Breeze On for 90th Bacardi Cup

Miami, FL (March 7, 2017) – After yesterday’s cancellation, the 90th Bacardi Cup got underway today with rain clouds over the 71-boat fleet and steady 20 knots from the east.

After two general recalls and the black flag waiving, the third start was the charm with Mendelblatt/Liljedal (USA) taking 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 moveed 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. “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.”

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.”

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.”

 
Current Results (Top 10 of 71; 1 race)
1. La Pelle, Xavier Rohart / Pierre Alexis PONSOT , FRA – 1 ; 1
2. Star, Mark Mendelblatt / Magnus Liljedahl , USA – 2 ; 2
3. Survival of the Fattest, Eivind Melleby / Joshua Revkin , NOR – 3 ; 3
4. USA 8423, Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise , USA – 4 ; 4
5. Pied Piper/National Marine, Jack Jennings / FRITH J. F KLEEN , USA – 5 ; 5
6. Renata, Lars Grael / Samuel Goncalves , BRA – 6 ; 6
7. USA 852, Peter Vessella / Phil Trinter , USA – 7 ; 7
8. Lara, Hubert Merkelbach / Sergio Lambertenghi , GER – 8 ; 8
9. Star 8498, Alberto Zanetti / MARK STRUBE , USA – 9 ; 9
10. West Coast University, Charlie Buckingham / Austin Sperry , USA – 10 ; 10

Event details – Scoreboard – Live streaming – Facebook

Background: The 90th anniversary of the Bacardi Cup for the Star Class will hold 6 races on March 5-11. On Thursday March 9, eight other one-design classes will compete in the 8th annual BACARDI Miami Sailing Week event presented by EFG. Competitors will represent 20 different countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Ukraine, Uruguay, Sweden, and Switzerland.