Fleet Closes In on Brescia After Day Two of Racing at Bacardi

Saturday, January 25, 2025 - Miami, USA - A sunny, breezy day greeted the Melges 24 fleet on Day 2 of the Bacardi Winter Series Event 2.

Overnight leader Paolo Brescia’s Melgina continued to top the Class leaderboard whilst facing increased pressure from a tightly packed fleet.

The day opened with a 10-12 knot breeze from the north-northeast, building to 15-18 knots as it shifted northeast, providing thrilling racing conditions. After racing, sailors enjoyed the Bacardi happy hour and dockside dinner at Shake-A-Leg Miami.

International Class President Laura Grondin on Dark Energy had plenty to celebrate after a successful day on the water, with her team securing two race wins in the first and third races. "It was very exciting," Grondin shared. "I’ve been off the boat for about a year, so it was really fun to get back on, and today I finally felt like I was sailing the boat well."

“In the first race, we had a phenomenal start. We were at the right end of the line and managed to port tack most of the fleet, which is rare. We led wire to wire," she recounted about being the top performing boat.

Grondin laughed off the day’s second race when they finished 8th saying, "We’ll skip over that!"

In the third race of the day, Grondin clawed her way to another win in a downwind battle. "It was kind of a cat-and-mouse fight," Grondin explained. "At various points, we were in 3rd, 2nd, 1st, or maybe even worse, but we pulled it out in the last downwind. I was really excited to have some good blow-throughs in the heavy air."

Peter-David Karrié’s Nefeli team from Germany won the race that Grondin didn’t and moved up to second place overall, reeling in Brescia who has now lost their points advantage after their 10,4,5 scorecard. On tiebreak with Grondin is Harry Melges IV racing Zenda Express, who knocked out superb 3,2,4 finishes.

Looking ahead to the final day of competition in the Corinthian division, which turns out to be as heated as the overalls, Jaime Torres’ Smile and Wave is just edging out second overall Dan Berezin on Surprise. John Spierling’s Rebel rounds out the top three.

Melges 24 - Provisional results after 6 races
1. Melgina - Paolo Brescia (USA 8) - 14 pts
2. Nefeli - Peter-David Karrié (GER 859) - 15 pts
3. Dark Energy - Laura Grondin (USA 864) - 17 pts
4. Zenda Express - Harry Melges IV (USA 866) - 17 pts
5. Zingara - Richard Reid (CAN 853) - 20 pts
FULL RESULTS (Preliminary, After 6 Races and 1 Discard)

Racing resumes Sunday, January 26, with three scheduled races. The Melges 24 fleet starts at 1100 hrs, followed by the J/70s.