So, a year ago I was basking in the joy of purchasing our new J/105 Brick House. I gleefully looked forward to planning my own program. I had started driving a J/105 two seasons earlier in the San Francisco "B" fleet. Shortly after purchasing "Brick House" I became aware of local sailors who had just returned from KWRW - they were all sporting sun tans and raving about the sailing conditions which they described as "mild and sunny with at least one day over 20kts." The thought of sailing all day wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts was very enticing. Mild conditions, sunshine, and only 1 day over 20kts sounded like a dream.
Well, the San Francisco J/105 season passed with a reasonable amount of success by my team. My tactician, Jim commented that he and his family were interested in finding a way to sail in KWRW together. This motivated me to act - see Jim's last name is Barkow and his sister is Sally Barkow the 2006 Rolex Yachtswoman of the year. His brother Carl Barkow was a grinder for Young America's AC campaign and Jim himself is and excellent sailor. Feeling excited at the prospect of spending time sailing with Sally Barkow I contacted my coach Jay Kehoe of Stanford University. He said, "That's fantastic, we should do it in a Mumm 30." As Jay continued to explain the rules of the Mumm 30 class allow you to sail with a mixture of professional sailors so Jim's family could be included. It looked like a dream was becoming a reality, from that point forward we were committed to the Mumm 30 for KWRW. What follows here is a glimpse at the highlights of my KWRW experience.
When I arrived in Key West I was immediately taken aback by the size of the place, or lack there of. The island is small. The runway at the airport even smaller - a point driven home when the pilot of the American Airlines flight I was on slammed on the brakes so he could make the last taxi way turn off. The airport building was small as well. The entirely female ground crew unloaded our bags and we were off. As we walked to the rental car I noted to myself that there must be a local organic farm nearby because one of their Free-Range-Chickens and a rooster had escaped and were walking through the parking lot. I would come to understand that wild chickens, roosters and cats roam the island.
Our accommodations were comfortable and located a short bicycle ride from Duval Street, the hub of Key West's attractions. Our first night we assessed the charter boat and created work list of necessary tasks to be completed before the boat would be race ready. Our first night we decided to dine at Monty's restaurant located within the Conch Harbor Marina where we were rafted for the event. Then, we checked out the sailor's hang out "Turtle Krals" - It was a who's who of sail boat racing. All the big guns were there drinking beer and regaling each other with sailing stories. After a day spent on airplanes, my husband and I were already in vacation mode, enjoying the flavor of Key West.
Our first planned practice day was squelched by 25kt winds - a dramatic foreshadowing of future events. Instead we worked on bringing our charter boat up to speed. The charter boat needed some work and that created some stress for the crew along with an added cost of repairing a boat we didn't own. It would have been better if we had seen the boat in advance, a lesson learned. Fortunately the weather gave us the chance to do some of that.
The crew situation was a little different then I had planned as well. It turned out that Jim's sister was busy practicing for the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, and Jim's brother Carl had taken a grinder position on the Swan "Money Penny." In their places were Panda Love, an San Francisco-based rigger and Katie Lovelace a college sailor from Brown University. My crew was extremely competent and experienced. Even so, the amount of work needed to be done to the charter boat was nearly overwhelming. Despite that fact, the team ground the day away working on the boat.
Practice day #1 proved to be an exciting introduction to the Mumm 30. This thirty foot high-performance keel boat sports a powerful sail plan. We started the day with 19kts and popped the kite. It was a handful from the get go. The heel angles downwind can be severe as you are rolling down waves to try and surf for more speed. Upwind the boat easily over heals and the main trimmer and driver need to work together to convert speed to point. The Mumm's knife bow is easily deflected by waves so the driver has the added challenge of maintaining speed through the waves without creating a bow profile that pushes the boat to leeward. We were satisfied with the day and headed in for hearty meal cooked by our coach Jay Kehoe.
Race Day #1 would end up being our best results on the score board with a fourth and ninth. The wind range was 17 to 19 kts. and the waves were significant. Our starts proved to be challenging as we learned the necessary time and distance required to accelerate in these boats. The racing was tight and every boat in the fleet appeared to have good boat speed. With 2 races in the bag the fleet was back at the dock and enjoying the bar at Monty's. The pool was also enticing to our crew and we considered the day's performance a success.
Race Day #3 proved to be our best sailing performance of the regatta. The breeze was significant, reaching 30kts. During the pre-start to first race of the day our internal outhaul broke - something that could have been avoided with preventative maintenance on the part of the boat's owner. None the less we were able to fix it and get to the starting line - one minute and forty seconds late. Not a good way to win a sailboat race!
Later that evening my coach Jay Kehoe joked that the race taught him he "needed to put a gun to Kristen's head" to get me to attack the upwind driving conditions. By the first windward mark we were in 4th place and turning downwind for our first stellar ride in the big breeze. Immediately the boat popped up on a plane. I was joined in the stern by another crew person in an attempt to lift the bow out of the water. The boat was ripping down waves and my trimmer was calling for me to take it as low as I dared. Surprisingly, the boat was stable in that deep position.
Suddenly the boat 2 lengths ahead and to leeward of me broached and I could see their keel out of the water and pointed at me, dead ahead. I took an aggressive bite to windward as the vange and sheet were eased. The Mumm's rudder is very narrow and it's easy to turn beyond it in breeze. I held the high course for a moment. Feeling the beginning of cavitation on the rudder I headed down with about half of my boat past the approaching bow of the broaching boat. Using this new found speed I carved up again. While this was happening I could see the bowman on the other boat and the look of abject terror in his eyes as my stern passed his bow with about a twelve inch clearance. We had made it and my crew was ecstatic. When that race was over we had finished in 6th place. We motored back to the dock and took inventory of our bruises and required boat maintenance.
I decided that getting knocked around in 30kts of breeze is fine as long as I am back at the dock and poolside by 3:00PM.
The rest of the regatta proved to also be very challenging. Days 3 - 5 were also spent in winds over 20kts. My team did an excellent job of dealing with the big wind and waves not to mention the Mumm 30's amazing performance in those conditions. In the end we finished 7th overall in the 11 boat Mumm 30 fleet. The conditions were a little windier then we had expected which made learning the boat challenging.
Our overall results were not what we had hoped for but I am proud of our showing. I was very impressed with the way the Mumm 30 handled the breeze, especially on the down wind legs. It was also a thrill to spend a week meeting and racing against the other Mumm 30 teams. We were immediately welcomed by all competitors who readily shared their knowledge with us about rig set up and sail trim. Great Racing, Friendly and Helpful People and a Great Boat!
I owe special thanks to my main trimmer, and husband, Peter who literally sat beside me through every wave set and mark rounding. Peter and I knew we really owed our team for all of their effort so we decided to treat them to a special experience on Saturday, our last day in Key West. The guys joined Peter on a fishing trip and the girls headed with me to a spa where we all had massages and pedicures.
At the end of the day my team met at Monty's pool for our last get together. We all remarked on what a unique experience we had shared.
Although a significant challenge, each of us enjoyed the rocket-like down wind rides provided by the Mumm 30. After a last round of drinks we all headed for the airport and our late afternoon flights.
Before we knew it we were exiting the airport in San Francisco in 50 degree weather, our dream sailing vacation was over. Peter and I were so thrilled with our experience at KWRW that we've already booked a house for the '07 event and we are looking forward to returning to the Mumm 30 fleet.
As reported by Kristen Lane, Mumm 30 Skipper, USA 14
