Team Cyberspeed drives through the wind and waves for a win in the ‘Keys 100 Reef Run’.
Hardy souls braved blustery conditions to compete in the inaugural Keys 100 Reef Run, Saturday, April 25th. Five of an intended 10 boats decided to fight strong winds and go racing 80 miles from Islamorada to Key West. All were briefed on conditions, averaging 18.1 mph over a five minute period, with gusts to 24, from the east, measured at the end of the pier at the Islander Resort. Major reef marks 3 miles off shore recorded wind gusts over 30 mph during the day. Bret Moss, in his Marstrom 20 made a great start, first across the line. He was within 20 feet of the start line, streaking on a run under main and Spin., at the signal. A spinnaker pole strut gave within the hour and was he forced to retire. The remaining boats continued to Smathers Beach, Key West, 80 miles downwind. There were several spills, the most spectacular being a forward catapult, by Curt Johnson and Kevin Greene in the white team Royal boat after plowing bows into a wave. Each boat, except the winners, Craig Van Eaton and Rob behrend in the Super Cat 20, capsized at least once. This was a real test for four different boat types, There were The super Cat, a I-20, a Nacra 6.0 and a F-16. Chris Stater and required second man crew Eric Hosch in the F – 16, decided to stay closer to the land in a conservative route plan remained close to the fleet until an unplanned jibe, while rolling in a wave trough, caused their only capsize. They finished the race under jib alone for the last hour due to a rudder problem. Everyone was pulling for Chris and the F-16, who promised he had seen these conditions often in Puerto Rico sailing an even a Hobie 16. The F-16, though small for the conditions, proved its worth in this race, under able hands. Curt Johnson finishing third, was asked how many times he capsized and his reply was, “More than I could count.” They broke the tiller cross bar, where the tiller extension attaches and ended the raced under jib alone to finish. Tony Prui and Mark Lipkus raced the red Nacra 6.0, coming in second only 17: 15 minutes behind the Super Cat, whose broad beam and screecher were ready for these conditions. A tight race ensued between the Nacra 6.0 and the Super Cat until a 6.0 capsize. Both crews said it was nip and tuck and would have finished that way except for the unplanned event. Craig Van Eaton reported, after checking his GPS route plot, that he traveled 136.2 miles in completing the race, in 5:43:36 hours, making his average speed better than 20 mph over the bottom and 14 mph toward the finish. The endurance series is monitored by “TopoFusion.com”, who contributes to successful tracking via “Spot” trackers. To replay the race go to Sailseries.com, then click on Keys 100 reef run “event info”, then near the bottom of that page, click on live “event tracking” Thanks to TopoFusion.com you may rerun the event as often as you like. This program smoothes out the track as it is pinged every 10 to 15 minutes.
Craig and Rob completed the trip having sailed all the way from West palm to race the Miami – Key Largo race and then, this race, for a total distance of 240 miles.
Historically, winds for the predecessor Hogs Breath 100, were some lighter, but still have provided a great sleigh ride to Key West. Prevailing conditions during April normally provide long/short spinnaker tacks to the finish.
Sponsors provided finger food and first beverage for registration, on Friday evening and the Grand Key Double tree Resort in Key West gave discounted super sandwiches or meal prices at an awards gathering for those who remained overnight. Both hotels were at capacity in this time period with normal tourists paying much higher rates while sailors who registered at either hotel 60 or 30 days in advance received progressively lower rates with earlier reservations. Key West Conch republic anniversary activities provided a lot of hoopla down town Key West for weary souls.
The Race was sponsored by The Islander Resort, Islander Water Sports and Tybee Island Sailing Association. This race will be continued under the Name “KEYS REEF RUN” annually. In addition we are looking for an opening in November to Run a Islander Triangle, Buoy or distance race and seeking sponsors.
Scoring: Hours:Minutes:seconds
Elapsed / Corrected (Portsmouth) / Record
1st Team Cyberspeed (SC 20) 5:43:30 / 9:24:30 / 4:38 (2007)
Craig Van Eaton & Rob Behrend
2nd Team Splickety Lick (Nacra 6.0) 6:00:45 / 10:06:18
Mark Lipkus & Tony Priu
3rd Team Royal White (I-20) 6:50:50 / 11:54:30
Curt Johnson & Kevin Greene
4th Chris Stater & Eric Hosch (F-16) 7:34:30 / 11:58:01
Team Yahwahnnah
DNF Team Carbon Cruising (M-20)
Bret Moss & Doug Russell
Contributed by Warren Green, PRO, US Sailing CRO