Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta 2025 - Day 5
by Luissa Smith 7 Mar 20:46 PST
March 3-8, 2025
Star: Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada finish 2nd in race 5 to claim the 98th Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta 2025 © Marina Semenova
On the penultimate day of racing at the 98th Bacardi Cup and Bacardi Invitational Regatta, Biscayne Bay demonstrated all the reasons why sailing is a thinking person's sport. With light and shifty breezes, both teams and the Race Committee were kept on their toes.
The Race Committee made an early decision to postpone all fleets ashore as they waited for the wind to fill in. Today separated the best from the rest, requiring a lot of transitions in response to the changing breeze. Perfectly executed team plays saw the frontrunners working together to dominate the course, while across all fleets new teams staked their names on the race wins.
Despite the weather challenges, camaraderie remains at the heart of the event. As Brian Kamilar, tactician on the J/70 'Zingara', put it, "Even on a light air, tough day like today, everyone is smiling, waving and having a good time. Yes, there's long waits but everyone is super enjoying it. Friendship is so big here. This is the marquee event of the year. Everyone needs to be here doing this every year."
The stage is set for an exciting finale on Saturday, March 8, as the Star, J/70, Melges 24, Viper 640 and VX One prepare to crown their champions. Racing is scheduled to start at 1030 hrs for the BCIR and 1100 hrs for the Bacardi Cup. The weather is for a building southerly breeze, forecast to be around 6-11 knots for the scheduled starts.
98th Bacardi Cup
After four attempts to start race 5 for the Star, each of which had to be postponed as the wind kept shifting up to 50 degrees, racing got under way on attempt number five.
All eyes were on the five-time defending Champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada and their closest rivals Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen, the only team realistically capable of challenging. Upwind both teams headed to the right, with Kusznierewicz/Prada holding a slight edge over Cayard/Kleen. However, neither team was at the front of the pack, with both sitting in the mid-teens at this stage.
A performance pedigree as deep as that of Kusznierewicz/Prada ensures they are always the ones to beat. Whatever position they find themselves in, they have an extraordinary ability to make gains. On the left on the first downwind, they took a roll of the dice, becoming the first boat to gybe. Boat by boat chipped their way through the fleet, delivering another masterclass to claw back and secure a second-place finish. Their unstoppable performance has secured them mathematical victory at the 98th Bacardi Cup with a race to spare.
Commenting on their strategy to stay focused with the repeated starts, Prada explained, "We already had four good races, so we did not feel that much pressure today, as we still had today and tomorrow to do good results. We have a lot of experience, and we are used to being in this situation."
Kusznierewicz explained, "We also reset. For one minute we take the pressure off, just quiet on the boat, with Bruno and I just in our own world. Then building towards the new start, looking what settings, where to start, what the wind is going to do. So, you are resetting and building again, resetting and building."
Commenting on their tactics, Kusznierewicz continued, "We knew this is going to be a long race. So, we pass a couple of boats the first downwind, we pass I think five boats second upwind. Then I think we passed four boats the last downwind. With this kind of mindset you know that maybe on the beginning it is not going your way, but you're looking for every opportunity to catch here, catch here. We enjoyed it,"
Whilst Kusznierewicz/Prada surged ahead, Cayard/Kleen did the opposite, ultimately crossing the line in 28th. "Obviously we had a bad day today, a terrible day," admitted a disappointed Cayard.
Cayard's son Danny, crewing for Will Stout, claimed the race win to secure their place in the final battle for a podium finish.
The leaderboard top five have separated themselves from the rest of the fleet. It all comes down to Saturday's race 6 to determine which two teams from the chasing pack of four will join the champions Kusznierewicz/Prada on the podium. Cayard/Kleen, Stout/Cayard, Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise and Jack Jennings/Pedro Trouche are separated by just 6 points.
Provisional Results after Day 5: (top three, 5 races)
1. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada (POL 8587) - 7 pts
2. Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen (USA 8550) - 12 pts
3. Will Stout/Danny Cayard (USA 8538) - 13 pts
J/70
The lighter breeze meant lots of bunching around the marks for the fifty boat J/70 fleet. Get it wrong and it was a focus to get back into rhythm with the ever-present attack, particularly as the wind flicked. Seizing the opportunity was Bruce Golison's team on 'Midlife Crisis' who won the day's only race and move up to 11th overall.
"It went really well for us today, we won the race and that's always the best," said Golison. "It's a hard day for everybody on the boat and a terrible day to be a driver sometimes. But it was pretty good and so the wind wasn't too bad. It was shifty, but we connected all the dots so we're happy about it."
Cate Muller-Terhune's 'Casting Couch' delivered a safe 7th place finish, extending their top of the leaderboard points advantage over Ralph Rosa's 'Mindset' to 11 points. The beauty of sailing is that you don't have to win races - it helps, but consistency is key.
""Race Committee is going to have a tough job today," said Allan Terhune in the morning weather briefing. After racing? "In the end, they nailed it."
Paul Green's team on 'Progress' finished third and jump up to third overall.
Stay on form on Saturday's final day and 'Casting Couch' is poised to not only wrap up the BCIR title but also secure the overall Bacardi Winter Series title. Having won BWS1 and finishing third at BWS2, they are in a commanding position to claim the series crown.
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top three, 4 races)
1. Cate Muller-Terhune/Steve Hunt/Allan Terhune Jr/Will Ryan (USA 34) - 23 pts
2. Ralph Rosa/Felipe Rondina/Julio Falcão/Guilherme Hammelman (BRA 1226) - 34 pts
3. Paul Green/Stu McNay/Andy Nowak/Ridgley MacKenzie (USA 1521) - 36 pts
Melges 24
Geoff Fargo's team on 'Sentinel' won race 4 and edge up to fourth overall. However, it is Peter-David Karrié's 'Nefeli' who continue to lead the pack, holding firm despite a fifth-place finish today.
Points are super close, but there can be no doubt 'Nefeli' is the standout favourite to win the event and secure the Bacardi Winter Series title. Karrié, who celebrated his first Bacardi event win at BWS2 in January, his first since debuting at Bacardi events in 2019, is now on the brink of another milestone.
Reflecting on the long day, Karrié praised the race management team. "The PRO did a really great job, really tried to get this one race in and it was perfectly managed. It was tricky for us with this light wind and shifty, but it was a fair race, and we managed a fifth."
Behind 'Nefeli', Vladimir Prosikhin's 'Nika 860' made a strong move up the leaderboard, leapfrogging Richard Reid's 'Zingara' after a second-place finish compared to 6th for Reid. A third-place finish for Harry Melges IV's team on 'Zenda Express' promotes them to fifth overall.
"Vladimir is doing really well," complimented Karrié. "He is a nice guy, I just met him here. It is good that we have new teams in the class, and such strong team like the 'Nika' team is always a pleasure."
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top three, 4 races)
1. Peter-David Karrié/Niccolo Bianchi/Alessandro Franci/Saverio Cigliano/Alessandro Saettone (GER 859) - 12 pts
2. Vladimir Prosikhin/Nic Asher/Mikaela Wulff/Giorgio Tortarolo/Michele Gregoratto (ITA 854) - 14 pts
3. Richard Reid/Brian Kamilar/Ian Sloan/Mark Spearman/Serena Vilage (CAN 853) - 17 pts
Snipe
Another two races today for the nineteen boat Snipe fleet, with no change at the top of the leaderboard. Racing closer to shore, teams enjoyed a light breeze of 7-8 knots. Once again, the same three teams dominated the race track to claim the top three finishes, except for a 5th in race 5 to Luciano Pesci/Flora Galimberti. Ernesto Rodriguez/Taylor Scheuermann sealed a 1,3 to maintain their lead.
"Today was a really tough day on Biscayne Bay," reflected Rodriguez. "We got a little bit of breeze from the south-east, really shifty and puffy a little bit. We managed to stay in good pressure and lifting tack most of the time, but it was really tough sailing."
He also praised his crew Scheuermann, saying, "She is amazing. She keeps me informed with a lot of things going on around us. She is a really good crew to have on the boat."
For Rodriguez, racing at Bacardi is non-negotiable. "The Bacardi is amazing," he said. "Everyone wants to be here in Miami sailing. I am from here so for me it is like I have to do it." With a laugh, he added, "It wasn't too hard to find an excuse! I am super happy."
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top three, 6 races)
1. Ernesto Rodriguez/Taylor Scheuermann (USA 31337) - 7 pts
2. Enrique Quintero/Charlie Bess (USA 31640) - 11 pts
3. Luciano Pesci/Flora Galimberti (ARG 31753) - 12 pts
Viper 640
The Viper 640 could only squeeze one race today, with victory going to Maria Maffessanti/Will Parkolab/Michael Weber on 'Gone Banana', elevating them into the top ten.
Vir Menon/Adutya Menon/Christopher Pfrang remained constant, with a third place to keep their scorecard of all top three finishes intact.
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top three, 3 races)
1. Vir Menon/Adutya Menon/Christopher Pfrang (IND 188) - 7 pts
2. Mark Wheeler/Rob Gorman/Charlie Brewer (USA 230) - 15 pts
3. Mike Deyett/Curtis Woodsworth/Michael Hull (USA 305) - 22 pts
VX One
Two races brought a shake-up in the VX One fleet, as two-time defending champions Chris Alexander/Madeline Baldridge/Grace Howie on 'Counterproductive' were the dominant force and move into pole position. However, their advantage is razor-thin, holding the top spot only on a tiebreak over Doug Clark/Zach Champney on 'Sideshow'.
Also moving up are the 2024 VX One North American Champions Marc Farmer/Tej Trevor Parekh, who posted 2,5 to end the day in third overall.
Provisional Results after Day 2: (top three, 5 races)
1. Chris Alexander/Madeline Baldridge/Grace Howie (USA 276) - 23 pts
2. Doug Clark/Zach Champney (USA 362) - 23 pts
3. Marc Farmer/Tej Trevor Parekh (USA 379) - 29 pts
Full results available here.