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KATIVA, the J-160 owned/skippered by Dr. Mike Finn and crewed in

true corinthian spirit by members of multiple yacht clubs and

independents took first place in the Pensacola – Isla Mujeres Class A

Racing Division. The crew consisted of Rudy Smith, Jay Toncrey, Phil

Bylsma, Steve Ramke, Tom White, Ed Newman, Karl Boehm, Ted Diaz,

Huey Kliebert, Jay Berger, Dr. David Kaplan, and Jeremy Richmond.

Team KATIVA rotated three teams of four with the owner serving as a

roamer. Each team usually rotated their people through the various

positions (drive, trim, etc) though Steve Ramke focused on nav. Rudy

also served as speed merchant and Mr. Fix It with Dr. Finn doing it all,

Immediately after the Wednesday night Skipper’s Meeting at Pensacola

Yacht Club, the KATIVA team gathered upstairs to strategize their desired

route based on the latest wind and water conditions as well as those

predicted to occur for the next several days. The team agreed to head east

of rhumb line once we cleared the P’cola seabuoy in anticipation of the

breeze backing from the SSW to the SE. A point 100nm south on the

rhumb line was plotted and we would ‘buoy race’ to that point and then

see if the predictions were holding as expected. At that point, rhumb line

or slightly west of that seemed to be the road to victory assuming decent

breeze and a dash of good luck.

Tom White threw some coins overboard as a sacrifice to the ‘Wind Gods’

as KATIVA motored to the starting area, all the crew wishing for breeze

for the duration of the race. It didn’t take long on race day for things to

get interesting. Right at the five minute gun, the hydraulic adjuster for the

backstay gave out. The 1AP that was ready to be hoisted was bagged and

swapped to the 1+. The breeze lightened as Team KATIVA beat their way

out of P’cola Bay which forced a swap back to the 1AP. A small tear

developed near the tack of the 1AP, forcing a swap back to an under-

powered sail plan with the 1+. The 1AP was quickly repaired and once

again hoisted. Rudy masterminded the proposed backstay fix and Huey

was designated to be hoisted to the top of the 70 ft mast to initiate the

jury-rig repair. Huey tied some small kevlar line to the mast crane/rod

rigging interface, attached a shackle, and then tied a spare line to the

shackle. A combination of having to work on the backside of the mast

with a swell and light air produced some ‘nice’ bruises on Huey. The

‘new backstay’ was then lead through two turning blocks and terminated

on one of the mainsheet winches. So the backstay is jury-rigged, one sail

torn and repaired, and we’re now limited to only one mainsheet winch to

control a huge main……and we’re only five miles out of P’cola Bay.

Working way too hard too early!!

The breeze lightened as the first day wore on forcing the Light1 to the

deck. Though SAPPHIRE and WHITE TRASH stayed with KATIVA in

the light conditions, the team knew if they could get some breeze they

would eventually pull away. The breeze finally filled in after dark and the

boat once again began to move. The boat was sailed cracked off a bit due

to the seas and medium-light breeze. The boat and Rudy gradually went

through their arsenals of spare blocks as jib reaching became the vogue

and the sail plan loaded up. There were times the chute wanted to be

hoisted but the apparent wind angle, waves, and swell forced KATIVA to

settle for jib reaching. The team knew the chute might be a little

faster…..but didn’t want to lose a sail so early in the game. The wind

predictions appeared to be panning out so the route for the final 450nm

was implemented as previously planned.

Both daytime and nighttime provided awesome weather with some of the

best breeze pumping in during the nights. The often-confused seas made

driving more difficult at night and the guys on the rail knew immediately

when a driver couldn’t avoid the wave stacks that seemed to come out of

nowhere. The jib reaching in waves finally bested the jib halyard as it

parted with the sound of a shotgun blast. The normally reliable generators

for the A/C didn’t cooperate on Saturday but were up and running by the

end of the day thanks to owner Mike Finn. Mike was able to remedy the

situation between prepping gourmet meals, driving, and worrying about

what might break next. Mike decided to throw a dollar bill overboard as a

sacrifice to the ‘Equipment Gods’ so that nothing else would break. The

bill, thrown from the companionway, snagged on the stern pulpit….and

13 guys started yelling at it. It finally turned itself loose – though

Washington seemed to have a little smile on his face as he hit the water.

The breeze steadied in direction and increased in speed the further south

the boat went. To everyone’s amazement, the backstay continued to hold

though it was now bartight and off-limits to adjustment. The 1+ and the

number 3 became the workhorses. The 1+ eventually developed a small

tear but by then a combination of increased wind speed and boat speed

drove the apparent wind speed up to the point the number 3 was required.

The current seemed to come and go from the various eddies that

circulated within the Gulf but really showed its force as the boat moved

closer to Contoy. The KATIVA team felt they sailed well and were upbeat

that no other racing boats were in the vicinity as they closed on the finish

line. Maybe it was the continued focus on boat speed or merely the

anticipation of finishing but most of the crew passed on the lunchtime

offer of peanut butter and bacon sandwiches (aka the Cardiologist’s

Dream Sandwich).

As the buildings on Isla Mujeres grew larger by the second, the burning

question was when did DECISION finish, where is FAST COMPANY,

and how far back are SAPPHIRE and WHITE TRASH? It turned out to

be the right conditions for KATIVA and her team as she narrowly beat

DECISION on corrected time and bested the other boats in Class A as

well. Congratulations to TEAM KATIVA.