Read and Leech win ORC Doublehanded Class in Key West Race

After a long night of fast sailing for some and start-stop action for others, the fleet on the Ft Lauderdale-Key West Race is finished now and enjoying the laid-back ambience of this touristic island once heralded as “The Southernmost Point in the US.”

In the ORC Double Handed Class, Ken Read and Suzy Leech endured a long night of squall after squall to finish at 09:19 on their Jeanneau 3600 Alchemist to still defeat their rivals in corrected time, Mike Hennessy and Katie Pettibone on their Class 40 Dragon who finished two hours earlier at 07:05.

“This was a long night, and it really mattered where you were in relation to the squalls,” said Read after a daytime nap to get his batteries re-charged for the evening’s awards celebrations. “We were keeping close to the course boundary to stay out of the current and minimize distance, which gave us only a very narrow track. So as the winds shifted in the squalls we had to meet each shift with a sail change. This is not easy with a full crew, much less two people.”

Nonetheless Read was upbeat about the discipline and the promise it holds for testing the caliber of offshore sailors. “There are so many elements needed to succeed – keeping the boat fast in knowing your sail options, making the sail changes needed, developing and executing a game plan, and physically pacing yourself – all this is important. This was a great test of all that and more.”

Complete results can be found here.