Californians at Key West Race Week
It’s not only ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) sailors who swoop into Key West for its turquoise waters and competitive week of racing on January 15-20. Quantum Key West Race Week attracts contenders from the West Coast and around the globe. For the second year in a row the Bay Area’s Peter Wagner and the Skeleton Key J/111 crew earned a first after five days of racing, logging a tally of 25 (8-3-1-1-4-1-3-2-1-1). By scoring an 8 then a 3 right off, the crew found themselves digging out for the comeback. This year saw nine J/111s on the line, and Wagner reports that the entire fleet had raised its competitive game. Wagner purchased the boat in 2015 and competes with an entirely West Coast crew, including his mainsail trimmer, who is a college mate and fellow All-American sailor from Harvard.
Gary Panariello of Sausalito has been racing in Key West since 2010, initially in the J/80 and now the J/88 class. He chartered a boat for his bicoastal Courageous crew. “This year was super-competitive and racing was tight. Conditions were fantastic, but at this venue you really need to focus; this is a challenging place to race.” The Courageous team earned a fourth in the fleet of seven.
Chris Snow of Menlo Park and crew campaigned Cool Story Bro., placing 20th in the competitive J/70 division of 41 boats. In the C&C 30 division, RoXanne relied on tactician Steve Hunt, and the Anema & Core crew included Southern California sailors Will Tetrick on the bow and Kevin Abbink as mast/grinder. “This event has a large participation of boats, grand prix and PHRF, and organizers provide a great social venue," says Tetrick. "Racers are treated very well with educational debriefs and panel discussion, plus good food and beverage. This event is on many racers’ bucket list.”
Quantum Key West Race Week is managed by Storm Trysail Club, which also hosts Block Island Race Week, plus offshore events such as the biennial Pineapple Cup race to Montego Bay, the Transatlantic Race and various others along the eastern shore of the US.