Star class Bacardi Cup in Miami Overall

Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos win the 2004 Bacardi Cup © Alex Gort

Rich Raymond pours Bacardi rum into the Trofeo Bacardí won by Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos © Alex Gort

PORTUGUESE WIN 2004 BACARDI CUP

Maccausland, Nichol Take First in Day Six Race

It’s official. Without sailing the final race in the six race series, the Portuguese Star Class team of Afonso Domingos and crew Bernardo Santos have won the 2004 Bacardi Cup. They are the first Europeans to win this prestigious sailing regatta since the race first sailed with 10 boats in Havana, Cuba in 1927.

Canadians Ross Macdonald and Mike Wolfs took second overall and Colin Beashel and David Giles of Australia took third. Americans Howie Shiebler and Will Stout followed in fourth with defending Bacardi Cup champion Peter Bromby and crew Lee White fifth in the final standings.

“Winds were shifty all week and we enjoy those conditions,” said Domingos. “This is the best Star Class regatta in the world and we’re honored to have done so well against a fleet of this caliber,” he said.

Friday’s race was won by Americans John Maccausland and Brad Nichol with the British team of Iain Percy and Steve Mitchell in second. There was a tie for third between Beashel and Giles and the French 2003 World champions Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau.

“Our next goal is to win the U.S. Olympic Trials and we’ve been working hard to finish really strong, “ said Maccausland. “The Bacardi Cup, which I’ve sailed every year since 1981, is a great event. When you ask sailors which is their favorite event, it’s the Bacardi Cup for sure,” he said.

Xavier Rohart admitted that “we finally woke up.” The French team did poorly in the first four races and placed third on the fifth day.

The sixth race was delayed more than an hour with unsteady 12-knot winds coming from the north to northeast. After two general recalls, 20 boats jumped the start and were disqualified including many of the Star Class elite – Mark Reynolds (USA), Vince Brun (USA), Marc Pickel(GER), Flavio Marazzi (SUI), Jali Makila.(DEN).

“Today wasn’t very good, we went over the line early,” said Reynolds. “You always want to win,” said the former Olympian and Star Class World champion, “but we’re also out here gauging the strength of the competition going into the U.S. Olympic Trials.”

The German team of Michael Koch and Markus Koy found the races tough. “We’re not used to such difficult wind conditions. It’s very professional and high level amateur and I’m quite proud to sail against yellow stars,” he said.

Percy and Mitchell finish sixth at Bacardi Cup

Olympic gold medallist Iain Percy and crew Steve Mitchell finished sixth overall in the 93 boat Star class at the Bacardi Cup.

After a disappointing start, where they were disqualified in the first race for starting prematurely, which they followed up with a 44th, they quickly redeemed themselves in the second half of the regatta, and were the only sailors to win more than one race.

“Conditions were poor at the beginning of the week and we had a disastrous start to the first race”, said Percy. “We were black flagged in the first outing for a false start and then put in a disappointing 44th in the third race but once the weather picked up we’ve been able to get into our stride and two out of the last three races finished in a victory for us. The preparations are going well.”

The final race of the event was postponed over an hour and racing finally got underway after two general recalls. On the third start, 20 boats jumped the gun including, for the second time in the event, Olympic champion Mark Reynolds and crew Steve Erickson.

Afonso Domingos and Bernado Santos of Portugal had no need to sail the final race as their consistency had paid out and saw them win the 2004 Bacardi Cup with a race to spare. However, the battle for the rest of the podium positions was still going to be hotly contested.

The final race win went to John Maccausland and Brad Nichol of America who finished just in front of Percy and Mitchell, with the 2003 world champions Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau of France crossing the finishing line at exactly the same time as Colin Beashel and David Giles of Australia. A 27th place for Canadians Ross Macdonald and Mike Wolfs was enough to see them finish second overall in front of Beashel and Giles.

Percy and Mitchell will now return to Europe where they will compete in Spain at their European Championships at the end of March, before heading on to the world championships in Italy, in April. This event will provide the final test before the 2004 Olympic Games in August.

Overall Results: (6 races, 1 discard)