Update: we're still waiting on final results, but at this point in time it looks like Trebuchet has won the inaugural Miami to Havana Race! Results have yet to be posted for the other classes, but we will report them as soon as we have them.
The first boat to arrive at the finish line off Hemingway Marina Sea Buoy was Marc Glimcher's Trebuchet, a custom Reichl Pugh 69. Trebuchet finished just before 9 a.m. this morning, averaging 11 knots the whole way down.
And while we're all excited about this race, perhaps the person most excited is Comodoro Jose Manual Diaz Escrich, founder of Havana's Club Nautico Internacional Hemingway de Cuba. “When I founded the Club more than 24 years ago, I dreamed we would one day see a fleet of boats from our sister city in Miami racing toward our home, and it means so much to me to finally get to see it,” said El Comodoro.
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Team Trebuchet, happy in Havana.[/caption]
Winds were light at the start but moved boats in the right direction: South. Trebuchet powered ahead of the fleet immediately after the start, finding a half-mile lead on the next boat within the first 30 minutes. Decision, the Carkeek 40, managed to close that lead to just a few yards before sunset near Key Largo. At the time of writing, Decision still has a ways to go to get the the finish, and is averaging 10 knots. Winners have not yet been determined.
One of the best stories from the race comes from the Hobie 33 subfleet in PHRF C. The youngest crew in the fleet was onboard Hot Stuff, a Bradenton, FL-based boat. Hot Stuff was unfortunately on the wrong side of the ICW bridge and got to the starting line a full 10 minutes late. In most one-design classes, this would spell disaster. But Hot Stuff rallied and within four hours had caught, passed, and put a horizon job on the other three H33s and the entire PHRF C fleet. Unfortunately, the boat (packed with Roger Williams U. sailors) later retired from the race due to technical difficulties.
We'll have more info as it becomes available. For a local news video of the race, click here.
