Races six and seven were completed in near perfect conditions with the Melges 24 fleet enjoying some spectacular sailing. Flavio Favini, helming for Franco Rossini, continued his outstandingly consistent performance scoring a first and third to give him an eleven point lead over Brian Porter.
Second place in the final race of the series was enough to give Flavio Favini, helming for Franco Rossini, his second consecutive Melges 24 Key West title ahead of Brian Porter. Record 90 year low temperatures and strong winds made for unexpected conditions on the final day of racing.
After racing today Fiona Brown spoke with Nick Maxwell and Joe Woods about the race and their overall impressions of the week. FB - Nick, you had a great race today, what was your secret? NM - It was very light, very flukey, we had the rig set very light which worked out just in our favour.
It was a very hard day's racing with light airs and two huge shifts for the Melges 24 crews to contend with in the single race completed at Key West today. Nick Maxwell from Wisconsin was the delighted winner of the race which caught many of the series leaders on the hop.
It was a day of exciting racing and mixed fortunes for the Melges 24 fleet at Key West. The big, high quality fleet and tricky conditions have resulted in some surprise upsets with most of the top names now counting at least one poor result.
Alec Cutler, helming for Canda's John Sherlock, leads the 57 strong Melges 24 class at Terra Nova Key West after two races with a 1, 2 scoreline, ahead of 2001 Melges 24 World Champion Flavio Favini, helming for Switzerland's Franco Rossini.
The vast majority of the 57 Melges 24 crews entered for Terra Nova Key West 2003 are out on the race area right now getting in some final practise before racing commences tomorrow morning.
The exciting Coupe de France team event, which will take place from St Tropez on 29 and 30 March, is attracting top names from across Europe. Each team consists of a Melges 24, a Dragon and a Mumm 30 representing either their country or region.
The US Nationals coincide with Spring Break and accommodation is proving hard to find so if you haven't already booked your accommodation Kriss Ridgway, who races on USA276 "Forerunner" has a solution for you.
