During 28 years of running a regatta off Key West, Premiere Racing has a remarkable record of getting in a complete series. Because of the consistent conditions off the Conch Republic, there have been very few lost race days. However, that does not mean that race committee officials compromise quality just to give the competitors some action. Fair and equitable racing is the hallmark of this event, and organizers always make sure to adhere to that tradition. Tuesday at Quantum Key West 2015 brought dicey conditions that forced principal race officers to make numerous tough decisions. There were some delays, a few false starts and even one abandonment, but by the time the day was over all three divisions had completed two races in shifty winds that ranged from 5 to 7 knots. “We got two decent races, and that’s pretty remarkable considering what the race committee had to deal with,” said Bennet Greenwald, skipper of the J/70 Perseverance. “Those guys were really on top of things. They did a very, very professional job.” The J/70, largest class in the regatta with 54 boats in its Midwinter Championship, is sailing on the Division 2 course that is managed by Dave Brennan. A veteran principal race officer and Key West stalwart, Brennan was forced to delay several times in order to start races in stable winds. “The breeze was very dodgy and moving through at 50 degrees so the trick was picking the right radial to kick the race off,” Brennan said. “We want the sailors to have a reasonably square line. Prior to Race 4, we had to postpone three times to reset the line.” Brennan got the Melges 24 fleet started with a heading of 150 degrees and by the time he went into sequence for the J/70 fleet, the wind had shifted to 180. He credited an experienced team of race committee volunteers for reacting quickly with regard to moving upwind marks and posting flags. “We made the racing as good as we could. Actually, we were very fortunate that it was quite good,” Brennan said. Veteran sailmaker Jud Smith was the daily winner in the J/70 class, placing second in Race 3 then getting the gun in Race 4. That moved the Marblehead, MA resident to the top of the standings with a low score of 30 points, just one ahead of the aforementioned Greenwald. “We got out to the course early and had a nice tune-up session with another boat, which allowed us to get accustomed to the conditions,” Smith said. “I would have been happy with two top 10 finishes on a day like this so I’m ecstatic to get a first and a second. We were fortunate to be in the right spots, and I thought the team did a good job of changing gears.” Smith, who is head of Doyle One-Design, has his daughter Lindsay on the boat along with Marc Gauthier and Will Felder. The former Rolex Yachtsman of the Year says the entire crew participates in tactics and strategy. Photos are available on the J/70 Class Facebook page, the event blog is at http://premiere-racing.com/2015blog/, and the event website/full results at www.premiere-racing.com target=_blank>http://wwww.premiere-racing.com.