurra’s tactician arrived ashore still looking for improvements from himself and the team:
“ The good thing is we are still leading overall but the bad thing is that we are still losing opportunities every day.”

Going in to the final pair of races of this first regatta of the 2013 52 SUPER SERIES season, only one point separates the top three teams. Azzurra and Rán Racing share 21 points with Quantum Racing on 22 points.

52 SUPER SERIES at Quantum Key West 2013 Results
Race 7: 1 Azzurra (ITA), 2 Rán Racing (SWE), 3 Quantum Racing (USA), 4 Gladiator (GBR), 5 Interlodge (USA), 6 Rio (USA). Race 8: 1 Quantum Racing, 2 Interlodge, 3 Rán Racing, 4 Azzurra, 5 Gladiator, 6Rio.

Overall after 8 races: 1 Azzurra 21pts, 2 Rán Racing 21pts, 3 Quantum Racing 22pts, 4 Interlodge 26pts, 5 Gladiator 33pts, 6 Rio 39 pts.

Quotes:
Vasco Vascotto (ITA) tactician Azzurra: “The good thing is we are still leading overall but the bad thing is that we are still losing opportunities every day. In the second race we did a good job to come back but we felt Interlodge played a bit more against us than the others, we were controlling Rán Racing to try and hold them into the final day, but Interlodge made a couple of tacks on our bow which I did not really expect. So suddenly we lost our place. Now I am aware that can happen in the future, so wake up Vasco!
The first race was great we stayed in phase all the way through. It was good, the star, the crew work. It was the first race here that we sailed at the best we can do together. We are very happy with that. Tomorrow is still a northerly breeze, shifty, start well and sail properly – really sailing like we did today but just tack on Rán if we get the chance.”

Niklas Zennström (SWE), owner-helm Rán Racing (SWE): “I think we sailed much better today than we did yesterday. We had a big debrief last night. We made some mistakes yesterday and today I think we sailed better. The second race at the first bottom mark we picked the wrong mark, but we came back and it was OK.
The conditions were better than yesterday there was more breeze and it was quite unstable making it quite difficult upwind, but we were quite OK downwind. Downwind we were always comfortable but upwind we struggled. And today we sailed the boat much more consistently. We tried to improve on these today. Out boat is a little more narrow which does not give us as much stability."

Andy Horton (USA) strategist Quantum Racing (USA): “We had a good start in the second race which made a difference, we hit a couple of shifts, there was less current on the left side and made some gains there. Then we got to the top mark and with the race course under the Key, there are puffs which come down and get in the right place on the run. We were forced into a position where we were not quite where we wanted to be on the downwind. We got sucked into the group and got passed by Interlodge and then got passed by another boat at the gate. Then we had a good second beat, we got back into second place, at the bottom second time we were tied for first and then an awesome final beat and pulled it out by a boatlength against Interlodge. Rán and Azzurra were having a nice battle too and so we end up right in there for the final day. You’d like to go out and win twice tomorrow. We need to make sure we are fast and we minimise mistakes and really just keep on with what we are doing.”

Quantum Key West - Race 6 Qtv

Published on Jan 23, 2013
Produced by Keith Brash for Quantum TV

52 Super Series - Day 3 Race 2

AC News : Nespresso Official Coffee of 34th America's Cup

This is pretty kool video around 15 secs had a great surprise again this morning . My Guest racer ride in Plymouth England with the winner of the Americas cup Jame Spithill and crew . Whats funny is someone gave me a Nespresso machine right after Super Storm Sandy ..

Published on Jan 22, 2013
Nespresso: the official coffee of the 34th America's Cup to be held in San Francisco in 2013. Taste the Ultimate Cup with Nespresso. Nespresso is also the Proud Sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand, one of the challengers for the 34th America's Cup. Follow the action of this unique event pushing the limits and testing the skills of the sailors

Quantum Key West News: Ran on the Run

Rán Racing step clear at the top at Quantum Key West

Quantum Racing, with owner Doug DeVos on the helm, emerge from the first day of the new 52 SUPER SERIES season with the overall lead at Quantum Key West 2013 thanks to a well executed victory in the second of two windward-leeward races sailed for the six boat 52 class.



Racing conditions were close to perfect. The assembled 52 SUPER SERIES teams would always like more breeze – and look set to get have that wish satisfied Wednesday - but the 12-16kts of northerly winds for Races 3 and 4 of the ten race regatta carried plenty of shifts in direction and changes in pressure to challenge the afterguard members and ensure there were always options for gains and losses.

With Adrian Stead calling tactics for owner-helm Zennström, Rán Racing proved to be most consistent in the quest to use the shifts and changes to best effect. Azzurra’s coach Rod Davis summarised the challenge: “There were some reasonably big shifts, especially going back and forth in the first race. So the quest was to try and stay in phase with the shifts and still keep tabs on the whole fleet. It was a little bit complicated that way.”

In the first race of the day Rán Racing took the lead at the bottom end of the first run, whilst early leaders Azzurra had to take a two turns penalty as they left the leeward gate for fouling Rán on the approach to the gate. Azzurra’s resulting 720 proved a high tariff initially as they dropped to sixth, but the Italian flagged series champions managed to recover to fourth by the finish.

After a modest start to the second race, during which the breeze built to 16kts in the puffs, Rán Racing were first to push to the right side of the course and were able to very quickly build a strong lead ahead of Azzurra, nearly 60 metres clear half way up the second beat. But Vasco Vascotto hooked into a 30 degree shift with Azzurra which came in so quickly that Rán Racing could not get across to it and the blue hulled boat was able to lead at the second top mark. On a tight approach to the final windward mark Rán Racing judged themselves to have fouled Azzurra and, being safe, they chose to take a penalty. But, holding on to second, their results 3 points aggregate – sets them up as overall regatta leaders.



Rán’s tactician Adrian Stead is loving the 52 SUPER SERIES racing at Quantum Key West:
“ There is nothing in it right through the fleet. All credit to the guys on Rio. We know Synergy was always a very good boat and the guys are doing a good job in getting the boat up to speed and are sailing well, and the Interlodge guys have had a year in their boat and definitely have some pace. And Gladiator much stronger, stuff with the extra righting moment and so good for them, and Doug DeVos is doing a great job jumping into Quantum Racing and driving the boat. It is lovely. It is great racing. All six biats are in it, and you make a mistake and are suddenly sixth.”

Azzurra’s fourth in the first race could so easily have been better. Tactician Vasco Vascotto was less concerned about the big errors they have made than the fact he feels they have just not been sailing as well as they can as a team:
“We are lucky to be in the position we are because we have not sailed very well. So we are happy to be where we are. It gives us the opportunity to go out tomorrow and fight for something important. We can sail better, we made mistakes around the course and we need to sail a better level if we want to win. There are plenty of mistakes. The result is about how you sail the boat and if we carry on sailing the way we have been then we will not win the event.”

A disappointing sixth place in the second race of the day saw Tony Langley’s Gladiator slide from second overall to lie fourth, but still only four points separate the top five boats after four races.




Results, 52 SUPER SERIES at Quantum Key West 2013

Race 3:
1 Rán Racing (SWE), 2 Interlodge (USA), 3 Gladiator (GBR), 4 Azzurra (ITA), 5 Quantum Racing (USA), 6 Rio (USA)

Race 4:
1 Azzurra, 2 Rán Racing, 3 Quantum Racing, 4 Rio, 5 Interlodge, 6 Gladiator (GBR)

Standings after 4 races, no discards:
1 Rán Racing 10pts, 2 Azzurra 12pts, 3 Quantum Racing 13pts, 4 Gladiator 14pts, 5 Interlodge 14pts, 6 Rio 22pts


Quotes:

Niklas Zennström (SWE), owner-driver Rán Racing (SWE): “It was pretty good for us overall. We were leading the second race as well but infringed Azzurra at the second top mark and we lost out taking a penalty. Conditions were very streaky with quite big shifts, in the second race we had a bad start but broke out to the right so we could take the shifts which the rest of the fleet did not.
We had a very comfortable lead in the second race ahead of Azzurra and we tacked in front of them, but they got a 20 or 30 degrees wind shift which we did not get. But that is the way it goes. We got it on the first beat and them on the second.
Our objective for the day was to get four points or less for the day.
We sailed the boat well and had a good start in the first race, and overall I think we played the wind shifts well. We made good manoeuvres. I think with this fleet now at six boats you want to make sure you have good lane, but we were just a little bit late on the second race start.”

Rod Davis (NZL) coach Azzurra (ITA), “There were some reasonably big shifts, especially going back and forth in the first race. So the quest was to try and stay in phase with the shifts and still keep tabs on the whole fleet. It was a little bit complicated that way.
We fouled Rán Racing at the leeward gate and so had to do circles there and that put us deep in the ball game. We are really just not sailing very consistently. We are making big, big mistakes which are costing us lots of places. We need to eliminate from the game. I am not sure about how we actually do that, but we will talk it through tonight.”

Marty Kullman (USA) tactician Interlodge (USA): “We wanted to focus on getting good starts and getting through the leeward gates in good shape and we had an OK start in the second race, a good gate rounding first time down in the first race and that put is in a good position to get second. We need to get a little more comfort in pushing at te start and being a little more aggressive. The second start we were able to do that a little more.
I set the goals for the team and today they were starts, leeward gates and not catching any crab traps. We accomplished the main goals even though the result of the second race does not quite show it.
Today was a great day of racing. One little mistake and a boat goes by you. You come in to the windward mark and you have to duck three or four boats of six and so you go from first to fifth, sixth to second. It is great racing, like one design, close and competitive. Even today the boats are alive at 13-14 kts, tomorrow we will see up to 20kts or more. We have had a few regattas in strong winds and so we will focus again on the gates. We are confident in our upwinds and downwind and so that will still be our goals.”

Adrian Stead (GBR) tactician Rán Racing (SWE): “It was a pretty tricky day. The breeze was moving around between about 350 degrees and 015 or 020, so 30 degrees of shift and probably two knots of pressure difference. The first legs were always a bit easier to see before the traffic took effect, but the by the second and third legs once it had been chopped up by the Farr 40’s and the Swan 42’s were not so easy to read. We set ourselves a goal of four points for the day and got three. We could have had two wins but on the second beat of Race 4 we did not quite stay in phase and the others were really. The right came in so quickly at the top of that second beat that they had us pinned very quickly we just had to wait for something to get us across. We were probably only two metres off crossing them and leading around in first place but we felt we had infringed Azzurra four or five lengths from the top mark, and so although they did not protest we took a turn. I felt we were definitely too close and so we did a turn for that.”
There is nothing in it right through the fleet. All credit to the guys on Rio. We know Synergy was always a very good boat and the guys are doing a good job in getting the boat up to speed and are sailing well, and the Interlodge guys have had a year in their boat and definitely have some pace. And Gladiator much stronger, stuff with the extra righting moment and so good for them, and Doug DeVos is doing a great job jumping into Quantum Racing and driving the boat. It is lovely. It is great racing. All six biats are in it, and you make a mistake and are suddenly sixth.”


52 SUPER SERIES 2013 Event Calendar:
Quantum Key West Race Week, Key West, Florida, January 20 – 25, 5 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.
52 World Championship, Miami, Florida, March 5 – 9, 5 day WL racing, TP52s and IRC52s.
Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 – 26, 4 day WL racing, IRC52s invited.
Royal Cup, Ibiza, July 2 – 6, 4 day WL & 1 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.
Copa del Rey, Palma, July 29 – August 3, 6 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.
AUDI Week Of The Straits, Porto Cervo, September 10 – 14, 3 day WL & 2 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.

Vendee Globe News : Virbac Paprec Loses Keel

Virbac-Paprec 3 loses its keel

At 2345hrs UTC, while sailing in the third position of the Vendée Globe, about 500 miles northwest of the Cape Verde islands, Jean-Pierre Dick called his team to inform them that his boat, Virbac-Paprec 3, had lost its whole keel at 2245hrs UTC. The skipper from Nice has stabilised the situation. The boat has full ballasts and Dick is sailing at 8 knots towards the Azores. Jean-Pierre Dick told the race office by satellite phone: "I was sailing on starboard tack under mainsail with one reef and the solent (sail), in 20 knots of wind. I was inside when the wind increased suddenly. I went out to adjust the sails. At that moment, I heard a loud bang. Virbac-Paprec 3 went to the luff and was pushed on its side. I eased the mainsail sheet and solent sheet. I furled it (the solent). I went to the end of the boom and eased the running backstay. I went downwind smoothly and the boat slowly went back into the right position. I filled all the ballasts to stabilise the boat. I am heading to the Azores at 8 knots with two reefs in the mainsail and with a staysail. The situation is stabilised and I think that there is no risk of capsizing. My dream of a podium finish in the Vendée Globe has suddenly sunk.”

Quantum Romping in The Keys

Key West, 21st of January 2013
DeVos steers Quantum Racing to lead 52 SUPER SERIES at Key West

Quantum Racing, with owner Doug DeVos on the helm, emerge from the first day of the new 52 SUPER SERIES season with the overall lead at Quantum Key West 2013 thanks to a well executed victory in the second of two windward-leeward races sailed for the six boat 52 class.



They were never passed at any point during the second race, leading from the first windward turn of the five legs contest to the finish, to partner their win to a modest fourth place which they rescued from what had looked earlier like a pretty lacklustre Race 1. Skipper Ed Baird commented:

“I am very excited for Doug DeVos, he is always asking us what he can do better. We are trying to ask the same questions of ourselves, but I think that is the light weather day and it will be different from here on. We will see how it goes. But it was a beautiful day on the water.”

If their fourth and first places reflect something of an up and down opening day for the team which finished second overall on the 2012 52 SUPER SERIES and are twice past MedCup and World Champions, in fact it was the defending champions Azzurra whose results proved more extreme.

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda team lead by skipper-helm Guillermo Parada looked to have seamlessly returned to winning ways when they nailed a perfect start and chose the favoured left side of the upwind leg first. At the windward mark they lead Tony Langley’s Gladiator and stayed ahead to take the first winning gun of the season.

But in the second race Azzurra mistimed their starting move when they tried to tack underneath and slow Quantum Racing. They ended up squeezed between Quantum Racing and Rio and so were forced away. But it was within metres of the windward mark that their problems really started. Azzurra were nearly halted. when they hooked a lobster pot line. It took two attempts with a crewman, David Vera, going off the bow and all the way under the boat to clear the offending line. Even so it was slickly undertaken, reflecting a contingency they had practiced as a team only a few days ago. Azurra dropped to sixth, losing between four and five hundred metres. They were unable to improve from there, but still finish their first day with a share of third place overall.



Vascotto recalled: “We lost about 400 metres to everybody and from there is was very difficult to come back. This is the way of class, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. But tonight we have risotto with lobster, very good, very Italian.”
The first race was just perfect though, good crew work, good wind shifts, Guillermo drove the boat very well and so overall we know that we have the possibility to win races. But we need to stay away from trouble, to start clean, away from lobster pots, stay away from crazy stuff and we are confident tomorrow we make a better job.” 

While Quantum Racing’s first and fourth ensures they lead only on tiebreak, Tony Langley’s Gladiator team sailed a very astute and smooth opening day. With Chris Larson calling tactics, Gladiator were impressive in the way they stayed out of trouble, but equally they were nicely placed to take every opportunity which came their way. When there threatened to be a little mix up at the first mark of the second race with Interlodge and Azzurra opening the door slightly, Gladiator was smartly into third place which they held to the finish.

Langley may pay tribute to new trimmer Ross Halcrow and a new keel as part of their renewed competitive edge, but the owner-driver did a nice job of keeping the boat moving in the slightly streaky, 6-9kts of NW’ly breezes.

As ever there is nothing much separating the fleet after two races. Quantum Racing and Gladiator share he same five points aggregate whilst three boats Azzurra, RÁN and Interlodge, all have seven points. After a light winds pair of opening races, breezes at Quantum Key West 2013 are expected to build for Tuesday and Wednesday.

52 SUPER SERIES. Quantum Key West 2013:

Race 1
1 Azzurra
2 Gladiator
3 Interlodge
4 Quantum Racing
5 RÁN Racing
6 Rio

Race 2
1 Quantum Racing
2 RÁN Racing
3 Gladiator
4 Interlodge
5 Rio
6 Azzurra

Overall after two races:
1 Quantum Racing 5pts
2 Gladiator 5pts
3 Azzurra 7pts
4 RÁN Racing 7pts
5 Interlodge 7pts
6 Rio 11pts

Quotes:
Tony Langley (GBR) owner-helm Gladiator (GBR): “We are pleased with Day 1 we have made some gains from the changes that we have made. We have a new keel and we have Ross Halcrow trimming who is as good as it gets. The breeze was a little bit streaky but when you have trimmers of that quality they make you look good. It is my first time here and I am loving it.”

Ed Baird (USA), skipper-tactician Quantum Racing (USA): “ We did not show our best effort in the first, light airs race. The first start was not great but we thought it was more even on the course and that the right was not going to be as bad a place to be. And early it wasn’t, we were gaining a little to start and then it all fell apart and the left was the place to be but by the time we got across it was too late. That was the way it was going to go. The second race Andy Horton did a great job feeding me information what was happening medium term with the breeze. And we were able to play to that from there. Azzurra chose to come and start alongside and they were just a little bit late and really we were just rumbling along, they tried to tack underneath us and it was just a little too late to do that. They left us with a little space, they were a little pinned down by Gladiator so they did not really have a lot of choice in what happened.
I am very excited for Doug DeVos, he is always asking us what he can do better. We are trying to ask the same questions of ourselves, but I think that is the light weather day and it will be different from here on. We will see how it goes. But it was a beautiful day.”

Vasco Vascotto (ITA), tactician Azzurra (ITA): “The first race was good the second very bad. Unfortunately we were not in a position to take the first shift but still at the top mark we were close to the top boats but unfortunately as we hoisted the kite five seconds later we had caught some lobster buoys. It was difficult but we made a good manoeuvre to get downwind and drop the spinnaker a bit and get a man in the water, we did not see the line the first time we went in the water and so we needed to go back in the water again. And so we lost about 400 metres to everybody and from there is was very difficult to come back. This is the way of class, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. But tonight we have risotto with lobster, very good, very Italian.
The first race was just perfect though, good crew work, good wind shifts, Guillermo drove the boat very well and so overall we know that we have the possibility to win races. But we need to stay away from trouble, to start clean, away from lobster pots, stay away from crazy stuff and we are confident tomorrow we make a better job.”

Adrian Stead (GBR) tactician RÁN (SWE): “It was a tricky day. We put ourselves a bit behind off the start line on the first race and we did not get back into it. The second race was better we did not quite manage to lead Quantum at the windward mark. There was potential to do that but we did not just get bow forward on them enough to do so and they just managed to stop us from tacking at the mark and then they lead us all the way around. We are pleased to get that second. We have a few things to work on after the first race. We needed to be bit more prepared for the start. Overall for us there were some opportunities missed today. But it just goes to show, we did not need much more to have equalled Quantum as boat of the day.”

Manouch Moshayedi (USA) owner-helm Rio“ We had a great start in the first race, and felt really good lined up with everyone in the first beat of that race. Gladiator just got around us at the top mark, and they pushed the mark sideways, but when I shot up to miss it, the transom swung and hit the mark. So, we did our turn, but it didn’t hurt us too badly. We have been used to racing around other boats of different sizes, so it’s taking awhile to get used to being in a pack like this close to the other boats. But its really great, and we’re looking forward to learning every day. For the second race we were in a debrief and didn’t realize the sequence had started, so we were a little caught out and didn’t have a good start. After that there were not many opportunities to then get back at the leaders.”

Kris Matthews (USA), Bowman and Boat Captain, Interlodge (USA): “We are super happy with the day, our first in the SuperSeries, and never having mixed it up with these guys before I think we did really well. Austin did a great job off the start line, especially in the first race where things fell into place nicely [and we boxed out Quantum at the boat end]. The boat is really fast, and we held our own in the corners, so we feel really confident going into the rest of this week.”


52 SUPER SERIES 2013 Event Calendar:
Quantum Key West Race Week, Key West, Florida, January 20 – 25, 5 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.
52 World Championship, Miami, Florida, March 5 – 9, 5 day WL racing, TP52s and IRC52s.
Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 – 26, 4 day WL racing, IRC52s invited.
Royal Cup, Ibiza, July 2 – 6, 4 day WL & 1 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.
Copa del Rey, Palma, July 29 – August 3, 6 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.
AUDI Week Of The Straits, Porto Cervo, September 10 – 14, 3 day WL & 2 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.

52 Super Series - Day 1 Race 2

Published on Jan 21, 2013
First day of the Quantum Key West Race Week 2013

Quantum Key West Race week News

Key West, 20th of January 2013
2013 "52 SUPER SERIES" is under Starter’s Orders in Key West

The 2013 "52 SUPER SERIES" starts Monday with two scheduled races at Quantum Key West regatta and if early indicators from the informal training races which have taken place over recent days are a yardstick then the established form teams might not have it all their own way.




With five days of windward-leeward racing planned, the six 52’s from both sides of the Atlantic, should enjoy a good range of wind conditions. Naturally the teams would choose to dial up the best Key West conditions, sunshine with 15-18kts of breeze and a useful sea state each and every day, but forecasters anticipate light airs to provide a gentle opening to a 52 fleet season which spans nine months and six regattas, two in the USA and four in Europe. And although the training days have seen overcast skies, and humid daytime weather, sunshine is promised.

Reigning 52 SUPER SERIES champions Azzurra have made a key change to their afterguard, bringing in Croatian Tomislav Basic. That his big strength is match racing does not directly indicate that the team which represents the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda are anticipating regular duels with Quantum Racing - such as characterised so much of last season - insists fiery tactician Vasco Vascotto (ITA) but having his skills in their armoury is just another component in their drive to cover every base:

“We were looking for someone who could bring us that match racing experience.”Vascotto emphasises, “ We want to be relaxed and know we can do what we need to if we get into that match race situation. We have that strength in our pocket. It is about being prepared but not necessarily a signal we are going in that direction. We are ready to ensure we are not weak on that side. We don’t want to be fighting like we did at the end of last season in Valencia, but we are ready.”

Quantum Racing (USA), who won their class here last year, have owner Doug DeVos steering here and at the World Championships in early March in Miami. Their long term goal is to win the 52 SuperSeries titles, but making sure DeVos – owner of the team and enthusiastic principal sponsor of the regatta – enjoys maximum satisfaction is part of the focus this week for skipper Ed Baird and the team:

“ The objective is to have a week which we can look back on and say: ‘ that was really good, that was fun’.” Baird leads, “ That is number one priority. If we won the event than that would be fabulous. But more importantly it is about just trying to get better every day and see where we end up.”



For each of the teams the drive is to maintain a high level of consistency from the very start of the season. Niklas Zennström’s RÁN, which finished third overall in 2012 and Tony Langley’s Gladiator have both taken different steps to enhance their challenge to the top two teams this season. Zennström says they are looking to simply cut down on the occasional but costly bad races, whilst Langley has made a fundamental change to the configuration of Gladiator. A new, deeper keel fin should get them on terms with the newest generation boats.

The American boats Interlodge (Austin Gwen Fragomen) and Rio (ex Synergy, Manouch Moshayedi) have already proven competitive in the tune up racing and both will be looking to repeat that when racing starts in earnest Monday:

Phip Halowell (USA), the upwind trimmer on Interlodge (USA), reports:
“We’ve been racing together for a year now, and I think we are fast and our corners will be fine. But the starts will be tough, so we worked on that today to learn to shift gears for positioning off the line. These other teams are really good, they won’t make mistakes, so we have to make sure we can be at the same level.”

Quantum Racing © Keith Brash

Main trimmer and boat captain Keith Kilpatrick says the Rio team is working hard to learn the boat, which was just delivered to them in November as ex-Synergy.

“We felt we had reached a performance peak with the last boat, so getting this new boat that is a sistership to Quantum will give us the chance to be on the same level as the others. But we have to learn this boat, so this will be important for us this week.”

Quantum Racing © Keith Brash

Weather for the week will be a good Key West mixture: everything from light to fresh to challenge the teams assembled here. The regatta will likely start out very light and patchy Monday but then things improve for the rest of the week. Conditions will become fresh on Tuesday and into early Wednesday. During the day on Wednesday, moderating winds are expected, but still could be fresh in strength up to 20 knots on Thursday. Easing winds are expected for the finale Friday when the wind veers more into a trade wind pattern, but still moderate in strength.

All of the action from the 52 SUPER SERIES is broadcast on www.52SuperSeries.comwith live tracking from Virtual Eye supplemented by live audio commentary.

Ed Reynolds (USA) project manager Quantum Racing (USA):
“ Ed Baird will do tactics and Andy Horton will do strategy and just integrate Doug (DeVos, owner). For all the commitments he makes, everything he has done for this event and for 52 SuperSeries this is our chance to make sure he has some fun. That is a major priority, but of course we always want to win. Also we are working on a lot of new technology with the sails. We have some new fibres we are testing here, a number of new films and that is also a big focus for us, making sure the next evolution is validated.”

Quantum Racing © Keith Brash

Vasco Vascotto, ITA, tactician Azzurra (ITA/ARG):
“ It is great to have a couple of new boats here and we hope they will join us on the rest of the 52 SUPER SERIES. I feel like the class is going forwards again and I think that is important for the class.
I have sailed here for 15 years which means I am getting old, but I have never won here. I think I have been second four times. Let us see how we sail here. We are really happy with how we are sailing. The crew work is going very well and what we have done in this last period we are very happy with. We have lost Francesco Bruni to the America’s Cup, which is a shame for him really, but we have Tomislav who has joined the team. I am from Trieste and he is from Croatia, very close together. He is a very smart guy and learns very quickly. He brings us his match racing experience. He did the Olympic Games in the 470 and is a very good match racer. We have a good relationship and with this crew it is easy for him to come in. We trained together for the Louis Vuitton in New Zealand and he coached Francesco and I at that event. We were looking for someone who could bring us that match racing experience. We want to be relaxed and know we can do what we need to if we get into that match race situation. We have that strength in our pocket. It is about being prepared but not necessarily a signal we are going in that direction. We are ready to ensure we are not weak on that side. We don’t want to be fighting like we did at the end of last season in Valencia, but we are ready. We should see the breeze building through the week from the North, NNE, it will be a little shifty.
We have learned that everybody can win here. Interlodge won one of the training races here. So we know that we are all mostly at the same level so anyone can win races here. And that is what is nice about this class. Pressure is about someone who has to go and work at 5 am, who makes €1000 a month and have three children to feed.”

Niklas Zennström (SWE) skipper-helm RÁN (SWE):
“ We have had some good practice racing here. We have had a first and third in today’s training races, so we are in good shape and this is a lovely place to sail. This is the third time we have been here. We were here last year with the Mini-Maxi and in 2008 with the Ran 1 (original TP52). We like it here, it is a good place to sail and a nice regatta.
Last season we were third and now we are going to be doing everything we can to beat Quantum Racing and Azzurra, that is our target over the season. We can win but everyone has been getting better. Looking back at last year for us we are going to be about minimising mistakes. Last year we had a few really bad races which set us back. So for us, consistency is what we need to be better at.
It is great to be having six regattas this season. And it is nice to be starting here and it is great to have Interlodge and Rio here on the starting line. It also great to have mostly owner drivers competing here.”


Chris Larson (USA) tactician, Gladiator (USA):
“ We have had four days of good practice, lots of starts, picking up where we left off last year. Having good consistent scores here, making sure you are not last or next to last here and can stay in the top half of the fleet, that is what I am looking for here. I have been here about 20 or 22 times. On the big boat course here, versus the other two, the current in the shipping channel goes out and so there is some tidal effect.
We have made some changes to the boat and it is pretty impressive. We feel good, even if we have not had a lot of stability sailing yet. We feel like we can put the bow down a little more than we could before and sail a tenth of a knot or two faster for speed without losing VMG, which we could not do before with the old configuration. The newer boats can sail at a tenth or two faster and not lose VMG and we had to sail a high, slow VMG mode now we can put the bow down and compete and that’s exciting for us.”

Phip Halowell (USA): Upwind trimmer on Interlodge (USA):
“We’ve been racing together for a year now, and I think we are fast and our corners will be fine. But the starts will be tough, so we worked on that today to learn to shift gears for positioning off the line. These other teams are really good, they won’t make mistakes, so we have to make sure we can be at the same level.”

Keith Kilpatrick (USA) main trimmer and boat captain Rio (USA):
“We felt we had reached a performance peak with the last boat, so getting this new boat that is a sistership to Quantum will give us the chance to be on the same level as the others. But we have to learn this boat, so this will be important for us this week.”


52 SUPER SERIES 2013 Regatta Calendar:▪ Quantum Key West Race Week, Key West, Florida, January 20 – 25, 5 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.


▪ 52 World Championship, Miami, Florida, March 5 – 9, 5 day WL racing, TP52s and IRC52s.

▪ Trofeo Conde de Godo, Barcelona, May 23 – 26, 4 day WL racing, IRC52s invited.


▪ Royal Cup, Ibiza, July 2 – 6, 4 day WL & 1 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.
▪ Copa del Rey, Palma, July 29 – August 3, 6 day WL racing, dual scoring IRC & 52 Super Series.
▪ Audi Week Of The Straits, Porto Cervo, September 10 – 14, 3 day WL & 2 day Coastal, TP52s and IRC52s.

SeaLaunay 2012

PUMAcast - America's Cup - Oracle Team USA Game Faces

New Wing for ORACLE TEAM USA

Published on Jan 8, 2013
The new wing sail for ORACLE TEAM USA arrived to San Francisco on Jan. 8, completing a journey from Core Builders Composites in New Zealand. After traveling across the Pacific Ocean, the wing still had another adventure ahead - trucking around the South Bay before pulling into the team base at Pier 80.

Zhik, CST Composites 2013 AUS Moth Nationals - Tom Slingsby

Published on Jan 8, 2013
We had a chat with Tom Slingsby to hear about his sailing, on moths, lasers, AC45s and AC72s.

Quantum Racing - 2012 Highlights

Published on Jan 4, 2013

2012 Highlights from the 52 Super Series, includes footage of Palma Vela (Training)

Produced by Keith Brash for Quantum TV

ORACLE TEAM USA's Resolutions for the New Year

Published on Dec 31, 2012
ORACLE TEAM USA team members - Russell Coutts, Dirk Kramers, Brad Webb, Kyle Langford, Kinley Fowler, Ben Ainslie, Grant Simmer, Rome Kirby, Joe Spooner, Simeon Tienpont and Jimmy Spithill - share their New Year's Resolutions for 2013.