The 97th Bacardi Cup kicked off on Monday in Miami, Florida with sixty-six Stars representing fifteen nations (including Ireland) for what turned out to be a light-wind tactical challenge and no more so than for Cork-Belfast duo Peter O'Leary and Stephen Milne sailing IRL 8118, Iron Lotus who finished 39th in the opening race on Biscayne Bay.
As regular Afloat readers know, O'Leary and Milne, who are consistently formidable and led the fleet mid-regatta last year before finishing fourth overall, so they will be hoping for better in the next races.
Americans Augie Diaz and Henry Boening perfectly displayed their skill in securing the win. Defending Bacardi Cup Champions, Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada initially led but Diaz and Boening found the speed button to overhaul them and take the race win.
All top four finishers today are both past Bacardi Cup and Star World Champions.
Provisional Results – Top 10 after Race 1
1. Augie Diaz / Henry Boening (USA 8509) - 1 pt
2. Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Bruno Prada (POL 8559) - 2 pt
3. Lars Grael / Ubiratan Matos (BRA 8392) - 3 pt
4. Eric Doyle / Payson Infelise (USA 8580) - 4 pt
5. Marin Misura / Tonko Barac (CRO 8531) - 5 pt
6. Josh Powell / Mark Strube (USA 8522) - 6 pt
7. Piet Eckert / Frederico Melo (SUI 8575) - 7 pt
8. Paul Cayard / Frithjof Kleen (USA 8550) - 8 pt - Worlds
9. Jørgen Schönherr / Markus Koy (DEN 8532) - 9 pt
10. John MacCausland / Peter Sangmeister (USA 8448) - 10 pt – Worlds