Day 2 at Bacardi Winter Series, January 28-30 2022, dawned as forecast with a big breeze of 27+ knots and gusts up to 39 on Biscayne Bay, Miami, forcing the Melges 24s to be postponed ashore. Not all bad though, as teams enjoyed the stunning and convivial host venue of Shake-a-Leg-Miami (SALM).

Four hours after the scheduled 1100 hours start time, the wind eased and at 1500 hours and teams took to the track for two races. Perfect conditions delivered fantastic racing, ‘smoking fast’ downwind legs and lots to concentrate on.

Day 2 at Bacardi Winter Series, January 28-30 2022, dawned as forecast with a big breeze of 27+ knots and gusts up to 39 on Biscayne Bay, Miami, forcing the Melges 24s to be postponed ashore. Not all bad though, as teams enjoyed the stunning and convivial host venue of Shake-a-Leg-Miami (SALM).

Climbs for some, drops for others and a big change for Peter Duncan’s Raza Mixta who unsettled their scorecard with a UFD penalty in the second race and crashed to 4th from first overall at the start of the day.

In the opening race, things were looking good for Duncan and Bora Gulari on New England Ropes, as the two teams won the pin end and took flight in a close fight to the windward mark. But, a big left shift unsettled the train and saw many over stand on the port tack lay line, which made for some interesting port/starboard challenges at the mark. The outcome, Duncan and Gulari lost their lead.

In the second race, the breeze delivered less consistency across the track with lots of isolated puffs and shifty conditions. The race belonged to Bora Gulari, who knew he had to redeem his 10th place in the day’s opening race to stay in podium contention. Finding his groove, he led the fleet around the windward mark, with seconds between the top few boats, and kept control to race glory.

Peter McClennen on Gamecock had his eyes on Gulari, hunting him down and rounded the second windward mark in first, going on to play the left side downwind and seal 2nd place. McClennen’s best finish of the series so far pushed him from 12th overall at the start of the day to 5th at the end.

“Breezy, shifty, gusty conditions,” commented Peter McClennen. “The key was staying in phase at all times, and staying fast all the time downwind. We got onto the right side and we probably spent 80% of the race on one tack downwind. Super fun, super-fast, Miami super delivered and the Melges 24 is wonderful!”

In tomorrow’s two races anything can happen amongst the top three teams with just 4 points separating them, and then a small gap to the chasing pack.

Melges 24 – Top 5 Provisional Results after 5 races
1. Michael Goldfarb / Jonny Goldsberry / Morten Henriksen / Matteo Ramian / Emory Williams (USA 825) - 20 pts
2. John Bailey / Mike Buckley / John Bowden / Beth Whitener / Bear (USA 720) - 23 pts
3. Bora Gulari / Kyle Navin / Norman Berge / Ian Liberty / Dave Hughes (USA 820) - 24 pts
4. Peter Duncan / Victor Diaz de Leon / Matt Pitsay / Erik Shampain / Morgan Trubovick (USA 829) - 32 pts
5. Peter McClennen / Mike Marshall / Zeke Horowitz / Allie Grey / Wilson Stout (USA 811) - 36 pts
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