Staniek/Kleen hold on to lead at Bacardi Cup

Miami, FL (March 8, 2016) – Day 2 in Miami delivered a less then expected breezy day with a mix of sun and clouds with wind at 100 degree at around 15 knots out of the East for Star sailors competing in the 89th Bacardi Cup. Fifty-eight boats checked in for an 11-mile course. The race got off at 12:30 after one recall and one black flag start.

The top three boats at the weather mark were Robert Staniek/Frithjof Kleen from Germany, followed by Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi from Italy and by Torben Grael/ Gullherme Almeida from Brazil. At the leeward mark Negri/Lambertenghi rounded in front of Staniek/Kleen and Grael/Almeida and kept the lead till the end.

“We had a great day,” said Diego Negri. “We took advantage of a nice puff and passed them (Staniek/Frithjof Kleen) for the lead. We were able to accumulate a nice advance that we managed to safeguard until the finish. I was surprised by our speed and now, with a second overall, we’ll remain focused and will try to fight for the Cup, but it’s still early and have quite a few races ahead of us.”

“We had a great start,” said Frithjof Kleen (GER 8340). “We managed to round the weather mark in first place, but Diego (Negri) passed us as we missed some puffs. We took some risks on the third leg, but it didn’t pay off. Our goal is to keep results in the top five and have a shot at the Bacardi Cup.”

With a third place in today’s race Augie Diaz/Bruno Prada consolidated their third overall after two races in front of Peter Vessella/Phil Trinter (USA).

In fourth place is the team of Torben Grael/Guilherme Almeida (BRA). “It’s unfortunate that we lost second and third on a wind shift and we were not able to gain back the position,” commented Torben Grael.

Fifth place in today’s race and overall are Paul Cayard/Brian Faith (USA). “Today was not as windy as forecasted and even went down on the last leg. We had a good race and happy to be in the top five.”

Racing will resume tomorrow with a noon start. Plenty of wind and some sun are in the forecast for the third day in a row.

This afternoon, BACARDI Happy Hour took place at the BACARDI Village hospitality, in Kennedy Park, from 4-6 p.m. Sailors favorite drinks were the Cuban Storm and the Mojito that paired well with good food and sailors stories. Some head over to CocoWalk to check out the “Pipistrello Workshop”, a special exhibit featuring the construction of a Shellback sailboat. The boatbuilding project along with a pop-up art exhibit of Italian artist Roberto Fiorentino will be open until March 12th.

While the racing of the Bacardi Cup is for the Star Class only, on Thursday, March 10 the J/70, Viper 640, VX One and A-Cat classes will join the Stars to race the 7th Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, which all continue until Saturday, March 12.

This year’s on the water activities are coordinated by Coral Reef Yacht Club in collaboration with the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and with the help of the U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami.

Details: BACARDI Miami Sailing Week – 89th BACARDI Cup – Event details – Facebook

Report by event media.