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Acura Miami Grand Prix - Racing Begins Thursday
Miami Beach, Florida, USA: A spectacular location and superb sailing conditions are two reasons why 61 boats from 14 countries have entered the 2008 Acura Miami Grand Prix, being held Thursday through Sunday off South Beach.

Competition figures to be particularly keen in the Farr 40 class, which is priming for its world championship - being held off Miami in early April. Ten of the top 12 finishers at Acura Key West 2008 are part of a strong 29-boat fleet that will test sails and become familiar with the venue.

The fast growing Melges 32 class was also hotly contested in Key West and another battle royale shapes up for Acura Miami Grand Prix. Jeff Ecklund skippered Star to a narrow two-point victory over New Wave (Mike Carroll and Marty Kullman) at Key West and knows it will be tough to repeat that feat.

Dave Brennan, a lifelong Miami resident, returns for his fifth year as principal race officer. Brennan hopes to complete 10 windward-leeward races set off Hawk Channel just south of Government Cut.

“The breeze tends to be very steady off Miami this time of year,” said Brennan, who is coming off a successful stint as PRO for the Etchells Jaguar Series. “Sea conditions inside the reef are terrific when the wind is under 15 knots. If it kicks up to 18 or 20, the waves tend to corner up and it can get a bit bumpy.”

It’s doubtful conditions will ever get rough enough to bother Dan Meyer’s Numbers, a Judel-Vrolijk 66-footer that is largest in the fleet and scratch entry in IRC 1.

Meyers has notable crew members aboard including tactician Brad Butterworth and trimmer Warrick Fleury, members of the two-time America’s Cup champion Alinghi Racing syndicate. Butterworth has raced with Meyers on four different versions of Numbers dating back to 1996.

Flash Glove, a JV 52 owned by Colm Barrington of Dublin, Ireland, was runner-up in IRC 1 class at Key West - winning three races and finishing just four points behind Numbers.

There is an interesting mix of boats in IRC 2 with a trio of Swan 42s taking on a J/44, J/122 and Aerodyne 38. Robin Team, owner of the J/122 Teamwork, is anxious to see how the fleet sorts out.

Competitors in all classes will be looking to capture the Acura Grand Prix Trophy, awarded for best overall performance at the two major winter regattas organized by Premiere Racing.

www.premiere-racing.com

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.