With four class titles up for grabs going into the final day of racing, Quantum Key West Race Week served up exciting competition along with outstanding sailing conditions. The week started with a windy and wavy southeasterly that faded over the course of four days before swinging around to a light southerly for Friday’s conclusion. The 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week saw the seven racing classes complete 10 or 12 races, all as scheduled.
Spaceman Spiff leads during racing. Photo by PhotoBoat.com/Quantum Key West Race Week.
By winning the final race of the highly competitive 52 Super Series and with it the class championship, Doug DeVos’ Quantum Racing was awarded Boat of the Week honors. “Based on the closeness of the racing from start to finish, the 52 Super Series is the most competitive class we’ve ever had at race week,” said Division 1 Principal Race Officer Ken Legler, who’s been coming to race week for 23 years.
Also in the 52s, Harm Müller-Spreer’s Quantum-powered Platoon took second place overall but only on a three way tie-break with Niklas Zennström’s Rán Racing and Ergin Imre’s Provezza. Platoon was also named City of Key West boat of the day on Monday following its fleet-leading performance of two wins.
The new TP52 Interlodge at their inaugural event in Key West. Photo by PhotoBoat.com/Quantum Key West Race Week.
TP52 fleet competition has never been closer. Only two points separate second from an excellent seventh-placed debut from Austin and Gwen Fragomen’s new Interlodge, also equipped with Quantum sails.
The Corinthian Boat of the Week was awarded to Quantum customer Rob Britts’ Hot Mess, which finished first among the J/70 Corinthian Teams and 15th overall.
Other great results for Quantum-powered boats include Marty Kullman’s second-placed New Wave, which won a tiebreaker over Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network from Italy. Calvi Network, the series leader through 10 races, stumbled in the final two races, placing 22-12.
In the J/111s, Rob Ruhlman’s Spaceman Spiff placed second, while his son Ryan, lead his team on the J/88 Spaceman Spiff to a third place finish.
In the ORC Class, John Cooper’s Cool Breeze and Kenai, owned by Chris and Karen Lewis tied for third place. Cool Breeze capped off the event with two bullets in the final races of the week to take the win.
Two class winners – Dan Cheresh’s Extreme2 in the C&C 30 one design and Laura Weyler’s Hijinks in the J/88 Class – had such large leads that they didn’t have to race Friday. On Tuesday, Hijinks was named Lewmar Boat of the Day. Over the course of the week, the team scored five bullets out of the nine races sailed.
In the C&C 30 class, Quantum customers swept the podium with Sandra Askew’s Flying Jenny and Kip Meadows RoXanne following taking second and third places behind Extreme2.
Quantum Results for Quantum Key West Race Week
Div 1
52 Super Series
1st Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos
2nd Platoon, Harm Muller Spreer
J/111
2nd Spaceman Spiff, Rob Ruhlman
Div 2
J/70
2nd New Wave, Martin Kullman
1st Corinthian, Hot Mess, Rob Britts
C&C 30
1st Extreme 2, Dan Cheresh
2nd Flyning Jenny, Sandra Askew
3rd RoXanne, Kip Meadows
Div 3
J/88
1st Hijinks, Laura Weyler
3rd Spaceman Spiff, Ryan Ruhlman
ORC
3rd Cool Breeze, John Cooper
Click here for full results.
Boat of the Day/Week
- Boat of the Week: Quantum Racing, Doug DeVos
- Corinthian Boat of the Week: Hot Mess, Rob Britts
- Lewmar Day (Tuesday): J/88 Hijinks, Laura Weyler
- City of Key West Day (Monday): TP52 Platoon, Harm Müller Spreer