Melgina Shines On Day 1 at Bacardi Winter Series 2
Miami, FL - January 24, 2025 - The opening day of the Bacardi Winter Series Event 2, January 24-26, brought puffy, shifty conditions to Biscayne Bay, rewarding those who could interpret the very nuanced racetrack. Paolo Brescia’s Melges 24 ‘Melgina’ controlled the fleet in the moderate north-westerly breeze. Conditions of 8-12 knots, with the occasional gust, challenged everyone, while unexpectedly chilly weather caught some by surprise.
Brescia’s Melgina had a dream start, with back-to-back wins and a 5th place to take a commanding 9-point lead over Zenda Express with Harry Melges IV at the helm, and just 1 point back is Laura Grondin’s Dark Energy.
Race 1 featured a nail-biting finish as tactician Stefano Cherin called for a wing-on-wing maneuver to edge out Peter McClennen’s Gamecock. Cherin explained, “The finishing wing-on-wing helped us to move from third to 1st and was just a last call. At the beginning I said to Paolo, ‘do you feel confident to do it?’ and he agreed to try. I am happy that I made the call, it paid well.”
Due praise from Brescia who exclaimed, “He is a genius!”
Again, in race 2, Brescia stayed ahead, this time seeing off Grondin. In Race 3, Brescia recovered well from an OCS to finish 3rd, while Canada’s Richard Reid racing Zingara claimed the race win.
“Today we had a great day,” remarked Brescia whose long-standing team operated like the well-oiled machine they are, boosted by the fact they are all friends too. “I think we were in a good mood and everything was very easy to approach the start of the race with positivity!”
Cherin added, “It was quite a shifty day and we enjoyed the weather, although if felt like wintertime in Italy. Two bullets was amazing. Let’s push like this for the next days!”
Advantage to Canada’s Richard Reid on ‘Zingara’ gave them the race 3 win to end their day in 6th overall.
After racing, the Bacardi happy hour took the spotlight.
Racing continues on Saturday, January 25, with three races scheduled. The Melges 24 fleet have a scheduled start of 1100 hrs.
Melges 24 – Provisional results after 3 races
1. Melgina - Paolo Brescia (USA 8) - 5 pts
2. Zenda Express - Harry Melges IV (USA 866) - 14 pts
3. Dark Energy - Laura Grondin (USA 864) - 15 pts
4. Nefeli - Peter-David Karrié (GER 859) - 16 pts
5. Gamecock - Peter McClennen (USA 811) - 17 pts
FULL RESULTS (Preliminary, After 3 Races)
Text Credit: Luissa Smith
Photo Credits: Hannah Lee Noll
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About the 2024-2025 Bacardi Winter Series
Alongside the individual event results, teams will add their points from BWS #1 in December 2024 to the results from BWS #2, before culminating at the series finale, the Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta, March 5-8, 2025.
The event, hosted at Shake-A-Leg Miami, is made possible by the invaluable contributions of our partners. Bacardi leads the way, with essential on-site support from North Sails, Nautical Ventures, Sail22, Race Sense and Harken Derm. These partners will ensure a seamless and successful experience for all participants.