Bacardi Cup – French sailors top chart with ideal sailing conditions

by Star Sailors on 8 Mar 2017 Miami delivered a breezy day on the first day of racing following yesterday’s cancellation. With rain clouds over the fleet with steady 20 knots from the east, most of the fleet was over and RC had to call two general recalls. With a black flag waiving, the third start was the charm with Mendelblatt/Liljedal (USA) who took the lead over Jennings/Kleen and VanderMolen/Belco (USA), all fighting for that left side near the pin.

The top two boats at the first leg mark were Vessella/Trinter (USA) followed by Mendelblatt/Liljedal (USA) with Rohart/Ponsot (FRA) who had a great downwind leg and rounded the third mark in first followed by Mendelblatt/Liljedal (USA) who kept fighting for their lead along with Vessella/Trinter (USA). On the second top mark rounding the French duo rounded first in front of the U.S. Mendelblatt/Liljedal team confirming their strengths on gorgeous Biscayne Bay conditions.

With a jibe just before the mark leading to the last upwind leg, Frenchmen Rohart/Ponsot round first followed by Mendelblatt/Liljedal (USA) and Doyle/Infelise (USA). With no apparent stress on board and the sun peaking out, the fleet moves toward the finish line with Rohart/Ponsot finishing on top. “We wanted to be on the right in order to go left and we did have to tack, but wasn’t a big deal as our goal was to be in the top ten at the first mark.” Says Xavier Rohart, SSL President. “We won this race on the first downwind leg which was great and we’ve been practicing a lot in Nassau. On the last leg and towards the end we engaged in an old style match race, but as they (Mendelblatt/Liljedal) were getting closer we stopped and focused on the finish line.” Concluded Rohart.

Second place finisher Mark Mendelblatt remarked: “Great race today. We had a great first and second upwind/downwind. The left side was definitely the place to be, the race was there today. We had a great comeback at the end fighting with the French team, but at the end they deserve the win and we’ll take a solid second place.” Concluded a smiling Mendelblatt.

Third place for Norwegian Melleby/Revkin who have been up there the entire race. “We thought the right side was better today and we went there, but it wasn’t. We shifted and the rest of the race was pretty good, but not enough to recover and fight for the top two spots. Overall we’re very happy and looking forward to the races to come.”

Racing will resume tomorrow with an 11:00AM EST start with two slightly shorter races that you can follow live on StarSailors.com with great commentating and analysis thanks to Virtual Eye 3D graphics.

This afternoon, Bacardi Happy Hour took place at the Bacardi Village hospitality, in Regatta Park, from 4-6 p.m. Sailors favorite drinks were the Cuban Storm and the Mojito that paired well with good food and sailors stories. Some headed over to CocoWalk to check out the special exhibit.

For more information on the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week and the 89th Bacardi Cup are available at www.MiamiSailingWeek.com , www.BacardiCup.com and www.starsailors.com.

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