Bromby/Murphy Three-peat Bermuda J/105 Regatta

(Hamilton, Bermuda)- The Royal Bermuda YC and the sponsor/partner Bacardi host their annual Bacardi Bermuda Keelboat Invitational every year just prior to Thanksgiving weekend.  For three days, one-design fleets of J/105s, IOD’s and Etchells 22s are treated to spectacular sailing on the Great Sound, the recent site of the America’s Cup.

For the J/105 fleet, the format is designed to be fun and inclusive of J/105 sailors around the world.  The local fleet provides their boats and three crew and invite three “international” sailors (e.g. non-Bermudian) to race with them.  In the past, the international crews have come from the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, and the Caribbean.  The racing format is all short-course W-4’s, the Bermudians race against each on odd-numbered races, the International skippers on even-numbered races.

For the first time in the event’s history, one team has posted a “three-peat” performance.  The local hero and Star World Champion Peter Bromby from Warwick, Bermuda partnered with Kevin Murphy from the USA to dominate this year’s series with three bullets and two deuces in their six-race tally to win with just 12 pts.

While the Bromby/Murphy team may have sailed away with the event, it was nothing like that taking place for the balance of the podium.  After six races, three boats finished 3 pts apart.  A 5th in their last race nearly “snatched victory from the jaws of defeat” for the trio of Trevor Boyce/ Mike Neff from Bermuda and Stew Neff from Marblehead, MA, USA.  Onboard their team was the third Neff, brother Terry from Wisconsin.  While posting top three finishes in 3 races, a last in race #2 and a 5th in the last race gave the trio 20 pts, just enough to hang on for the silver. Hot on their heels with a nearly identical scoreline was the duo of James Macdonald from Smiths, Bermuda and Bill Lackenmacher from Seabrook, Texas in the USA.  Their last two races were a mirror of the Boyce/ Neff record of 2-5, posting a 5-2 to finish with 21 pts to close out the podium.  Dropping out of contention completely for silverware was Keith Chiappa’s team on BER 535, a last place on the last race torpedoed all hopes of a top three finish.
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