O’Leary Sixth As Star Bacardi Cup Title Goes To Final Race

6th March 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Final Duel — Star class crews power upwind on Biscayne Bay at the 99th Bacardi Cup in Miami, where Ireland’s Peter O’Leary lies sixth overall as the regatta heads for a final-day showdown Credit: Anna Suslova

Ireland’s Peter O’Leary has moved up to sixth overall heading into the final race of the 99th Star Class Bacardi Cup on Biscayne Bay in Miami.

Sailing Dafne (IRL 8465) with Joost Houweling, the Cork Olympian, delivered a strong fifth race to stay firmly in the hunt among the 77-boat Star class fleet.

With the discard now applied, O’Leary’s scoreline leaves him sixth overall with one race remaining in the six-race series.

The battle for the Bacardi Cup itself has narrowed to a two-boat fight.

Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen lead the regatta on five points after five races, while Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry lie second on eight points following back-to-back race wins.

Scheidt took victory in Race Five in a 12–15 knot breeze on Biscayne Bay, tightening the overall standings and setting up a decisive final day.

“Obviously we have a little advantage on Robert,” Cayard said. “We’re confident. We have good speed and a little margin on him.”

Cayard, a veteran of multiple America’s Cup campaigns, suggested a match-racing approach may come into play in the finale.

“If I have the opportunity to match race him and push us both down the fleet, the race just got a lot easier for us,” he said.

Scheidt, a five-time Olympic medallist, plans a more direct strategy.

“Tomorrow we’ll try to get a good start and hopefully be ahead of him on the first cross,” he said. “The first cross will be very decisive.”

Behind the leading duo, the race for the final podium place remains open.

Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Bruno Prada (POL) hold third overall on 12 points, with Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) close behind on 15.

Irish Fleet Update

Another Irish crew remains in the top third of the fleet.

Robert O’Leary and Fionn Lyden sailing Swifty (IRL 8118) are 22nd overall after five races.

Four time Olympian David Burrows of Howth and Malahide is also racing in Miami, crewing for American veteran Augie Diaz. The pair lie 20th overall in the competitive Star fleet.

Anthony O’Leary and Steyn Van Driesessel aboard Antix (IRL 8379) are 57th overall.

One Race Left

The 99th Bacardi Cup concludes with the sixth and final race scheduled for 11 am on Biscayne Bay.

With Cayard holding a narrow three-point lead over Scheidt, the historic regatta is set for a winner-takes-all finale between two of sailing’s most decorated competitors.

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

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The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.