Final Results for six races at the Bacardi Cup in Miami, Florida.

Reports by Media Pro
Day One report: The Norwegian Star team of Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen have won the opening race of the 84th BACARDI Cup. After an hour delay due to light air, the 89-strong Star fleet got down to business as temperatures in the low 70s combined with elite- level competition to make Biscayne Bay the place to be.

Melleby and Pedersen have been here before - they also finished first in the opening race of the BACARDI Cup in 2008. And while today'Â’s result is surely deja vu, hopefully it is also not a curse - no team winning the opening race has gone on to claim the title in at least the last 10 years. The duo are making their fourth run at the BACARDI Cup, having achieved, to date, their best finish of seventh overall in 2010.

In second are Andrew Campbell and Ian Coleman, third is the French team of Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau, followed by George Szabo with Caleb Paine (both San Diego, Calif.). Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Rick Peters (Venice, Calif.) round out the top-five.

Day Two: Stronger breeze today allowed for the completion of another race at the BACARDI Cup, the headline event of the 2011 BACARDI Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank, bringing the 89 Star teams another step closer to the title which will ultimately be determined on Saturday, March 12. The second day of racing saw the California team of skipper Peter Vessella (Burlingame) and Rodney Hagebols (San Francisco) take an early lead on the first leg of the race, only to be overtaken at the windward mark. Sweden's Fredrik Loof and Max Salminen, who claimed the silver medal in January at the Rolex Miami OCR, were initially fighting for fifth place when they were able to break away from the group and pull into the lead at the leeward mark.

"We had quite a conservative start," said Loof. "We worked our way up the left side of the course on the first upwind, and were looking really good, but then, the right came in with quite a decent wind. At that point, we went to the right side when a lot of the other boats went left and we were able to get a big gain. Peter [Vessella] was leading initially, but we were able to get out in front and pull away from him and the others in the second downwind."

Loof and Salminen went on to win the race with Irish Olympian Peter O'Leary and crew David Burones finishing second. 2007 BACARDI Cup winner Hamish Pepper and crew Craig Monk (both New Zealand) placed third, followed by Vessella and Hagerbols in fourth.

"We have a new boat, so we're just trying to have a good time and see how things go," said Loof regarding his approach to the 2011 BACARDI Cup. "This will be my third BACARDI Cup. Everyone competing out there is strong and there are a lot of boats this year. It is good to see so many people sharing their passion [for sailing] and it's always nice to be in Miami."

Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway) followed yesterday's bullet with an eighth-place finish today to maintain their position at the top of the overall standings. The Norwegians, however, are tied on points - nine apiece - with O'Leary and Burones. Through eighth place the standings are extremely tight, with one point or less separating six teams: third overall, with 12 points, is Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland) after finishes of 6-6; Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau (France), stand fourth with finishes of 3-10 for 13 points; Maciej Grabowski and Lukasz Lesinski (Poland) are fifth with 14 points; and Vessella and Hagebols have 15 points for sixth place. Tied at 17 points each are Pepper and Monk, in sixth place overall, with Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Rick Peters (Venice, Calif.) in seventh. Two teams recently named to the 2011 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics round out the top-10 overall: Andy Horton (South Burlington, Vermont) and crew James Lyne (Granville, Vermont) stand ninth with 25 points, followed by Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) and crew Ian Coleman (Annapolis, Md.) with 28 points.

Day Three: In comparison to the relative calm of Biscayne Bay on day one of the BACARDI Cup, today's sharp increase in wind speed was a welcome change for the 89 teams. High clouds, chop, and an east-southeasterly breeze in the mid-teens propelled the Stars around the 9.5 nautical mile course after an aggressive start saw seven teams pay a penalty with their scores for starting early. The day's race was won by Guillame Florent and Pascal Rambeau (France), making for three different winners in as many races thus far in the series. Sweden's Fredrik Loof and Max Salminen continued their consistent form, adding a second-place finish to yesterday's win. Third place went to three-time Bacardi Cup champion Peter Bromby sailing with Lee White (Bermuda).

"We actually didn't have such a good start," said Florent about race three. "But we found a good lane to the right hand side of the course. We expected a small shift there, but nothing that could give us the lead. But the wind was quite stable, and the speed we had there was the key. We rounded first at the top mark, and after that we managed to stay in the lead. It was a very good win." "There are so many sailors to look out for here," remarked Florent on the competition. "There are only a few top sailors from the world that aren't here. It's a very high level [of sailing] so you have to keep your eyes on many competitors. This is my first Bacardi Cup, and my first year in the Star with Pascal, who did a very good job today." Rambeau is a two-time Star World Champion (2003, 2005) and won a bronze medal in the Star at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, while Florent also has an Olympic bronze medal - won at the 2008 Olympics in the Finn. "The Olympics is definitely the goal," Florent concluded. "Both Pascal and I have been to the Olympics already, so we'd like to do better than we did before. We're working hard to achieve that and hope we'll be good enough."

With the midpoint of the regatta reached, the overall standings continue to reflect a close contest at the top of the fleet. Sweden's Fredrik Loof and Max Salminen have moved into the overall lead with three points, Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau (France) are now second with four points. Early series leaders Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway) dropped two places and stand third overall with five points and Peter O'Leary and David Burones (Ireland) are fourth with seven points. Only one point separates the teams standing fifth through 11th: Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland) have 12 points; New Zealand's Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk remain sixth with 13 points; Maciej Grabowski and Lukasz Lesinski (Poland) dropped two places to seventh but retain 14 points; and despite an OCS penalty, Peter Vessella (Burlingame, Calif.) and Rodney Hagebols (San Francisco, Calif.) have 15 points for eighth place. Andy Horton (South Burlington, Vermont) and crew James Lyne (Granville, Vermont) are ninth with 16 points, followed by Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Rick Peters (Venice, Calif.) with 17 points and Augie Diaz (Miami, Fla.) with Bruno Prada (Brazil) is 11th on 18 points. Peter Bromby and Lee White (Bermuda) are just four points behind this tight pack, standing 12th overall with 22 points.

Day Four: No racing today for the Star class due to thunderstorms.

Day Five: The air temperature cooled slightly, but not the action, for the 4th and 5th races. A north-northwesterly breeze and calmer weather on Biscayne Bay allowed the Star class, to add two races to their scoreline.

With gusts, at times, to 20 knots, SwedenÂ’s Fredrik Loof and Max Salminen took the win in the first race for the Stars. "We positioned ourselves off the starting line more or less in the middle of the fleet and it was a bit of a drag race because the mark was quite a long way to the right," said Loof. "At that point, most boats were right on port tack and the sailors that positioned themselves too far to the left suffered a lot. We sailed quite aggressively toward the end and we positioned ourselves on the favored side with the wind coming in from the right. Still it was close, we lost a little bit, and then we came up and were across the finish line by no more than half a boat length. It was a good battle and an interesting, really close race."

Unfortunately, Loof and Salminen did not fare as well in the second race, placing 20th, which they attributed to a rough start. "If you're not in the front right away, you're struggling all the way through," said Loof. "A lot of those guys were pushing hard at the start." That second race was won by Alexander Schlonski and Matthias Bohn (Germany) who finished ahead of their fellow countrymen Johannes Babendererde and Timo Jacobs.

Only one Star team has recorded single-digit finishes over the course of the five races thus far. 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Ireland) finished 8-4 today to move from fourth overall into the lead of the 89-boat fleet with 18 points. Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau (France) are one point behind in second overall. Loof and Salminen and early series leaders Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway) are third and fourth, respectively, with 24 points each. Andy Horton (South Burlington, Vermont) and crew James Lyne (Granville, Vermont) finished 3-6 today to move from ninth up to fifth overall with 25 points.

Day Six: Florent and Rambeau Win 84th Bacardi Cup
Conditions on Biscayne Bay were ideal as temperatures in the low 70s and sunny weather combined with shifty breeze on the final day of racing. Today’s sixth and final race opened with the top-two teams separated by just one point. 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (Ireland) were leading the 89-boat fleet followed by Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau (France), and, just five points back, Frederik Loof with Max Salminen (Sweden) and Eivind Melleby with Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway), tied on points.

With a 12 knot breeze at the start of the race, the Stars were off on a course covering 11 nautical miles. 2007 Bacardi Cup winner Hamish Pepper and crew Craig Monk (both New Zealand) were the race winners, followed across the line by Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway) who had led the series early in the week before picking up penalty points in race four. The French team was fourth across the line, and with O'Leary and Burrows crossing sixth, the Bacardi Cup went to Florent and Rambeau with 23 points - edging out the Irish by just one point. "Up to the last day, the Irish, and even the Swedish could have won the BACARDI Cup," said Florent who hails from Gravelines, a town in the north of France. "The conditions were super tricky, lots of wind shifts, lots of pressure differences. It made it very challenging to sail out there, especially when you're trying to win the championship. When you finish high in the standings day after day, realizing what is at stake, mentally it is very tough. You have to do your best continuing to stay consistent." "It was a nail biting race," Florent continued. "It could have gone either way with the Irish. We were ahead at the top mark, and then they caught up. We managed to pass them again on the second downwind. The key to the race was the last 500 meters before the finish. We spotted good pressure on the left and decided to go there. It was probably that decision that led us to winning."

A 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the Finn class, Florent is marking not only his first year in the Star, but also his first Bacardi Cup. "The Star is very interesting because you're sailing with a crew and it's a highly technical boat, so it's extremely challenging. Even before I was thinking about sailing the Star, I've heard about the Bacardi Cup for a long time. It is a very prestigious event and I'm absolutely delighted to win. Especially being my first time participating. On the first day, before the race started, I joked with my coach about winning the Bacardi Cup saying that I spent so much money with Bacardi back when I was student that I would like to get something back from them! We had a good laugh about that of course, and with this win I couldn't be happier."

Crew Pascal Rambeau, from La Rochelle, won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in the Star and has competed in the Bacardi Cup before, with his previous best finish a fourth. When Florent was recovering from an Achilles tendon injury a year ago, he reached out to Rambeau, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Miami is always challenging," said Rambeau explaining that tonight the duo were going to enjoy their win before starting to train for the French Olympic Trials in April. "For us, it was good preparation with all the teamwork on board. It was very important for us to be here. Today was a tough day. The wind was very flaky. It was very stressful because there were big shifts and big pressure coming from Key Biscayne. We were very successful on the first upwind and then the race was mano a mano, head to head. It was never more than 20 meters with no more than a couple boat lengths separating us at any time. We were really close with the Irish this morning, chasing them. Until the last 100 meters, anything could have happened. When we crossed the line, it was definitely satisfying. It was our first win together, and this being Florent's first year in the Star and his first Bacardi Cup, this win is very special."

Rounding out the top five in the BACARDI Cup final standings: Melleby and Pedersen (NOR) are third with 26 points; Loof and Salminen (SWE) are fourth with 29 points; and Pepper and Monk (NZL) are fifth with 30 points.