Doyle and Infelise sizzle in Miami

Miami, FL (February 18, 2021) – Near perfect conditions were on offer for day one of the Star Midwinters and Walker Cup. PRO Carl Schellbach and his team from Coral Reef Yacht Club ran three excellent races in a southeasterly breeze with a consistent nine to eleven knots. Eric Doyle and Payson Infelise’s solid performance of a 2-1-1 puts them in the lead (above), nine points clear of Augie Diaz and Arnis Baltins in second.

Race one had to contend with a speedboat Poker Run with about forty speed boats jetting closely around both edges of the race course during the start and the first upwind. The first race was also the breeziest with left side of the course being favored. Diaz/ Baltins found their groove faster than the others and easily led the race wire to wire. Doyle/ Infelise and Jim Buckingham/ Phil Toth fought for second and third places respectively, quite a distance ahead of the next group.

Doyle, returning for his first Star event of the season, continued to be the dominant player in the top of the fleet. With great starts and speed, he and Infelise were in full charge of the race course, but in race two were pushed by Peter Vessella/ Phil Trinter, who finished second, while Paul Cayard/ Luke Lawrence came back fighting to take third place after having to do penalty turns in race one.

By the start of race three, the wind velocity began to fluctuate more, allowing teams with better transitions to get out ahead and pass boats. Again, Doyle/ Infelise led the race wire to wire, but the battle was tight between the rest of the fleet with more changes in positions upwind and downwind. There was a photo finish for second through fourth, with Cayard/ Lawrence narrowly crossing the line ahead of Diaz/ Baltins, and Vesella/ Trinter finishing fourth.

Racing is scheduled on February 18-21 with the Walker Cup concluding tomorrow.

Race information – Results – Star Winter Series

The Star Winter Series schedule is made up of four winter weekend regattas and a 4-day Midwinter Championship, all sailed in Miami, FL.

2020-21 Schedule
SWS Event 1 – Schoonmaker Cup – November 14-15, 2020
SWS Event 2 – Commodore’s Cup – December 5-6, 2020
SWS Event 3 – Levin Memorial Cup – January 9-10, 2021
SWS Event 4 – Walker Cup – February 18-19, 2021
SWS Event 5 – Star Midwinters – February 18-21, 2021

Scoring: Only the best three Winter Series weekend regattas will count toward the SWS Championship. The Star Winter Series Champion will be the skipper with the lowest total score to be calculated as follows: The sum of the overall place in the Star Midwinters multiplied by 2, plus the lowest three scores from the four SWS weekend regattas. Series Championship ties will be decided by the finish position in Midwinters.

Source: Kathleen Tocke