So many sailors and handicappers labor over the intricacies of PHRF sailing. The ratings game and the backroom bickering comes naturally with any attempt to make it "fair." But here in Key West, Acura Key West Race Week's PHRF consortium has crafted what could easily be considered the most competitive assemblage of unlike boats ever assembled. With local interests and politics removed from the process, everyone's rating seems to be fair, fair enough that is, for post-race rehashing under the regatta tent to be more about the great racing than some bunk number.

That the PHRF contingent is the biggest here is the result of countless hours on the part of Peter Craig and his able cohorts, who know full well this event could never survive on one-design alone. PHRF is the cornerstone of the sport, and it certainly is here as well.

And there were incredible performances being turned in on the various PHRF circles today, with the wind finally settling down enough for the race committee to fire off a trio of races. And happily enough for J Boats' Jeff Johnstone, who's here making sure his customers are thoroughly entertained, a healthy number of top places in the PHRF classes are currently owned by designs of the family business.

That includes Robert Armstrong's tricked out J/100 Bad Girl in PHRF 4 (1-2-1) and Jim Madden's J/125 Stark Raving Mad, whose team pretty much nailed its three races in really shifting winds, a streaming current, and a maze of seaweed. And an outstanding performance was turned in by Will Hanckel's J/120 Emocean, a blazingly fast bunch of Charleston boys who won two of their three races by what seemed like country miles.

aAs an indication of how tight this team is, Hanckel enjoyed the fact that they had a late headsail change before the start of the day's last race, and only finished the task minutes before getting off the line. "This is the kind of team that is so good that you can do things like that," he tells me. "We had this boat going faster than it ever has."

With a clear start they were off and running in the day's last race, a five-legger, and simply followed the rules of PHRF sailing—those that especially apply to a big boat of the fleet—sail fast and sail the fleet. But that's not to say the legroom they enjoyed for much of the day made the atmosphere quiet onboard Emocean. "There are basically three tacticians…the guys are talking all the time. If there's ever a moment of quiet, it drives me crazy…I can't stand having to focus on one spot. I want to hear that talking all the time."

Emocean is the Hanckel family wagon, which has served them very well both in Key West and in Charleston. It's the first big boat Will had ever driven (he's big into E-Scows). And his father, who's typically here in Key West leading the troops, has handed over the reins to his son for what is probably the boat's last regatta for them. Last year they were having a superb series, eyeing the coveted PHRF Boat of the Week title, only to lose it in the last race in a starting incident. "We came with the mindset this year that [because we're selling the boat] we want going to go out with bang," he says.

So far so good, and with an opening day like that, there's every reason to go for it.