Wet and Wild Opening Day at Bacardi Invitational Regatta
Racing got underway on March 7th for the five one-design fleets competing in the Bacardi Invitational Regatta, with two hundred and seven teams and well over six hundred sailors delivering a stunning spectacle on Biscayne Bay.
Weather conditions continued to demand focus and patience, with the fleets postponed ashore as the clouds and rain hampered the wind. When racing got underway across the three courses, teams contended with squalls, rain and sunshine, and the breeze bouncing from 5-15 knots.
The two Bacardi Winter Series lead in events featured super close battles in the Melges 24, with Bora Gulari’s team most recently coming out on top at BWS2 in January. It was more of the same today, with Gulari racing a solid 1, 5, 3 to lead. Only just though, with Richard Reid’s ‘Zingara’ team and Bruce Ayres’ ‘Monsoon’ on a 10-point tiebreak behind.
“We had a good start and we got to go straight for a long time and when we get to go straight, we are pretty quick and it worked out in our direction,” explained Gulari about the race 1 win. “The shift was a leftie and we got to go to the left corner, so it all kind of happened. We got to hold onto the victory so that was nice.”
Gulari is targeting a win at BIR to wrap up the three-event series, but acknowledges the stiff competition, saying, “Everyone’s good. It doesn’t matter until the last day, we are just trying to hold serve and have a chance.”