The first of three events in the 2019/ 2020 Bacardi J/70 Winter Series took place this past weekend on Biscayne Bay.

Hosting the series was the Shake-A-Leg Foundation sailing program located next to the completely refurbished Monty Trainer’s Bar and Restaurant in Coconut Grove, FL. Seventeen team sailed the first event in somewhat challenging weather conditions; just three races were completed over the two days of competition, a rare scenario for the usually predictable sea breezes on Biscayne Bay.

Winning the first regatta was Geoff Pierini’s “49” team from Perth Amboy, New Jersey with a 3-2-1 tally for 6 pts. Second was past World Champion Joel Ronning on his famous Catapult, his Wayzata Yacht Club (Minnesota) team posted a 1-5-2 record for 8 pts. Then, rounding out the podium was Trey Sheehan’s Hooligan: Flat Stanley Racing from Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, Ohio.

The balance of the top five included Henry Brauer’s Rascal crew from Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts in fourth place and Bruno Pasquinelli’s Fort Worth Boat Club (Texas) team on Stampede in fifth place.

Bacardi Invitational Winter Series in Miami day 1 – photo © Kathleen Tocke

Winning the Corinthians Division was Joey Kolisch’s LIL team from Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami, Florida), second place went to Jon Ewing’s Running Wild crew from Coral Reef YC, and third place was Marcus Wunderlich’s Stratos team from Jersey City, NJ and Edgewater Yacht Club.

The second of the three events in the J/70 Bacardi Winter Series takes place on January 25th to 26th in Coconut Grove, Florida.

by J/Boats