88th Bacardi Cup - Day 4

by Icarus Sailing Media on 7 Mar 2015 The sixth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank began today with the addition of the J/70, M32, Viper 640 and VX One classes, while the Stars are racing their fourth day in the 88th Bacardi Cup. Today was another great day of sailing with a few passing clouds with winds out of the SE around 15 knots. Mark Pincus, Regatta Chairman, described today as 'a chamber of commerce day; absolutely beautiful. It was every racing sailor’s dream day. The weather was perfect, the wind was great and the race committees did a great job.'

Lars Grael and Samuel Gonçlaves win race four in the Stars, followed in second by Alessandro Pascolato and Henry Boening and in third Jorge Joao Zarifand Bruno Prada. Overall we have Jorge Joao Zarif leading by one point over Lars Grael and by nine points over Mark Reynolds. In attempt to hold on to his lead for the next two races, Jorge Joao Zarif plans to 'try to stay consistent and start well. I think our speed on the upwind is fine so if we have a good start and then see where the guys we are fighting against are, Lars, Mark, Torben, Augie, and try to stay close to them.'

The M32s completed five races on the first day of the sixth BMSW. Leading by one point is Taylor Canfield on US One, followed by Rasmus Kostner on Trifork in second and then Ron O’Hanley on Escape Velocity. Taylor Canfield commented on today’s sailing saying, 'there was great breeze on the water today. Our team worked very well together and we were able to put together five good races.'

After three races on the J/70 course, Julian Fernandez Neckelmann on Flojito Y Cooperando is winning the day with a third and two firsts . In second we have Carlo Alberini on Calvi Network and then Brian Keane on Savasana in third.

Julian Fernandez Neckelmann, today’s leader, said, 'We decided to have a conservative start without taking too many risks on this first day of racing. We focused on sailing fast and avoiding any trouble. The greatest challenge is the big fleet and we really wanted to stay away from a deep finish because in such a competitive regatta it is easy to drop back. I think our biggest competitors are Brian Keane on Savasana, Carlo Alberini on Calvi Network and Mauricio Santa Cruz Bruschetta. Moving forward we will keep the same strategy and hopefully it will pay off.' The second place finisher, Carlo Alberini commented on their sailing today: 'We are very happy with today’s result and it was our first day with new sails and a new mast. We will have small adjustments for tomorrow in order to be competitive in this stacked fleet.'

Completing four races, the leader after the first day of Viper 640 racing is Lawrence Crispin on Bubbles, followed by Geoffrey Ewenson on Terminally Pretty and Brad Boston on Jackpot. Bubbles skipper Lawrence said, 'Today we had very tight competition with Brad Boston on Jackpot. Our strategy was simple, we kept it clean, we didn’t push the starts tired to have good boat handling and we all were very focused. We held back a little but we always had clean air, which we think was the real advantage for today. We will try to have the same strategy tomorrow and depending on where we end up, we may have to be a little more aggressive on Saturday.'

The VX One fleet also completed four races today with Phillip Norris on Flash Rider finishing on top. In second and third we have William Griffin on Kill Bill and Donovan Brennan on Team Smuggler, respectively. Phillip recalled his most memorable moment from today: 'I had my girlfriend out on the boat and during our first jib she fell overboard. We were able to go back and pick her up, still finishing well (seventh).' Phillip continued to say that 'racing today was great, there was good wind and I have no complaints. It was very good sailing.'

Bacardi Happy Hour takes place this afternoon from 4 - 6 in the Bacardi Hospitality Village, in Kennedy Park. Plenty of Bacardi Rum will be available to the sailors to refresh them after a long day on the water. The art exhibit, Sailing Dreams by Vicki DaSilva, along with a pop-up store will be set up inside Unit 115 in Coco Walk, until March 7th. DaSilva is exhibiting ten 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. As of today the J/70, M32, Viper 640 and VX One classes joined the Stars on Biscayne Bay to kick off the sixth Bacardi Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank.

Full results are available at Yacht Scoring website

For more information, please visit Bacardi Miami Sailing Week website and the 88th Bacardi Cup website