Pierini Tops Bacardi J/70 Winter Series I

(Miami, FL)- Biscayne Bay was open again for business as the inaugural three event Bacardi Invitational Winter Series kicked off December 1­-2 in Miami, FL. The event is an off-shoot of the perennial Bacardi Invitational Regatta now run in conjunction with the legendary Bacardi Cup every March.

Despite light winds allowing only three races on day one and no racing on day two, the J/70 Class was extremely tight in the top five positions, with a different crew winning each race. Day one was as predicted. As it progressed, the breeze lightened, so did the chop. The left side continued to be favored, making starts difficult since everyone wanted to go the same way.

Many teams from across the USA and Europe arrived early for the regatta and took advantage of the Miami weather to get in some practice. On day one, sailors awoke to an overcast sky, a westerly breeze of 8–11 knots, and moderate Biscayne Bay chop. The Key Biscayne Yacht Club Race Committee set up a windward--leeward course of two laps.

In race one, the entire J/70 class went left on the upwind, so a strong start was essential to being in the top of the fleet. Henry Brauer's RASCAL and Joel Ronning's CATAPULT led neck and neck at the first mark. The two boats battled closely throughout the race with CATAPULT victorious in the end. Trey Sheehan's Team HOOLIGAN sailed a near perfect second race, winning with a generous lead for such light conditions.

For most of the day, boats that got out in front, stayed in front. The day ended with Geoff Pierini winning the third race. His team kept their pace in the dying breeze and seemed to glide effortlessly around the race course. Pierini and his team were hyper-focused on maximizing their speed and making the smallest of gains on every little puff.

Pierini's J/70 team had three great starts that gave them the freedom to continue left as long as they wished and not be held out to the layline.

The breeze was relatively stable and pressure moved slowly down the course, so it was difficult to make major gains on the upwinds. Gains were sometimes made on the downwinds by teams taking a risk to jibe away from the fleet early. The majority of the J/70 fleet straight set on the downwinds and gybed only when they arrived near the layline.

The J/70 winner, Geoff Pierini, attributes much of his win to his crew, US Olympian Thomas Barrows, keeping them in the pressure on the downwinds. That helped them work the boat lower than their competitors, giving them the chance to gybe out when the opportunity presented itself. Timing was everything in the tight fleet.

Sunday's weather forecast proved over-­optimistic. Despite the patience of the Race Committee and the competitors, the day's racing was called just after noon. The breeze never filled.

The J/70 sailors headed back to shore by motor. Smiles abounded later in the afternoon as the sailors found themselves again with Bacardi cocktails in their hands and surrounded by the hospitality of the folks at Shake—A-­Leg, the regatta venue.

After the three races, the top of the leaderboard was quite tight.  Pierini led with 6 pts, followed by Ronning’s CATAPULT in second with 8 pts, Sheehan’s Team HOOLIGAN- FLAT STANLEY in third with 9 pts, Brauer’s RASCAL in fourth with 11 pts and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE in fifth with 13 pts. The Top Corinthian J/70 Team was Joey Kolisch. Thanks to Kathleen Tocke for the contribution.

The series consists of three events, the next two are scheduled as follows:
Jan 19-20- Bacardi J/70 Winter Series II- Miami, FL
Mar 6-9- Bacardi J/70 Winter Series III- Miami, FL
For more Bacardi Winter Series sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.


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