LARCHMONT, NY - July 7, 2016– The 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week has reached an agreement with the Waterfront Brewery to host all shoreside activities for the celebratory regatta, scheduled Jan. 15-20, 2017.
Located in the Key West Historic Seaport and Bight, the Waterfront Brewery opened in 2015 and has a spacious area that will host the nightly awards ceremony and morning weather briefings. Located in a building that used to be a grocery store, the venue is equipped with four big screen televisions and two projector screens to broadcast the daily video of racing.
“Moving the shoreside activities to the Waterfront Brewery will help enhance the sailors’ experience of Key West Race Week,” said John Fisher. “We’ll be able to accommodate a great number of people and also host private functions in adjoining rooms. The new venue should be a great meeting spot.”
Waterfront Brewery 2
The Waterfront Brewery has spectacular sunset views overlooking where most of the fleet will be moored at the Key West Historic Seaport and Bight
The 30th anniversary of the regatta that started as a mostly fun series among casual racers and grew to the most important international regatta hosted in the U.S. is shaping up to memorable. The new venue in Old Town brings the nightly action back to the waterfront and near where many boats berth during the regatta. Quantum Sails, the international sail making company based in Traverse City, Mich., is back as title sponsor and entries are building with the regatta still six months away.
Quantum’s return is testament to the growth of Key West Race Week in the first year of management by the Storm Trysail Club. Total entries in the 2016 race week grew by 15 percent from the previous year.
“We appreciate what the Storm Trysail Club brings to Key West Race Week and the sport of sailing,” said Quantum Sails President Ed Reynolds. “The Storm Trysail Club supports the interests and needs of sailors in a variety of ways with its safety-at-sea programs, the education of young sailors and their race management expertise. The Storm Trysail Club knows how to run a great event and deliver a quality product for participants and sponsors alike. They are open to new ideas and supportive of sponsor objectives. Quantum Key West Race Week is an important event for the sailing community and we encourage our peers in the marine industry to join us in supporting this regatta.”
Coinciding with the return of Quantum Sails, the Notice of Race has been posted online and is available for download through this link. The entry period opened with the posting of the Notice of Race posted and J.D. Hill’s Second Star (J/122) from Seabrook, Tx., has the distinction of being the first entry for the 30th anniversary race week.
“Do I get a prize for that? We’ve never raced there before but the regatta’s been on our bucket list for awhile,” said the 49-year-old Hill, the President of Corrosion Technologies in Dallas which manufactures a line of anti-corrosion products and equipment for aviation, marine, automotive, RV, maintenance, industrial, household, agricultural and general purpose uses.
“We went down and checked out the 25th anniversary race week and said we’ll do this one day,” said Hill. “It’s got warm water, which my wife wants, and it’s got good competition, which my crew wants.”
The regatta will host starts for IRC and ORC-rated boats as well as one-design classes. Top classes such as the C&C 30, J/70 and Melges 24 are expected to compete. Also lined up to race is the National One-Design Sailing Academy of Canada.
The academy is a comprehensive boating school for children and adults and has a fleet of Flying Tiger 7.5m (24.93 feet LOA) that it will make available for charter during race week. It also will host a clinic with Bill Gladstone the weekend before racing, Jan. 13-14, 2017.
“Key West is so cool,” said Diane Reid, the President of the National One-Design Sailing Academy. “What better place to be than Quantum Key West Race Week learning and racing with your team. The whole world is welcomed to charter one of our boats.”
The Notice of Race outlines the deadlines for entry fee, of which there are three deadlines: before Oct. 1, 2016, before Dec. 1, 2016, and after Dec. 1, 2016, until the start of race week. The entry fee is based on length overall and there are three different classifications: 18-26 feet LOA, 27-45 feet LOA and 46-85 feet LOA. Two other length designations are stipulated for Performance Cruising Classes and include 19-45 feet LOA and 46-85 feet LOA.
“The cruising classes were a new feature at last year’s race week and were enjoyed by the competitors, and we hope to attract more boats this year,” said Dick Neville, the On-the-Water Director. “It’s a way for the cruiser/racers who do the Ft. Lauderdale-Key West Race to stick around and enjoy a week of racing.”
The preliminary schedule of events includes crew weigh-in for one-design classes on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14 and 15. On Sunday, Jan. 15, registration is scheduled 9 am to 5 pm, the first panel discussion is scheduled 4:30-5:30 pm, and the Welcoming Reception is scheduled 5:30-7:30 pm.