Melges 24s Boast Strong Line-up for Opening Bacardi Invitational Winter Series Event
December 13, 2019 - Miami, FL, USA - After a successful debut, the second edition of the Bacardi Winter Series features two events in Miami for the Melges 24 and J/70 fleets with over forty teams set for the opening battle this weekend, 14-15 December 2019.
The Bacardi Winter Series kicks off on 14-15 December 2019 at Shake-A-Leg Miami, with the next face-off unfolding from 25-26 January 2020 in partnership with the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
“In its second year, the Bacardi Winter Series is already established as must-do events for the Melges 24 and J/70 fleets,” commented Sara Zanobini, Director of the Bacardi Winter Series. “This Series was in fact launched, in response to sailors wanting more winter racing in Miami and has plugged a gap in the market. We are really excited to see how the series progresses in this second edition, with over forty teams so far entered for event 1 and more expected on the starting line for event 2.”
A formidable line-up of talent will descend on Miami for the two events and favorites for the opening event of the series in the Melges 24 fleet are Bruce Ayers and his team on Monsoon, who will be hunting down a repeat of last year’s win. The talented team won both winter series events in the debut year and further advanced themselves in the competition stakes by the addition of the 2019 Melges 24 World Championship silver medal to their pedigree. Battling it out for glory will be Michael Goldfarb and his team on Warcanoe, who finished 4th at the Melges 24 Worlds, and switch from racing a J/70 in last year’s launch series. Proudly carrying the Melges family name is Harry Melges IV, grandson of the iconic sailing personality Buddy Melges, who heads to Miami fresh from racing at the 49er Oceania Championship and 49er Worlds in New Zealand.