Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race Preview
by SORC 7 Jan 2023 14:59 PST
November 4, 2022
Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race © SORC Sailing
The 2022-2023 Islands in the Stream Series kicked off the season with the famous "blast across the Stream"- the Nassau Cup Race. Then, after a brief respite, the fleet sailed the 60.0nm Miami to Palm Beach Race.
Now, the fleet is set to race the classic Ft Lauderdale to Key West Race this weekend. Hosting the race are the Storm Trysail Club and Lauderdale Yacht Club for the highly competitive ORC fleet of twenty-two boats. The race starts on November 4th off Government Cut in Miami.
The SORC Islands in the Stream Series consists of four races:
- Nov 3- Miami- Nassau Cup
- Dec 2- Palm Beach Race
- Jan 4- Lauderdale- Key West Race
- Feb 9- Port Canaveral Race
The Lauderdale- Key West Race of 160.0nm has always been popular since it acts as a "feeder race" to the annual Key West Race Week taking place later in Key West. For 2023, those participants have the added bonus of staying around for another week of racing in America's only Caribbean-style race week in the Florida Keys- this year's The Southernmost Regatta powered by Sailing Inc from Cleveland, Ohio.
The Key West Race itself presents numerous challenges to the racers. It's a simple enough race track. Head south to several key turning marks to be left to starboard- 68.0nm to Elbow Key Light, 12.0nm more to Molasses Reef Light, 53.0nm more to Sombrero Key Light, 45.0nm more to Key West Channel buoy #2, then a short 6.0nm sprint north up the channel to the finish off Truman Annex Navy base.
The race has always been tactically challenging since the simple strategy is to avoid at all costs the swiftly flowing Gulf Stream with its 3-6 kts north-northeast current. Whether it's the classic northeast sleigh ride under spinnakers all the way around the Keys to the west-northwest post-front reach and windward beat short-tacking into the reef, the tactics are very similar. No matter what, tacking & gybing towards the reefs always provides current relief, so the navigators are an integral part of the decision-making process for the entire race!
After the first two races, the Nassau Cup Race (from Miami, FL to Nassau, Bahamas) and the Wirth Munroe Memorial Race (from Miami, FL to Palm Beach, FL), the ORC B Division leaderboard has J/Teams occupying the top six slots! Here are the current standings:
ORC B Division
1. Tom Sutton's J/122 LEADING EDGE
2. Matt Schaedler's J/122 BLITZKRIEG
3. Constantine Baris' J/122 DIRE WOLF
4. Forbes Durdin & Chris Lewis' J/121 BEAR
5. Andrew Berdon's J/111 SUMMER STORM
6. Andrew Clark's J/122 ZIG ZAG
Other teams sailing that are yet to crack the top five in the ORC B or C Division are David Nesbitt's J/92 HILLBILLY, and John Harvey & Rick Titsworth's J/120 SLEEPING TIGER- SOUTH. Good luck to all!