Bacardi Miami Sailing Week Fun For J/24s
(Miami, FL)- It was 'game on' for sailors in the J/24 classes as they headed out to Biscayne Bay for their first day of competition at the 2011 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank. While the Stars were canceled due to thunderstorms in the area, the other classes were competing on two circles closer to shore where the overall conditions delivered water that was surprisingly smoother than yesterday when there had been high chop due to a strong south-southeasterly wind. "We've got a front coming in that went through Orlando and we've got a feeling that this is all going to turn nasty real quick," said one sailor. However, on the J/24 course the breeze from the south around 15 knots greeted the fleet, along with a sharp drop in temperature as a cold front made its way across the bay. On the first day, Florida teams captured the top-three spots: Brian Kamilar (Miami) with Fran Bellocchio, Fabio Galarce, Mauricio Galarce and Enrique Quintero placed first; Patricia Walker (Vero Beach) with Richard Jarchow, Bill Scheureman, Gary Sprague and Thomas Wenzel were second; and Robert Pincus (Miami) with Patricia Amaducci, Eammon Delisser and JB Slater placed third.
For the second day, the air temperature cooled slightly, but not the action. A north-northwesterly breeze and calmer weather on Biscayne Bay allowed four additional races by the J/24 gang. How sweet it was. With gusts, at times, to 20 knots, sailors that positioned themselves too far to the left suffered a lot. Those who were successful positioned themselves to the favored side on the right with the wind coming in from the right. Two teams did all the winning in the J/24 fleet: Kris Werner (Rochester, N.Y.), sailing with John Enwright, Michael Mansfield, Fred Meyer and Kiki Werner won the first two races on the day, and Robert Pincus (Miami) with Patricia Amaducci, Eammon Delisser and JB Slater won the last two races. Pincus moved into first overall with seven points. Werner is second, tied on points, with Brian Kamilar (Miami), sailing with Fran Bellocchio, Fabio Galarce, Mauricio Galarce and Enrique Quintero.
On the final day, for the 472 sailors from 25 countries, conditions on Biscayne Bay were ideal as temperatures in the low 70s and sunny weather combined with shifty breeze to challenge them on the final day of racing at BACARDI Miami Sailing Week. In the J/24 fleet: Brian Kamilar (Miami), sailing with Fran Bellocchio, Fabio Galarce, Mauricio Galarce and Enrique Quintero, finished 1-2-3 today to win the series with 12 points, one point ahead of Robert Pincus (Miami), with Patricia Amaducci, Eammon Delisser and JB Slater, who posted finishes of 2-1-4 over the final three races. Kris Werner (Rochester, N.Y.), sailing with John Enwright, Michael Mansfield, Fred Meyer and Kiki Werner, was third overall with 18 points. For more Bacardi J/24 Sailing information.