Star Bacardi Cup Regatta at Miami, Florida - Day 5

Stunning conditions for the 75 Stars racing in the Bacardi Cup © Ingrid Abery / www.hotcapers.com

Stunning conditions for the 75 Stars racing in the Bacardi Cup © Ingrid Abery / www.hotcapers.com

Star World Champion Hamish Pepper locks in lead

Poland’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz wins day five race

Poland’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the Finn Class, and crew Dominik Zycki won day five at the 2007 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on the waters of Biscayne Bay Thursday. They finished only two boat lengths ahead of new Zealand’s Hamish Pepper, the reigning World and North American Star Class champion, who finished second today with crew and coach David Giles of Australia.

The two teams had been tied for the overall lead heading into Thursday’s race. However, because sailors drop their worst of five finishes today, the victory assures Kusznierewicz and Zycki second in the overall standings, six points behind Pepper and Giles. Today was Pepper’s only finish out of the top three this week.

Sweden’s Fredrik Loof and crew Anders Ekstrom, the 2007 Rolex Miami Olympic Class Regatta champions, finished third today and climb to third overall, only one point behind Kusznierewicz and Zycki.

“”We’re just gonna go for it tomorrow,” said Loof. “We hope the two top teams are so occupied with each other that we can surprise them both.”

Meanwhile, Australia’s Iain Murray and crew Andrew Palfrey were disqualified for an early start Thursday and fall to fourth overall. Bermuda’s Peter Bromby, a two-time Bacardi Cup champion who sails this week with crew Bill McNiven, also was disqualified for an early start and remains in fifth overall.

Pepper and Giles showed good speed off the starting line and rounded the first mark in the lead, just ahead of Kusznierewicz and Zycki. The Polish team proved faster downwind today and would round the remaining three marks ahead of Pepper and Giles.

With a commanding lead heading into the final leg, Kusznierewicz and Zycki protected well against an aggressive attack from Pepper and Giles, who made substantial gains upwind, but could not overtake the Polish team for the win.

“We’re faster than Pepper downwind, but he’s faster upwind,” said Kusznierewicz. “When there are no big winds and no big waves, like today, we can maintain good speed upwind. But it was the small things that played in our favor today; we were very tactical and our technique was sound.”

“I think we’ve secured a top three, but we want to win,” he added. Both [Pepper] and [Loof] have a bad discard, so we have to be prepared for a good fight tomorrow. At least no one can sit out the final race.”

Two American teams are in the top overalls today with 49 points each: John Dane and Austin Sperry in 10th place and George Szabo and Magnus Liljedahl in 11th place.

More than 75 teams representing 23 countries are competing in the 80th Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta, one of the most competitive and highly anticipated Star Class events in the world.

The Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta is co-hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club and the U.S. Sailing Center, both based in Coconut Grove, and is sponsored by BACARDI U.S.A., Inc.

All participants compete aboard 22-foot Olympic-class Star sloops, and race teams comprise two members: a skipper and crew. Bacardi Cup participants sail one race per day from Sunday through Friday on a 10.5-mile course in Biscayne Bay. Sailors are allowed to drop their worst performance of the six races in the regatta.

Results after Day 5: