Bacardi Wrap Up

The Nice Guys Finish First (and Second)

by VanFalk

By now the sailing world knows Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos won the Bacardi Cup with Ross MacDonald and Mike Wolfs in second. Rather than trying to rehash how they did it, I'll just tell you that they sailed a great regatta and earned every bit of this championship. The Portuguese were using an old boat with very tired suits of sails and still managed to sit out the last race. I am very happy for both Ross and Afonso as they are among the friendliest, and humblest of all the elite international sailors I have ever met. While I don't know their crews as well, I can say that Bernardo and Mike seem very much the great guys as their skippers do. What a great change from some of the big names, a few of whom I have seen give away their trophies after a regatta. Here's one for the nice guys!

There seems to be a cloud of controversy surrounding the early departure of some of the teams and lack of participation by others. I will confirm that there was a very bad stomach flu going around. I caught it and could barely race the last two days. Some of the guys got it worse and were forced out of racing for one or more days. It was pretty serious and not a hangover as others have hinted. Freddy Loof left early to be with his wife. Some have questioned why he would have been at the regatta at all. Freddy's wife was with him in Miami, but when she sensed the signs that labor was near and early (she is a doctor), she immediately went home to Sweden and Freddy followed the next AM. Give the guy a break. That is a perfectly legitimate reason.

The quality of the racing gradually improved, but we never had the usual great conditions Biscayne Bay is known for. Race four turned out to be gusty and unsteady and as with Race 3, the wind never really settled all day. It took quite some time to get the race off and many of the sailors got pretty cold waiting around. The RC set the course in the wrong place and had to move the whole thing down the bay costing a lot of time. Percy and Mitchell won the race and showed that they are damn good in the breezy stuff.

Race 5 was sailed in 5-18 knots. The RC set the course in the wrong spot again and had to move it. We all got cold again waiting around. The wind would turn on and off at will making it very difficult for the crews who would have to move from the mini-hike to sitting to leward, and back to the mini-hike constantly. The Danish team of Nicklas Holm and Claus Olesen led most of the race, but as the breeze started to build, Percy/Mitchell were moving and eventually wound them down.

Race 6 was anti-climatic as the regatta winner was already decided. We got cold once again waiting for the RC to move the course around while the lucky Portuguese were watching from the upper deck lounge of the Bacardi yacht. They could have at least passed us some cocktails. Once the racing got underway, we sailed the race in about 12 knots. 20 boats were over early and it should have been a general recall, however the RC was under a time crunch and let the race go on. It was actually the best racing of the week. The wind was fairly steady with a few large shifts. John MacCausland had an excellent day and won the race. Aaron Serinis with veteran crew John Avis showed why he is one of the up and coming young sailors to watch in the class by finishing sixth and challenging the big names the entire way.

The final Bacardi party was held at the Wyndham hotel in Miami Beach. I was only able to attend for a few minutes but it seemed like it was going to be a great event. With free all you can eat food and all you can drink Bacardi, how can you go wrong? Next year, I hope that they would remember to include the directions to the party with the tickets. Many teams were straggling in late as many of us did not know how to get to the location. The hang overs in the parking lot the next day certainly were proof that the Bacardi party is an epic buzz. I feel sorry for many of the Europeans. None of them were looking very healthy as they left the boat yard for the airport. Stories were buzzing about a certain "impaired" German sailor trying to "dance" with Tito Bacardi's wife to the horrified looks of Bacardi's PR staff; while television crews captured the moment. Other stories about gate crashers dry humping the door to the dining room are unconfirmed at this point.

The volunteers and everyone at CRYC does a wonderful job every year for the Bacardi, and their efforts are very much appreciated. As the Star has become more professional at the top level and the Bacardi Cup more important as several nations use it as part of their Olympic Trials, perhaps it is time that they make the jump to the next level in terms of race management. The numerous RC errors, such as marks and courses in the wrong place, boats running aground on the layline and others have led many sailors to believe that CRYC should bring in a big-time professional P.R.O. to run the regatta. John Craig would be a popular choice. John is the best out there right now, knows Stars very well, knows Biscayne Bay, and I am sure the St. Francis would lend him out for the week.

In other news, the class poohbahs met Saturday morning to discuss the locations for the next few major regattas. Argentina who submitted a Worlds bid several years ago, but was not awarded the event due to economic meltdown or class politics, was awarded the 2005 Worlds. The St. Francis YC, who also placed a bid for 2005, will receive the 2006 World Championship and the 2007 location will be decided by ISAF as it must be part of the ISAF Worlds Regatta which will be somewhere in Europe. Cal YC in Marina Del Rey will get the 2005 North Americans.

I was hoping to provide reports from the forthcoming Olympic Trials, but it appears I will not be attending the regatta. My regular skipper was unable to sail the Bacardi or Trials due to business issues, so I signed on with a new guy for both events. I had a boat reserved to charter and skipper for the regattas, but I prefer to crew, and when the offer came I released my option on the charter. Now the new skipper tells me he doesn't want to do the Trials and my charter option is no longer available. Pretty much the lamest thing that has ever happened to me in 23 years of sailboat racing. I made a commitment to this skipper for the two regattas and I expected him to do the same for me. I guess some people just aren't very honorable anymore. I'll never make this mistake again. I however am good to my word and will provide the promised article on "boat fluffers" some time in the next few days. Maybe the editor can score me a press pass for the event?

I'll conclude this report by saying that my identity has become somewhat of a curiosity in the class. At the Bacardi, many people were trying to guess, few were right. I am surprised no one figured it out earlier, I leave enough hints in the articles that it shouldn't be too hard with a little bit of research. But I would like to give credit to Mark Reynolds who was the first one, and then Ross MacDonald, Andy Lovell, and Rick Merriman, all of whom figured it out this week.