Augie Diaz wins Snipe Midwinters

Published on March 18th, 2014

The 76th Snipe Midwinters in Clearwater, FL got underway (March 16-18) with 18 teams from 6 countries in attendance. The three day event was plagued by strong winds, allowing for only four races to be completed.

Winds in excess of 20 knots on day one allowed for only one race, while thunderstorms and winds in excess of 25 knots on day two kept the fleet ashore.

The final day of competition dawned clear with winds out of the northwest, giving sailors three races in the lumpy seas with winds of between 8 and 15 knots.

Augie Diaz with crew Bruno Mello won the final race to finish in an overall tie for first with Ernesto Rodreguiz/ Eduardo Mencias, with Diaz taking the title. Third went to Emmanuel Hens and Yannick Laumans of Belgium.

The Midwinters is the first leg of the Snipe Winter Circuit, with the next stop at Miami’s Coconut Grove Sailing Club for the Don Q regatta beginning Friday (March 21), and then on to the last two events being sailed in Nassau’s Montagu Bay.

Click here for full results.

Report by Brainard Cooper