Founded by the Miami Herald in 1985, this regatta has specific age rules which guarantee lots of experience “on the water sailing Stars.” The Masters means that in order to sail in the Master division, the skipper has to be 50 or older. To be a Grand Master, one is 60 or older and, in order to sail as an Exalted Grand Master, the skipper must be 70 years or older. It is named after Frank Zagarino, a prominent Miami Star sailor in the 60s and 70s.

This past weekend, experience in heavy air ruled the Zag Star Masters Regatta hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club. The Principal Race Officer was Sharon Bourke. The winds on Saturday ranged from 15 to 30 knots allowing for only one race. For Sunday’ two races, the winds averaged between 15-22 making this Olympic class sailboat with its huge sails very difficult to handle. Unfortunately, there were two broken masts as casualties. Luckily for Masters winner Mark Reynolds from San Diego, his Olympic Gold medal experience in the 2000 Olympics came in handy. Sailing with crew Hal Haenel, they took two firsts and finished on top of the regatta. He was closely followed by a Miamian, his 2000 Olympic crew Magnus Liljedahl who was sailing with Bermuda’s Peter Bromby.