Giant J/70 Fleet Storms Bacardi Week

(Coconut Grove, FL)- Attracted by a highly-regarded race management team and the area’s renowned racing conditions, elite sailors will again be on hand when the fifth annual running of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) presented by EFG Bank is held March 6th to 8th for the International J/70 Class and five other classes, from the regatta headquarters at Kennedy Park in Coconut Grove.

There are 192 boats registered across the six one-design fleets, with competitors from 15 foreign nations (Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine) travelling great distances to compete against American sailors.

The ever-growing popularity of the J/70 class will again be in evidence at BMSW where entries are up over 100% from their strong debut in last year’s event.  The 40 boat-strong class will see Brian Keane (Weston, MA.) on SAVASANA work to defend his title against 2013 J/70 North American Champion Heather Gregg-Earl (Boston, MA.) skippering the famous MUSE and 2006 Audi Etchells World Champion Jud Smith (Marblehead, MA) driving AFRICA towards the front of the fleet.  Sounds like the Boston Mafia of sailing, perhaps? Maybe, may be not.  This trio of Boston-based teams will be up against a formidable array of talent as teams continue to focus on qualifying for the first J/70 World Championship being hosted in September by New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI.

On the short list of Top Ten competitors will be a “rogues gallery” of teams like BLACK RIVER RACING (Doug Strebel), 20/20 RACING (John Arendshorst), CONVEXITY (Don Wilson- class newcomer and past J/105 & Farr 40 Champion), EXTREME (Don Cheresh with Taylor Canfield- current USA #1 in Match-Racing), HOT MESS (Rob Britts- Corinthian winning team), GEMINI (Blane Shea- top young sailor from Chicago YC), LIFTED (Jim Cunningham- Jaguar Etchells 22 winner), PERSEVERANCE (Bennet Greenwald- multiple J/70 regatta winner), RASCAL (Will Welles- general rock-star), RELATIVE OBSCURITY (Peter Duncan sailing with the one and only

famous “Moose” McClintock), RIMETTE (John Brim- famous offshore champion on “monster” RIM), RUNNING WILD (Peter Vessella- some guy who knows how to sail STAR’s fast!), SPRING (Dave Franzel- a Corinthians winner), and SUGAR DADDY (Mark Ploch- who needs no introduction, but for those of you who are historians and not suffering amnesia, he’s the first J/24 Midwinter champion in 1978 with Stu J and two bro’s from Annapolis— pictured here!).

There are a number of foreign teams participating, many with World & European championship credentials as well as past dinghy & keelboat experience.  Do not count out these teams as top ten spoilers as some have the capability of, given the right circumstances, even podium finishes!  Amongst these teams “in the hunt” may be ROCAD RACING (Ingemar Sundstedt- Sweden), REX (Scott Weakley- Toronto, ONT, Canada), NN (Eivind Astrup- Krakeroy, Norway), BRA 493 (Jose Vita & Mauricio Santa Cruz- J/24 Brazil & World Champions- Sao Paulo, Brazil), ELUSIVE (Chuck Millican from Bermuda- past Sunfish North American Champion), SOS VENEZUELA (Victor Diaz/ Tomas de Hornos- recent J/70 Chesapeake champions), and TOUCH2PLAY (Rob & Sandy Butler/ Martie Kullman- a top Canadian team and also J/70 Great Lakes Champion).

As if notable teams in the fleet and foreign competition were not enough, the J/70 class has attracted numerous top women sailors that have proven themselves to be contenders, too.  In addition to Heather’s MUSE team (North American Champions), there’s Jamestown, Rhode Island’s JUNKANOO (Suzy Leech), Annapolis’s MOJITO (Cat Evans) and Chicago’s famous offshore team called NIGHTMARE (led by skipper Amy Neill).

During BACARDI Miami Sailing Week sailors will enjoy the hospitality lounge, BACARDI Rum tastings, as well as a special showing of the film “07-07-07 Amorita’s Unlucky Day”.  A special exhibit, “Wynwood Sails Color the Grove”, will feature the work of 10 artists of the graffiti and street art genre taking inspiration from the sea and sailing to create a work on canvas shaped like the jib of a sailboat.  The art will be displayed at Coco Walk, the iconic open-air shopping, dining, and entertainment destination in Coconut Grove.  In addition, select images from the previous regattas, from the lenses of respected marine photographers Franco Pace of Italy, Onne van der Wal and Cory Silken of the USA, will be displayed alongside the canvasses created specifically for “Wynwood Sails Color the Grove” to juxtapose “the City meets the Sea” for this unique art event.   For more BACARDI Miami Sailing Week information