Kilroy shows his class in Acura SORC regatta

by Jason Rowed on 1 Mar 2001 -California's John Kilroy
showed winning form in the opening race of the Farr 40
Class at the 60th anniversary of the Acura Southern
Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) regatta. Aided by ace
tactician John Kostecki, Kilroy and his Samba Pa Ti
turned in a performance worthy of the 1999 world
champion.

Kilroy, from Malibu, CA, led from rounding the leeward mark on the first round of
the 12-mile triple windward/leeward course and ensured his victory with careful
covering and conservative sailing for the rest of the race, extending his lead to 40
seconds at the finish.

Kilroy's closest competition came from Coconut Grove, FL, skipper George
Andreadis who took second place with Atalanti X. Andreadis, one of the top
skippers in the highly competitive Farr 40s, won the class last month at Yachting
Key West Race Week.

An almost total lack of wind caused a considerable delay for all eight classes
racing today, but the longest wait of three and a half hours happened on the Acura
Circle, where the Farr 40s and 1D35 one-designs were only able to sail one race.
There were two races for IMS and PHRF boats and Melges 24s on the Omega
Watch Circle, and for multihulls on the Ocean Drive Magazine Circle.

When the southeaster finally filled in,
conditions were ideal, with the breeze starting
at eight knots and building to 14 knots before
the last boat surfed over the finish line.

'We got the start we wanted,' said Kilroy.
'And we got a little ten degree wind shift that
was helpful. At the weather mark we had
overtaken Atalanti XI, but then we had a little
trouble with the spinnaker at the offset mark.'

The untidy jibe by Samba Pa Ti at the offset mark saw Atalanti XI move through
into the lead and she appeared to hold this all the way down the spinnaker run.
Kilroy wasn't taking this lying down and with sage advice from Kostecki, managed
to place Samba Pa Ti so that when Andreadis turned at the leeward gate, he had
a marginal overlap and was able to round inside.

The two leaders slugged it out bow-to-bow all the way to the starboard tack lay
line with Samba Pa Ti stopping Atalanti XI from tacking. Andreadis, and his
tactician Robbie Haines, were frustrated by the blanket cover and were forced to
wait until the Californian boat tacked. The tactic provided Kilroy a 10-second
advantage at the windward mark the second time around.

That was a telling amount and Samba Pa Ti was able to build on this lead while
the ever-conservative partnership of Andreadis and Haines concentrated on
preserving their second place from the concentrated efforts of the four boats trying
to take it from them.

'I think any one of ten boats could win the class this year,' said Haines. 'It is
amazing, this Farr 40 Class.'

In the other classes racing off Miami Beach, there was an interesting mix of return
winners and new names scattered through the results. In the 1D35 Class, David
Pyles from Easton, MD, in Loose Ruck bested perennial winner Robert Hughes'
Heartbreaker from Ada, MI.

Ken Read and Makoto Vermatsu campaigned the latter's new Farr 50 Esmeralda
to two first places in the seven-boat IMS Class. In the PHRF big-boat class,
George Collins, from Fisher Island, FL, scored two second places to lead on
points at the end of the first day.

Provisional results, Acura SORC, Day 1, March 1 (owner name, boat name, city,
state, places, points):

Farr 40: 1. John Kilroy, Samba Pa Ti, Malibu, CA (1), 1; 2. George Andreadis,
Atalanti XI, Coconut Grove, FL (2), 2; 3. David Thomson, Peregrine, Novato, CA
(3), 3.

1D35: 1. David Pyles, Loose Ruck, Easton, MD (1), 1; 2. Robert Hughes,
Heartbreaker, Ada, MI (2), 2; 3. Victor Cribb, Victory, West Palm Beach, FL (3),
3.

IMS: 1. Read/Vermatsu, Esmeralda, Portsmouth, RI (1-1), 2; 2. George David,
Idler, Hartford, CT (2-2), 4; 1. Bache Renshaw, Virago, South Dartmouth, MA
(3-3), 6.

PHRF I: 1. George Collins, Chessie Racing, Fisher Island, FL (2-2), 4; 2. Stephen
Murray, Decision, New Orleans, LA, GA (4-1), 5; 3. Steve Jones, Habenero,
Belton, TX (1-5), 6.

PHRF II: 1. Cole/Adams, Warp Speed, Seattle, WA (2-2), 4; 2. Robert Weed,
Wired, Novato, CA (4-1), 5; 3. Lees/Gastrau, Invincible, Annapolis, MD (1-5), 6.

PHRF III: 1. David Beheny, Xtreme, Miami, FL (3-1), 4; 2. Bruce Gardner,
L'Outrage, Annapolis, MD (2-2), 4; 3. Tom Seghi, Happy Apple, Miami Beach, FL
(1-5), 6.

Melges 24: 1. Jeff Jones, Kilroy, Shelby Township, MI (1-3), 4; 2. Neil Sullivan,
M-Fatic, Annapolis, MD (4-1), 5; 3. Henzi Samuel, Zig Zag 16, Paris, France (2-6),
8.

Multihull: =1. Doug Harkrider, Rocket Science, Flowery Branch, GA (1-2), 3; =1.
Robert Buzzelli, Merlin, Sarasota, FL (2-1), 3; 3. Doran Cushing, Tri Southwinds,
St Petersburg, FL (4-3), 7.

Sailing World magazine, Ocean Drive magazine and Omega Watches are joining
title sponsor Acura this year. Other sponsors include the Majestic/Avalon Hotel
and Monty's Restaurant, both in Miami Beach. Suppliers include Nextel, Dry
Creek Vineyard, Zuse, Matusalem Rum and Kalik Beer. Sailing World Race
Village vendors include Doyle Sailmakers, Dimension Polyant, North Sails,
Ockam and Navtec.

Boats competing at the Acura SORC are racing three-day or four-day series. The
Farr 40, 1D35, IMS Racer and PHRF classes are all racing from Thursday through
Sunday. The Melges 24 and Multihull classes are racing Thursday through
Saturday. The Mumm 30 and J/105 classes will race Friday through Sunday.

Race management is provided by volunteers from the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club,
the Coral Reef Yacht Club and the Miami Yacht Club in Miami. Also, the
Lauderdale Yacht Club and the Nassau Yacht Club