Gulari Successfully Defends Bacardi Cup Invitational Title

March 14, 2021 - Miami, FL, USA - Plenty of tense moments on the Melges 24 race track as the top three teams sought to claim the advantage out of their three-way tiebreak going into the day. The final outcome was the same top five leader board at the end of the day as the start, the only change was the order.

John Brown on Blind Squirrel, Bruce Ayres on Monsoon and Travis Weisleder on Lucky Dog went into race 7 on 27 points apiece, with defending Champion Bora Gulari on New England Ropes just 2 points behind in 4th.

A win in race 7 for Gulari escalated him into the overall lead, on a 5 point advantage over Lucky Dog, with Monsoon another 5 points behind in third. Gulari followed up with a 2nd place finish in race 8 to hold the series lead, but there was still plenty to do if he was to ultimately triumph. A 4th in race 9 sealed the deal.

“We had a pretty challenging week, since we got a DNF in the second race, so we had to sail a no drop series from there,” commented Gulari. “We won the event so that was awesome. We have a really good team and courtesy of Bacardi this is one of the biggest events that I get to sail on my boat this year so I am super excited to win it. It was awesome, I loved sailing, it was really good to be in Miami.”

Lucky Dog followed up with a 5-1 in races 8 and 9 to ultimately swap places with Ayres on Monsoon and seal second overall, with third to Ayres.

Accolade to Steve Suddath, Steve Burke, Shawn Burke and Jack Smith on 3 ½ Men as the top placed Corinthian team in 10th overall.

OVERALL FINAL RESULTS (After 9 Races)
1. Bora Gulari / Kyle Navin / Norman Berge / Ian Liberty / Micheal Menniger (USA 820) - 18 pts
2. Travis Weisleder / John Bowden / Mark Mendelblatt / Hayden Goodrick (USA 858) - 23 pts
3. Bruce Ayres / Jeremy Wilmot / Tomas Dietrich / Ted Hackney / Chelsea Simms (USA 851) - 30 pts
4. Peter Duncan / Willem van Waay /  .. / Carlos Robles / Victor Diaz de Leon (USA 829) - 34 pts
5. John Brown / Jeff Bonanni / Mike Buckley / Charlie Smythe / George Peet (USA 856) - 35 pts

CORINTHIAN FINAL RESULTS (After 9 Races)
1. Steve Suddath / Steve Burke / Shawn Burke / Jack Smith - 69 pts
2. Megan Ratliff / Hunter Ratliff / Zac Hernandez / Will Holz / Howard Meyers - 91 pts
3. Roger Counihan / Todd Wilson / Travis Maier / Tiffany Wilson - 99 pts
4. Tony Stanley / Doug Thome / Mike Kirschner / Josephine Stanley / Chaplin Smith - 121 pts
5. Ganson Evans / Martha Coolidge / John Evans / Sean Guiness / Charles Evans - 123 pts
6. Geoff Hurwitch / Buster Pike / Christian Koules / William Vandervort - 129 pts
Full Results

Photos © Matias Capizzano

The afternoon’s award ceremony was a quiet affair, with just the winners invited to collect their prizes. As well as the Bacardi Cup and Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta prizes, wins were awarded to Bora Gulari and his Melges 24 team on New England Ropes for winning the Melges 24 Bacardi Winter Series, with Megan Ratliff on Decorum as top Corinthian.

View Full Results of the 2021 Bacardi Winter Series

The Bacardi Invitational Cup also marked the commencement of the 2021 U.S. Melges 24 Class National Ranking Series. With 1 of 10 events complete, Gulari also takes the early lead.

TOP FIVE OVERALL NATIONAL RANKING SERIES RESULTS ( Preliminary - 1 of 10 Events Complete)
1. Bora Gulari - 17 pts.
2. Travis Weisleder - 16 pts
3. Bruce Ayres - 15 pts
4. Peter Duncan - 14 pts
5. John Brown - 13 pts

TOP FIVE CORINTHIAN NATIONAL RANKING SERIES RESULTS ( Preliminary - 1 of 10 Events Complete)
1. Steve Suddath - 8 pts.
2. Megan Ratliff - 5 pts
3. Roger Counihan - 4 pts
4. Tony Stanley - 3 pts
5. John Evans - 2 pts

View Full 2021 USM24CA National Ranking Series Results