2015 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week - Day 5 + Video

by Icarus Sailing on 7 Mar 2015 Today was the second day of the Sixth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank for the J/70, M32, Viper 640 and VX One classes, and the fifth day of the 88th Bacardi Cup for the Stars. All race courses started at their allotted time, 11:55 for the Stars and 10:55 for all other classes, except the M32s, whose start was postponed until 11:30 a.m. Miami has given us another picture perfect day, however the winds are a bit lighter, between five - ten knots, out of the South East.

After a general recall, the Stars started under a black flag with two Stars being called over, bow 21, Giovanni Coppo and Giovanni Bradanini (New York City, NY), along with bow 12, Terry Line and Larry Scott (Burlington, CAN). Winning today’s race is Arthur Anosov and Andrey Shafranuk (Rusking, FL), followed by Alessandro Pascolato and Henry Boening (Sao Paulo, BRA) in second and Douglas Schofield and Robert Schofield (Arlington, VA) in third. Even with a tough race finishing 33, Jorge Joao Zarif and Bruno Prada (Sao Paulo, BRA) were able to hold onto their lead by three points.

In second overall, we have last year’s Bacardi Cup winners, Lars Grael and Samuel Gonçlaves (Rio de Janeiro, BRA), followed by Mark Reynolds and Magnus Lilhedahl (San Diego, CA), who are seven points out of first. Arthur Anosov comments on today’s win saying, 'We are very happy, this is the first time we have won a race in the Bacardi Cup after 15 years competing. It feels great, especially for my crew, who is sailing Stars for the first time. Today’s conditions were light and shifty, and we tried not to tack too much, while sailing from pressure to pressure. Our objective for the event is to finish in the top five and to go to the Bacardi bar and celebrate the win.' Tomorrow morning, the start time for the Stars shifts an hour earlier, instead of 11:55, their warning signal will be at 10:55.

The Viper 640’s completed two additional races today, which gives them a total of 6 races thus far. The first and third place finishers from yesterday swapped places, while the second place boat held onto his position. The top three boats are all within one point of each other, with the second and third place boats tied with 14 points each. After today, Brad Boston on Jackpot (Point Edward, CAN) leads, followed by Geoffrey Ewenson on Terminally Pretty (Annapolis, MD) in second and Lawrence Crispin on Bubbles (Chelmsford, UK) in third. Brad Boston on Jackpot, recapped his day, saying, 'The first race of the day didn’t go that well because we were over and had to restart. Then we made a mistake on the downwind leg and was not aggressive enough coming to the finish, which caused us to finish seventh. The second race was mistake free and with the lighter winds and current, I was able to get back to the top.'

Also completing two additional races today are the VX One’s. Holding onto their lead from yesterday is Phillip Norris on Flash Rider (Plymouth, MA), who are only one point ahead of second place boat Kill Bill with skipper William Griffin (Stonington, CT), and they are only one point ahead of third place skipper Phip Hallowell on Chuck Wagon (Middletown, RI). After a tough last race, finishing 21, Phillip Norris said, 'I am just hoping for a throwout tomorrow. We had a good first race today, finished fourth, so we are happy with that. Obviously, the last race wasn’t what we were looking for. Going into tomorrow we are looking to keep up what we had earlier in the regatta and get our throwout, so we can get that bad result off our score sheet.'

J/70’s finished three races today, giving them a total of six races. In the lead we have Carlo Alberini on Calvi Network (Pesaro, ITA) with 14 points, followed by Mauricio Santa Cruz on Bruschetta (Rio de Janeiro, BRA) with 19 points and then Julian Fernandez on Flojito Y Cooperando (Mexico City, MEX) with 20 points. 'Today six knots of shifty wind and high temperatures made racing very difficult,' said Carlo Alberini. 'Today’s was a tactician day and ours made the difference. Competition between Mauricio Santa Cruz, Julian Fernandez and us is always very close and it seems to be a continuation of our Key West battles. In reality the top ten boats are all very competitive. For tomorrow I hope in stronger winds in order to take home Miami!'

The M32s completed four races today and Taylor Canfield on US One (Miami, FL) holds onto his lead by two points over Rasmus Kostner on Trifork (USA) and by 12 points over Michael Dominguez on Bronco (Barrington, RI). 'Today was really challenging for our boats with light and shifty winds,' says Taylor Canfield. 'With our catamarans it’s extremely difficult to judge lay lines so we decided to run at our own pace and just do our best. It’s always a tight race and I like the consistency of our results'. Tomorrow’s regatta will conclude M32’s third Miami event with one more to go.

Today, from 4 – 6 p.m., is the last day that Bacardi Happy Hour takes place in the Bacardi Hospitality Village, in Kennedy Park. Sailors can take advantage of the Bacardi Village to wind down and drink Bacardi Rum after a long, hot day on the water. Tomorrow evening, from 6 – 9 p.m., the Awards Party and Dinner will be held in the Bacardi Hospitality Village. The art exhibit, Sailing Dreams by Vicki DaSilva, along with a pop-up store continues to be shown inside Unit 115 in Coco Walk, until March 7th. DaSilva is exhibiting 10 light paintings (made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph) that present to the community how she interprets the beautiful sport of sailing into art.

The sixth annual running of Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank will run through March 7, 2015. Regatta headquarters are at Kennedy Park in Coconut Grove. The Star class, whose teams are competing in the 88th Bacardi Cup, headlines the six-day BMSW racing schedule. The J/70, M32, Viper 640 and VX One classes, also racing on Biscayne Bay, are competing in the sixth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank.

For more information on the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week and the 88th Bacardi Cup click here or here.