Third BACARDI Miami Sailing Week Features 85th BACARDI Cup Regatta

BACARDI Miami Sailing Week (Photo © Franco Pace) 

Next week the red carpet will again be rolled out for the annual BACARDI Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) when it returns to Coconut Grove in Miami, Fla., from March 4-10.

The third annual running of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week will mark several milestones starting with the 150th anniversary of the BACARDI Company, as well as the 50th year that the BACARDI Cup is being held in Miami for the storied Star Class, which just celebrated its own 100th anniversary.

Also being celebrated during the week will be Jose E. “Tito” Argamasilla Bacardi, who lost his battle with cancer late in 2011.  During his 40 year career with the company he not only hosted the BACARDI Cup for several decades but also founded the BACARDI museum in Miami.

The BACARDI Cup headlines the week-long regatta in Miami, and, with 65 Star teams registered to date, will continue its tradition of excellent competition.

Among the notable sailors vying for the 85th BACARDI Cup title are 2007 winner Hamish Pepper with crew Jim Turner (New Zealand) and 2008 Olympian Peter O’Leary and David Burrows (Ireland).  Three of the top-seven finishers at the 2011 Star World Championship in Australia will also compete, including 2008 world champions Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (Poland) who finished fourth in Perth, as well as Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (Norway) and Xavier Rohart and Pierre-Alexis Ponsot (France) who were sixth and seventh respectively.  Leading the American contenders are 2009 Star World Champion George Szabo (San Diego) who will sail the BACARDI Cup with Miami’s Magnus Liljedahl, who was both world champion and winner of Olympic Gold in 2000.

Racing for the Stars gets underway on Monday, March 5.  Starting on Thursday, March 8, the Stars will be joined on Biscayne Bay by sailors in the Viper 640, Audi Melges 20, and Melges 24 classes, along with the J/80 class which makes its event debut following their successful participation in the 2011 BACARDI Newport Sailing Week.  Racing, for all classes, will conclude on Saturday, March 10.

Favorites in the 20-strong Melges 24 class are Alan Field (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Riccardo Simoneschi (Milan, Italy), who drove to podium finishes of second and third, respectively, in 2011.  Kristen Lane (Tiburon, Calif.), the 29erXX North American Champion, is another sailor to watch in this competitive fleet.

More information on the BACARDI Miami Sailing Week and the 85th BACARDI Cup is available at www.MiamiSailingWeek.com and www.BacardiCup.com.

Sail Biscayne Bay On RA Charters' Unique 45-Foot Yacht

RA Charters owns and operates the sailing vessel RA, a 45-foot sailing yacht, out of Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove. Dinner Key Marina, located at 3400 Pan American Drive (Pier 7, Slip 8), is the largest marina in South Florida. It is located in the heart of the historic village of Coconut Grove. 

RA Charters provides sailing yachts for group events and sailing regattas for corporate team building. Each sailing yacht accommodates up to six guests and is properly equipped, insured and licensed for commercial operations. RA Charters also offers day sails or sunset cruises on Biscayne Bay for individuals, families, office parties, wedding proposals, birthdays and large corporate events.

The RA on the water

Captain Asaad N. Masoud was born in Egypt where he sailed on the Nile and the Mediterranean as a youngster. He lived and studied in Germany, Sweden, Canada and the U.S. where he completed his Ph.D. degree. He held academic positions for almost 20 years at universities in Oregon, Florida, Mississippi, Nebraska and Maryland. He spent the last three years of his scientific career at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he fell in love with sailing on Chesapeake Bay and owned his first yacht, the RA. Capt. Asaad realized that he enjoys people and sailing so much that he decided to have a mid-career change. He became a Coast Guard licensed captain in 1983. Since then he has been chartering RA on the waters of Chesapeake Bay, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys.

Capt. Assad

In addition to Capt. Assad, all RA Charters are operated by professional, Coast Guard-licensed captains. 


The RA was originally built by Bayfield boat yards. After Hurricane Andrew his South Florida in 1992, a total refurbishing was completed by the owner, Capt. Asaad, in 1994. He took a nightmare and built a dream. He spared no effort or money to build his dream boat. Everything he always wanted on a boat is now on RA. He exceeded all industry standards and specifications in the design, construction, equipment, and amenities on board.

Take a virtual tour of the RA and see it for yourself!!

The air conditioned accommodations include two quarter berths, port and starboard, which can be made completely private by closing the sliding doors and raising the bulkhead panels. Each berth is large enough for a couple. The oversized settee converts to an equally oversized double berth. For light and ventilation below there are a total of twelve openings ports, four opening hatches and a large double-opening skylight. The cabins are also equipped with fluorescent light, spot light fixtures and small 12v fans. 


For your entertainment aboard there is a TV/VCR and a stereo AM/FM/disc player with speakers on deck and below deck. The head is forward with a large vanity and a stall shower with molded-in seat and lots of room to move around. The galley is equipped with a stainless steal sink, hot and cold pressure water, state of the art electric/alcohol stove, a microwave oven, a refrigerator/freezer, and a large deep freeze on the forward deck. The stove, microwave, and refrigeration are available for use dockside and at sea. Also available on deck is a propane grill for that special barbecue.

View from the helm on the RA

The cockpit has a unique Bimini/dodger for shade and safety, the two forward sails are equipped with Profurl systems. The main sail is fully battened, and is equipped with Harken Bat Cars, Harken reefing systems, and a Dutchman for unequaled ease and safety in handling. The electrical system is equipped with eight group 27 batteries, separated as five battery banks, a 2,400 watt inverter/charger and a 4.2kW diesel generator. The state of the art electronics on board include a GPS, autopilot, radar, electronic navigation system, knot meter, depth sounder, wind machine and three VHF radios, one in the cockpit, one in the navigation station and a hand held unit. Other equipment on board includes a windlass, a bow thruster, a desalinator, and a nine-foot Boston Whaler dinghy with an outboard engine mounted on davits for easy storage and accessibility.

To book the RA for charter please call 305-989-3959 or 305-666-7979 or visit the website, www.racharters.com.


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Bacardi Cup Regatta Kicks Off Bacardi Miami Sailing Week

With more than 95 boats registered, the 84th edition of the iconic Bacardi Cup is set to see one of the fiercest title battles in recent years as some of the most recognizable athletes in the sport return to the waters of Biscayne Bay for the headline event of Bacardi Miami Sailing Week. To date, competitors from 25 countries are entered to race from March 7-12, in one of five classes – Melges 20, Melges 24, J/24, Star and Viper 640 – that will see action throughout the weeklong series.

“We are all looking forward to a great week,” said Bill Allen, President of the International Star Class Association, explaining that the class was very excited to be part of the expanded Bacardi Miami Sailing Week. “ Bacardi and the Star Class have been partners for 84 years – first in Cuba and in Miami since the 1960s. The Bacardi Cup is one of the premier events on our racing calendar; only the world championship has a more talented field.”

(Photo by Cory Silken) 

Star action on Biscayne Bay during the

2010 Bacardi Miami Sailing Week.

The Olympics being little more than a year away is sure to be a factor driving these elite sailors, as Allen counted off 15 teams with the potential to end up on the podium. 

“We will have at least five world champions and 10 to 15 continental champions,” Allen said. “At least 10 of the top 20 in the world rankings will be competing, and picking the medal winners among these outstanding sailors would be impossible.”

Among the elite field is Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.), often referred to as the “Star of the Star Class,” who has a resumé that includes two world championship titles (1995, 2000) and three Olympic medals (1992 Gold, 1988 Silver, 2000 Gold) in arguably the most competitive one-design class in the world. Additional Olympians in the fleet include Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland, who won Olympic gold and bronze in the Finn class (1996 and 2004) before switching to the Star for the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he finished fourth; New Zealand’s three-time Olympian (1996, 2004, 2008) Hamish Pepper; and Ireland’s 2008 Olympian Peter O’Leary.  

The Bacardi Cup was conceived in 1927 as a three-day event with sailors competing for the Trofeo Bacardi as part of the Cup of Cuba’s Mid-Winter Championship. In 1962 political unrest forced the Bacardi Cup to move from Havana to Coconut Grove, Fla., where it has since been hosted by the Coral Reef Yacht Club, the organizing authority for the Bacardi Cup.  

In its second year, Bacardi Miami Sailing Week is building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, again offering six days of remarkable sailing competition. The 84th running of the Bacardi Cup for the Star class will be the marquee event of Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, with racing from Monday, March 7 through Saturday, March 12. Competition for the Melges 20, Melges 24, J/24 and Viper 640 classes takes place Thursday, March 10, through Saturday, March 12, with the Melges 20s also competing for their Winter Series and the Viper 640s also competing for their Pan American Championship.   Racing will take place on three courses approximately two miles out on Biscayne Bay. Co-hosts for Bacardi Miami Sailing Week are Coral Reef Yacht Club, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, the U.S. Sailing Center Miami and Shake-A-Leg.

Nightly social events will feature award presentations, entertainment and art displays including exhibits by, among others, renowned Italian maritime photographer Franco Pace and Miami pop artist Stephen Gamson, designer of the official event poster.  The art exhibits will be located in the North Hall of the Coconut Grove Convention Center, along with “100 years of the Star Boat,” a collection of information, photos and artifacts detailing the path of the Star boat from the original design in 1911 to the present day.  

For more information on the 84th Bacardi Cup and 2nd annual Bacardi Miami Sailing Week please visit www.BacardiCup.com and www.MiamiSailingWeek.com.

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