Ireland's Star keelboat sailors Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne clinched victory in race 4 of the 97th Bacardi Cup, marking a new winner for the day in Miami, Florida. Despite their turbulent scorecard of 39, 9, 33, the duo managed to take the lead and move up to 16th place overall. The weather conditions continued to pose challenges for the teams, with the race being postponed due to rain and clouds affecting the wind. However, the teams managed to push through the squalls, rain, and sunshine, with the breeze ranging from 5-15 knots across the three courses.
O'Leary expressed his satisfaction on winning the race, stating that the Cork-Belfast duo tend to perform well in strong winds and heavy rain, which is similar to their home conditions. Looking ahead to the next two races, O'Leary acknowledged the tough competition, saying, "This is proper racing, there is nowhere to hide, really good sailors and you are sailing against the best of the best. That’s what you get in the Star. The racing is really every inch. We have left ourselves a bit of work to do, but that is ok."
The defending champions of the Bacardi Cup, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada, regained their top spot in the Star fleet, ahead of the 2019 Bacardi Cup winners, Eric Doyle and Payson Infelise. While the top two teams seem to be heading towards a thrilling duel, any of the top five teams could still unseat them with the series discard set to kick in after tomorrow's race 5. Facundo Olezza and Ricardo Vadia became the top-placed U30 team in 19th place overall after their impressive 3rd place finish.
Provisional Results – Top 3 after Race 4
1. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Bruno Prada (POL 8559) - 13 pts
2. Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise (USA 8580) - 13 pts
3. Augie Diaz / Henry Boening (USA 8509) - 24 pts