Bacardi Cup 2012

2012 Bacardi Cup

The third annual running of Bacardi Miami Sailing Week marked several milestones starting with the 150th anniversary of the Bacardi Company, as well as the 85th year of the Bacardi Cup for the storied Star class which just celebrated its own 100th anniversary. Also being celebrated during the week will be Jose E. "Tito" Argamasilla Bacardi, who lost his battle with cancer late in 2011. During his 40 year career with the company he not only hosted the Bacardi Cup for several decades but also founded the Bacardi museum in Miami.

Report by Media Pro Int'l - Jan Harley

Day One:
The series opener took place under cloudy skies with a northerly breeze in the mid teens. The Austrian team of five-time Olympian Hans Spitzauer, sailing with Gerd Habermueller, determined that they wanted to be on the right side of the course today. As the scoreboard attests, it proved to be a good move right from the start.

"Excellent day of sailing due to the winds, just perfect for the first day of this Bacardi Cup anniversary event!," said a very happy Spitzauer after racing today. "We made a really good choice, and extended to take the lead. Today was a really good race for us, we had a great lead, we were pushed by others but today was our day." Finishing second were 2011 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and Ian Coleman (Annapolis, Md.), who finished 14th at the Star World Championship in Australia this past December. Third across the line was the Ukranian team of Arthur Anosov and Vitali Kushnir, followed by 2006 Etchells World Champion and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Jud Smith (Marblehead, Mass.) who is racing with Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.). Fatih, a member of the 2012 USSTAG, will represent the U.S.A. at the 2012 Olympic Regatta in England as crew for Mark Mendelblatt.

Day Two
Racing Blown Out on Biscayne Bay
March 6: At 0900 EST, with an east-northeast 29-knot breeze gusting to 35 knots and a prediction for more of the same over the course of the afternoon, organizers of the 85th Bacardi Cup cancelled the day's scheduled race for the 67 registered Star teams.

Day Three - March 7:
With a large area of high pressure parked over the East Coast of the U.S.A. generating strong easterly winds across the Florida peninsula, organizers of the 85th BACARDI Cup were forced to cancel racing for the second day in a row. Organizers have revised the schedule for the 67 registered Star teams to include a second race on Thursday and Friday (March 8-9).

Day Four - March 8:
The Star fleet had started racing on Monday but was sidelined for the last two days as a weather system generating high winds and hazardous marine conditions sat over the area. Today, with easterly winds in the upper teens, the Stars resumed their series,

In the first race of the day for the Star class 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Ireland) led around the first leeward mark followed closely by 2008 Star World Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland) and Xavier Rohart and Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (France). The positions remained intact as the three teams crossed the finish line. In race two, 2007 Bacardi Cup champion Hamish Pepper and crew Jim Turner (New Zealand) were leading at the first mark, followed by Kusznierewicz/Zycki and Rohart/Ponsot, but the Polish team succeeded in beating them across the line, with the French team finishing third.

The win of the second race moved Kusznierewicz and Zycki to the top of the overall standings with three points, followed by O'Leary and Burrows with five. Day one leaders Hans Spitzauer, a five-time Olympian, and Gerd Habermueller (Austria) placed 9-5 in today's races and dropped to third overall, where they are tied on points with Rohart and Ponsot. Two points back, Pepper and Turner stand fifth with eight points.

"Overall not a bad day," said Peter O'Leary. "After two days on shore we were very happy to be on the water again. Conditions were good, yet a bit tricky with big waves that made sailing interesting. We were first at the first mark and we took it from there to the finish. In the second race we had an excellent start and then had to overcome a big wind shift. We made it to the top mark in the top group, and although we wanted to win we had to settle for fourth."

Day Five: March 9
With the temperature hovering around 80 and an east-southeast breeze of 12 knots, competitors quickly got down to business on the penultimate day of racing at Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank. Two races were sailed by the Star fleet.

For the second day in a row, 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Ireland) won the first race of the day in the Star class. Xavier Rohart and Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (France) were second across the line, and when they won race two, they were propelled to the top of the overall standings with nine points. O'Leary and Burrows, after finishing fifth in the second race, have 11 points and are followed by 2008 Star World Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland) with 15 points after finishes of 9-3 today. Austria's five-time Olympian Hans Spitzauer, sailing with Gerd Habermueller, is fourth overall with 17 points, followed by 2007 Bacardi Cup champion Hamish Pepper and crew Jim Turner (New Zealand) with 23 points.

"It was a really great day," said Xavier Rohart while admitting that he and Ponsot – with whom he has been sailing since 2008 – did not expect to do this well. "This was not our favorite weather, but we had good work with our coach. Miami is good training for Weymouth [site of the 2012 Olympic Regatta]. It's why we are here, and to know the people we will be sailing against. To win [the Bacardi Cup] would be a very good end for our training." When Rohart races in Weymouth, it will be his sixth Olympic Regatta. His best finish - a bronze medal - was earned at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Day Six - March 10
With five races already on the scoreboard, the Star fleet today completed the sixth race for the 85th Bacardi Cup, being held for the 50th year in Miami. Briefly postponed, the final race for the Stars got underway with just seven knots of breeze from the east southeast. The Swiss team of Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria were across the finish line first, followed by Miami's own Augie Diaz with Bruno Prada, and 2008 Star World Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland). Xavier Rohart and Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (France) were across fourth, followed by 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Ireland). By finishing ahead of the Irish team, Rohart and Ponsot, who had started the day with a three-point lead on O'Leary and Burrows, maintained the point spread to win the championship title with 13 points. O'Leary and Burrows, with 16 points, and Kusznierewicz and Zycki, with 18 points, filled out the remaining podium spots. Diaz and Prada, with finishes of 11-4-7-5-8-2; 26, moved up to fourth overall, with day one leaders, Austria's five-time Olympian Hans Spitzauer and Gerd Habermueller, finishing fifth overall with 29 points.

"It's wonderful," said Xavier Rohart on winning the 85th Bacardi Cup. "I'm extremely happy for this achievement. It's a dream come true! I've been dreaming about it for 10 years and finally it happened. Unfortunately, I'm on my way to the airport as I have to be back home and I will miss the celebration tonight, but my crew and coach will be there. This concludes my training in Miami and I will continue to focus on more training before the Olympics."

Results for one race on March 5, two on March 8, two on March 9 and the final on March 10: