Bacardi Miami Sailing Week - Wilson holds lead at Audi Melges 20

by Melges 20 Class on 9 Mar 2013 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week - The second day of the Audi Melges 20 Bacardi Miami Sailing week was met with stronger breeze allowing for three completed races for the day. The weather was beautiful with clear skies and 75 degree temperatures setting the stage for a perfect day of racing.

After a short on land postponement, the first race of the day got off to a NASCAR kind of start with a massive pile up of OCSs. Amongst those involved was overnight leader James Wilson on Oleander who struggled throughout the race to keep up the pace and maintain a relatively decent score. 2010 Gold Cup Champion Alesandro Rombelli proved he still has the magic touch as he turned the corner first in his beautifully metallic stroked Audi Melges 20 STIG. Rombelli commanded the lead taking the win, continually challenged by Michael Kiss' Bacio and Russ Lucas' Shimmer who finished second and third respectively.

The breeze continued to shift right for the start of race two with top all-amateur team Marcus Eagan aboard Cajun Underwriting finding the right lane eventually holding off the rest of the fleet to take the win. Wilson's Oleander was on Eagan's stern for the entirety of the race finishing second which proved to be huge for Wilson helping the team nabb the overnight lead heading into the final day of racing.

Sam Rogers commented on today's racing after winning yesterday, 'Tomorrow (Saturday) isn't just a matter of doing it all over again, It is not easy out there and we have to remain confident in our team'. The confidence and teamwork paid off as Wilson continues to dominate at Bacardi.

The third and final race of the day went to third place finisher in race two, Davies' Section 16. The finish of race three was nail biting to say the least. Rob Butler's Touch2Play ended the day on a high note with a second place finish after struggling early on in the series jumping up in the rankings. Robert Hughes' Heartbreaker rounded out the top three.


The Corinthian Division had an action packed day with Brian Hill's Atlas finding a spot on the podium jumping from fifth to second overall. John Arendshorst's Blink 20/20 is now on the podium as well in third heading into the final day of racing.

Teams rounded out the day on the lawn at Coconut Grove Sailing Club chit chatting about the day's racing, but also warming up the next great challenge - The Melges Rocks Party! Everyone that attended the Melges Performance Sailing DeBrief presented by EFG Bank received an awesome Melges Rocks t-shirt. Mr. Moe's was packed - standing room only for teams that love their Melges boats and simply can't get enough of the greatest sportboat competition in the world! The U.S. Melges 24 Class Association sends special thanks to our friends in Zenda as well as Bacardi Rum for providing the great refreshments at the Melges Rocks Party! What an awesome party!

Top 10 results (After One Race)
1.) James Wilson, Oleander; 1-14-2-6=23
2.) Paul Reilly, Red Sky Sailing Team;5-4-9-10=28
3.) Russell Lucas, Shimmer; 14-3-4-8=29
4.) Richard Davies, Section 16; 10-16-3-1=30
5.) Michael Kiss, Bacio; 6-2-8-15=31
6.) Alessandro Rombelli, STIG; 9-1-18-4=32
7.) Marc Hollerbach, Fu; 4-11-16-7=38
8.) John Taylor, Ninkasi; 11-24-5-9=49
9.) Camille Rasdal, Odin; 13-7-10-24=54
10.) Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker; 26-12-15-3=56

Top 5 Corinthians (After One Race)
1.) Marcus Eagan, Cajun Underwriting; 3-51/ocs-1-5=60
2.) Brian Hill, Atlas; 22-20-13-28=83
3.) John Arendshorst, Blink 20/20; 19-18-12-51/DFN=100
4.) Erwyn Naidoo, Bohica; 30-32-24-17=103
5.) Danny Shea, Diamante; 15-21-34-39=109