Peter Duncan's Raza Mixta wins the inaugural Southernmost Regatta in Key West
January 21, 2022 - Key West, FL, USA - Dive down a few hours south of Miami, and you’ll find yourself among the palm trees, blue waters, and colorful foliage of Key West. Forget port/starboard: On this island, the roosters roaming the streets have the right of way. Here at the southernmost point of the United States, the first-ever Southernmost Regatta presented by Sailing Inc. just came to a close in dramatic fashion.
The event saw five classes complete 10 or 12 races as scheduled. The week started with three days of non-stop sunshine, perfect wind, and waves that faded over the next two days before a light wind finale. Dock talk will tell you the conditions were primetime Key West.
We can’t go without mentioning the shoreside vibe. There’s something magical about the island lifestyle. Each day after racing, sailors gathered for daily awards at the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon Resort, which was a gracious host. It goes without saying that were plenty of mudslides and Mount Gay cocktails to go around.
The Melges 24 fleet was the largest of the five classes. Today’s finale was a who-beats-who between Peter Duncan’s 'Raza Mixta' and Laura Grondin’s 'Dark Energy'. The Raza Mixta team grabbed the lead from Laura Grondin’s 'Dark Energy' on the second day and never looked back. Onboard with Duncan were Victor Diaz de Leon, Erik Shampain, Matty Pistay, and Greiner Hobbs.
Holding third position through the regatta, Drew Freides on 'Pacific Yankee' jumped to the second place with the final race. Laura Grondin's 'Dark Energy' gave a great battle, but final race shuffled the cards, to wrap up in third overall.
Taking the Corinthian trophy was Alex Shafer’s Sweaty Betty from Clermont Sailing Club, Florida.
Melges 24 (One Design - 18 Boats)
1. Raza Mixta, Peter Duncan , USA - 3 -2 -1 -1 -9 -1 -12 -4 -2 -8 ; 43
2. PACIFIC YANKEE, Drew Freides , USA - 2 -6 -2 -3 -6 -10 -5 -6 -5 -4 ; 49
3. Dark Energy, Laura Grondin , USA - 1 -1 -6 -5 -7 -3 -6 -2 -4 -17 ; 52
4. New England Ropes, Bora Gulari , USA - 13 -3 -3 -15 -1 -9 -1 -3 -8 -1 ; 57
5. Monsoon, Bruce Ayres , USA - 6 -4 -11 -7 -2 -5 -2 -1 -12 -7 ; 57
6. Lucky Dog, Travis Weisleder , USA - 11 -7 -4 -2 -3 -4 -3 -14 -1 -14 ; 63
7. Zingara, Richard Reid , CAN - 4 -5 -8 -8 -11 -8 -11 -13 -3 -2 ; 73
8. Full Throttle, Brian Porter , USA - 5 -9 -13 -9 -8 -11 -8 -9 -7 -3 ; 82
9. Nefeli, Peter Karrié , GER - 9 -13 -12 -4 -5 -2 -17 -10 -6 -5 ; 83
10. STIG, Alessandro Rombelli , ITA - 7 -11 -10 -6 -4 -7 -9 -7 -16 -15 ; 92
11. Black Seal, Richard Thompson , USA - 10 -8 -9 -10 -13 -19/RET -10 -5 -15 -6 ; 105
12. WarCanoe, Michael Goldfarb , USA - 8 -12 -14 -11 -10 -6 -13 -8 -11 -16 ; 109
13. Flying Jenny, Sandra Askew , USA - 12 -10 -5 -13 -15 -12 -7 -15 -14 -9 ; 112
14. Talisman, John Bailey , USA - 17 -14 -16 -14 -12 -15 -4 -12 -9 -11 ; 124
15. Gamecock, Peter McClennen , USA - 15 -15 -7 -16 -16 -14 -15 -16 -13 -10 ; 137
16. Bad Idea, Scot Zimmerman , USA - 14 -16 -15 -17 -14 -16 -14 -11 -17 -12 ; 146
17. Sweaty betty, Alex Shafer , USA - 16 -17 -17 -12 -17 -13 -16 -17 -10 -13 ; 148
18. Tramp, Thomas Ritter , USA - 19/DNS -19/DNS -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC -19/DNC ; 190
The race committee team of nine led by PRO Mark Foster completed 40 races throughout the week, rolling out the red carpet for the sailors. The Southernmost Regatta extends its deep gratitude to the vision of the Ruhlman family, Sailing Inc., Regatta Chair Martin Kullman, Evolution Sails, Harken Inc., Mount Gay Rum, J/Boats, EWE Spirit Foundation, Sail22, AA Dive Services, Pirates Lair, the Sunset Tiki Bar at the Galleon Resort, and the City of Key West. Media coverage was provided by Harken, Walter Cooper Photography, and Sharon Green’s Ultimate Sailing.
The Mount Gay was flowing, the breeze was blowing, and the Southernmost Regatta is cementing itself as the place to be in January. Plan on joining the fun next year — onward & upward!
· Results: yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=14520
· On-the-water live updates: @harken_inc Instagram Stories & @worldofmelges24
· Photo Gallery: bit.ly/Southernmost2022Photos
Melges 24 fleet at the inaugural Southernmost Regatta 2022
Peter Duncan's Raza Mixta USA829 - Southernmost Regatta 2022
Drew Freides on Pacific Yankee USA865 - The Southernmost Regatta 2022
Laura Grondin's Dark Energy USA864 - The Southernmost Regatta 2022
Alex Shafer's Sweaty Betty USA515 - The Southernmost Regatta 2022
Peter Duncan's Raza Mixta team with Victor Diaz de Leon, Erik Shampain, Matty Pistay, and Greiner Hobbs
Team Pacific Yankee USA865 of Drew Freides - The Southernmost Regatta 2022
