Day 3 at the 30th anniversary Quantum Key West Race Week (Mount Gay Rum Day) saw a softening of the breeze on the racecourse. After a windy and wavy start to the regatta, Wednesday’s conditions were far more manageable, as the wind ranged anywhere from a high of 10-13 knots before dying away to 7-9. The sea state, while calmer than the first two days, was still lumpy. In the J/70 fleet, it looked as if Carlo Alberini’s Calvi Network from Italy was charting a course to a third consecutive Class victory, and then the crew finished 13th in Race 9 while Tim Healy’s (Jamestown, RI) New England Ropes finished second. That allowed Healy to close a 12-point deficit down to 1 point with three races remaining. “Thankfully, we had a consistent day,” said Healy, the J/70 Class and Boat of the Week winner in 2014. “Calvi was having a good day, but had a higher score in the last race and that allowed us to gain some points.” Healy said that one side wasn’t favored over the other and added that it was important to stay in the puffs. “Both sides of the course were working,” Healy said. “It was important to stay in the puff and in phase, and John (Mollicone, tactician, Providence, RI) did a nice job for us. When you were in pressure, then you could tack. You couldn’t tack if you weren’t in a puff because you wouldn’t accelerate out of the tack. Every windward leg, we probably cycled through 10 puffs and lulls. I don’t know what happened to Calvi, but I think they missed out on some pressure on the first beat of the last race. They didn’t have a bad start, but fell behind on the first leg and then it was hard to get back into the lead group.” Racing continues through Friday. For more information and complete provisional results, please visit the Quantum Key West Race Week website at https://keywestraceweek.com/.