Top Two Finish Montego Bay Race

(February 6, 2017) – Peter and David Askew’s RP 74 Wizard crossed the finish line in Montego Bay at 9:00:15 ET this morning to capture line honors in the 33rd Pineapple Cup – Montego Bay Race. Next boat to finish was the Shelter Island Partners Mills 68 Prospector by one hour 38 minutes and 50 seconds. Provisional results have Prospector as the IRC class leader.

“It was a great race for Prospector,” shared Ken Read, Prospector strategist. “It’s a really good group, a bunch of old friends, a really good team. Really good boat. It’s a handicap, corrected time game for us and so far it looks good for us with Wizard. We worked hard I can tell you that, this boat is new to them and it was fun, but it’s bloody hard work.”

Read noted that while the work was hard, the work environment was pretty nice. “You know I’ve sailed around the world a couple of times and two of the prettiest nights I’ve ever been out on the water for were in the last two days. Bright moon, stars, just gorgeous sailing conditions. I just did an 800-mile race and I didn’t touch my foul weather gear, so it’s heaven.”

For Prospector co-owner Paul McDowell reflects on the race. ““This was our first time doing the Pineapple Cup — Larry Landry, Dave Siwicki and I. We bought a Farr 60 a few years ago to do bucket list races. We did the Transatlantic Race, we did the Fastnet Race, we did the Middle Sea Race, some of the iconic ocean races. And we had so much fun doing that, we said ‘let’s buy a boat that’s bigger and faster and even more exciting and let’s continue to do all these different programs’.

“The Pineapple Cup was one of those races that you remember from way back in the day. I used to do a lot of IOR races in the 1980’s, so you’d see Kialoa and Windward Passage win [the Pineapple Cup]; some of the greatest ocean racers of all time have won this race. So we said ‘this has got to be one on our bucket list that we have to do, the Pineapple Cup.’

“The race couldn’t have been better, it really was spectacular all the way along. It’s one of those rare things where you get to race through amazingly scenic islands, the weather is good, the wind is from the right direction, and you come to a spectacular place.”

Wizard Co-Owner Peter Askew is another first-timer. “This was my first time doing the race, I thought the course and race were great. I grew up in the days of IOR boats and always wanted to do this as a kid and was happy to be able to do it. Dave [Peter’s brother] and I bought this boat so we could go around and do a bunch of these races that we always admired doing, so it’s fun. Downwind once we turned from Cuba in was awesome. The boat does really well in that type of stuff and reaching down the Bahamas was really cool. It sure beats a bad day at the office and I would love to come back and do it again.”

Currently in the PHRF division, Class40 Amhas leads for line honors, however Little Harbor 78 Hermie Louise is leading on corrected time. The first finisher in PHRF is expected late Tuesday evening.

Race details – Tracking – Entry list

About the Pineapple Cup
Established in 1961, the Pineapple Cup is a classic 811nm “beat, reach and run” ocean race that has been dubbed “the best ocean race in the world” by its devotees, including three-time winner and media mogul Ted Turner. The 33rd edition starts in Florida on Friday, February 3. The race is hosted at the start in Miami by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and at the finish in Montego Bay by the Montego Bay Yacht Club. The course record is 2 days, 10 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds set in 2005 by Titan 12, a 75’ Reichel/Pugh designed maxi boat. For more information, please visit http://pineapplecup.com

Source: Julianna Barbieri