Burham,
Spithill Join Fleet For Key West 2005: First Entry
Deadline Is Dec. 10
KEY
WEST, Fla.---The Athens Olympics are a fond memory,
the next America’s Cup isn’t until
2007 and it will be too cold next month to sail
in most of the northern hemisphere, which leaves
one prime destination for the world’s best
sailors.
Key
West 2005 presented by Nautica is where gold medalist
Kevin Burnham and Luna Rossa helmsman James Spithill,
among other sailing celebrities, will be found
Jan. 17-21, along with more than 300 other teams,
if current entry projections play out.
The
J/105s have already surpassed their Key West record
turnout of 29 boats with 31 entered and 40 expected.
So far there are 42 Melges 24s from coast to coast
and seven countries, matching the number of PHRF
entries. And there will be lots more before the
deadline.
After
winning the Olympic men’s 470 class with
helmsman Paul Foerster, Burnham became world-famous
in photos of his back flip dive at the finish
line---a 10.0 in Olympic scoring. At Key West
he will join a crew on Rocketeer II, a Corsair
28R trimaran entered by Ken Winters of Dallas.
Randy Smyth, America’s foremost multihuller
and a two-time Olympic silver medalist, will also
be on board, with Charles Nethersole driving.
Burnham,
a Miami resident, said Winters was a key supporter
of him and Foerster. “Ken had been helping
Paul and me make ends meet for the Olympic campaign,
but I could not sail with him at Key West last
year so I contacted Randy. Randy was able to go
sailing with my friend and find the crew, too.
They all had a great time and are back again.
This year I have been invited to join them. I
am really looking forward to it. It is one of
my favorite regattas.”
With
the AC scene momentarily marking time, Spithill
will sail a Melges 24. It’s somewhat removed
from the International America’s Cup Class
machine he now drives for the Italian syndicate,
but the young Australian should feel right at
home in one of the event’s heavily international
fleets.
Spithill
and Jonathan McKee were with Seattle’s OneWorld
team in the last America’s Cup and are now
teammates with Luna Rossa.
“It
is my first time in [a Melges 24],” said
McKee, who owns Olympic bronze and silver medals.
“I am really excited. This is not official
Luna Rossa business, just a fun event for us.
Having said that, we are sailing with mostly Luna
Rossa guys, including [brother] Charlie McKee
and Manuel Modena, but also a young kid from Miami
who sails Optimist.”
Besides
the Melges 24s, the Swan 45s, Transpac 52s and
Farr 40s also share in the universal zest of an
entry list currently showing boats from two dozen
countries and five of the seven continents. Only
Antarctica has never been represented, but give
it time.
Many
of those will figure in the intense competition
among teams for the International Team Trophy.
Peter De Ridder’s Mean Machine from Monaco
won the Farr 40 class last January as part of
the Europe B team that wrested the title from
Italy’s multi-year dominance.
Dec.
10 is the deadline for entry applications to avoid
late fees. Final entry applications are due Dec.
27. The regatta is limited to the first 350 entries.
Entry
information and current list, Notice and Conditions
of Race, accommodations and much more at www.Premiere-Racing.com
Anticipated
one-design classes include the Swan 45s, which
debuted a year earlier; Transpac 52s, Farr 40s,
Mumm 30s, 1D35s, J/105s, J/120s, J/109s, J/80s,
J/29s, C&C 99s, Corsair 28Rs and the largest
group of all, the Melges 24s.
One-off
designs and others without the numbers to establish
level classes will be assigned to the PHRF, IMS
and IRC fleets that traditionally comprise about
one-third of the turnout.
Key
West 2005 sponsors are Nautica, Mount Gay Rum,
B&G, Lewmar, Samson Rope Technologies, and
the Florida Keys and Key West Tourist Development
Council. The Historic Seaport is the Official
Site.
Support
also comes from a record number of 29 Industry
Partners.
Premiere
Racing is also managing the new Acura Miami Race
Week 2005 ("the SORC renaissance").
Race dates are March 10-13, 2005, with ocean and
Biscayne Bay racing. Many Key West entrants are
planning to store boats in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale
and return for more great South Florida racing.
More
details about the Keys, including web cams, are
available at www.fla-keys.com or by calling 1-800-FLA-KEYS.
KEY
WEST NOTES: Among the latest entries is Titan
12, Tom Hill’s Reichel/Pugh 75 maxi from
Newport, R.I. It again will line up as base handicap
boat among the big PHRF competitors, alongside
Bill Alcott’s Andrews 68, Equation, from
Detroit, and Daniel Meyers’ Farr 60, Numbers,
from Newport, among others. . . . Daisuke Kimura
of Hayama, Japan, is returning to sail Maleesh,
a Beneteau 40.7 he has chartered. Kimura owns
the same kind of boat and will bring his own sails.
He chartered a Beneteau 36.7 last January. . .
. Four of the Transpac 52s planning to compete
also will do the “feeder” race from
Ft. Lauderdale starting Jan. 12. They are Makoto
Uematsu’s Esmeralda, Japan, with Ken Read
on board; Mike Brennan’s Sjambok, Roger
Sturgeon’s Rosebud and Fred Detwiler’s
Trader.
CONTACTS
PREMIERE RACING, Inc.
67B
Front Street, Marblehead, MA, 01945
Tel:
(781) 639-9545, Fax: (781) 639-9171
KWInfo@Premiere-Racing.com
PRESS OFFICER
Rich
Roberts
(310)
835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
