Key West Race Week: John Brown Leading Blind Squirrel to a One-Point Lead
January 22, 2016 - Key West, FL, USA - As published by Event Media - It’s coming down to the wire at Quantum Key West 2016 with several classes to be determined on the final day of racing, Industry Partner Day. Organizers with the Storm Trysail Club held three more races on all three courses on Day 4 in solid 10-14 knot winds that started out of the northeast and slowly clocked around to the east, all per prediction.
Melges 24 class has now completed nine races. Division 2 PRO Dave Brennan has the option of running two races for the J/70, Melges 24 and C&C 30 classes on the final day. We will know tomorrow their decision based on the weather forecast of good conditions in the morning, but then dying later into the day.
Melges 24 fleet in Key West on Day 3 - photo IM24CA/ZGN/MauroMelandri
The Melges 24 is incredibly close class with skipper John Brown leading Blind Squirrel to a one-point lead over skipper Richard Thompson aboard Black Seal. Kevin Jewett is calling tactics on Blind Squirrel, which has won three races and placed second in four others in totaling 14 points.
“We just have to go out tomorrow and sail the way we have been,” said Brown, from Philadelphia, PA. “We’ve gotten good starts in just about all the races and our crew work has been superb. I’ve got a bunch of good sailors on the boat and Kevin has done a fantastic job with tactics.”
Richard Thompson's Black Seal from UK - photo IM24CA/ZGN/Mauro Melandri
Black Seal, which earned the Mount Gay Rum Boat of the Day honors yesterday, has posted five bullets in the series. Thompson, who lives in London, was not happy that Blind Squirrel was match racing Black Seal in today’s final race. Blind Squirrel finished seventh out of 12 entries, while Black Seal was eighth. Both boats threw out that result, but it could be more of the same one-on-one tactical combat on Friday.
Day 4 photos by IM24CA/ZGN/MauroMelandri
