The 210-mile Miami to Havana Race started in champagne sailing conditions: sunny skies with 16 knots of breeze on a close reach. The five crew on board Oakcliff’s Weegie, a Colombia Carbon 32, lined the rail of the boat taking spray from the bow.
“We’re in kind of an awkward combination for Weegie,” said skipper and Oakcliff boat captain Ethan Johnson, “We’re on the crossover from the blast reacher--or the jib top--to the code zero. We’re powered up but there’s a lot of waves.”
The fleet skirted the coast to stay out of the current of the Gulf Stream until the the wind backed and they set their kites. When Weegie was able to pop the A1.5 they started surfing down 4-5 foot waves. The 16-knot breeze was on the threshold of planing for most boats but Weegie's light carbon fiber construction allowed her to pop up on a plane and make big gains on the fleet.
Also on board were Oakcliff staffers Sean O'Halloran and Francis George as well as sponsor Lec Maj and Webb Institute engineering student Tommy Hickey.
The main competition in their division (PHRF A) was the Class 40s Privateer and Dragon Racing, who won the race the past two years. By nightfall, about 9 hours into the race, their sails had become little specks on the horizon but they weren't worried...yet. The Class 40s owed them about 3 hours on corrected time so if they could keep them in sight they had 'em beat.
“The plan is to hug the Keys until we’re ready to dive South for Cuba,” said navigator and Oakcliff boat captain Sean O’Halloran, “Dragon won last year by going for it super late but this year we’ll have to go earlier because the wind is supposed to clock East.”
The breeze picked up to 20 knots gusting 25 and held throughout the dark, moonless night. Weegie may have been the smallest boat out there but she screamed down wave after wave like a champ. Their boat speed averaged in the high teens, regularly peaking above 20 knots and topping out at 22.5.
In the morning, the breeze went forward and died down to about 12 knots gusting 15. They switched to the Code Zero and plowed ahead with Cuba in their crosshairs. A few hours from the finish they saw Dragon Racing on AIS heading back from Cuba.
The whole crew pushed their tired minds to keep Weegie as fast as possible. An inch in here, an inch out there. A few hours later it all paid; they beat Dragon by 17 minutes.
When they returned to the States, Lec and Tommy flew home while Ethan, Sean, and Francis drove back to Oakcliff through the night. They returned exactly one minute before the morning meeting. It was like they had never even left.
