Times Square photo of winners in 2009
That couldn't cost much?
By Magnus Liljedahl, Bacardi Cup Sailing Miami
(Please note that the following is my personal opinion and not the one of either the Coral Reef Yacht Club, nor the Star class).
It began pretty much right after the completion of the 2009 Bacardi Cup. Rumor had that Bacardi wanted more out of the prestigious Bacardi Cup. With Tito Bacardi and Janet Baxter out of the picture, the new format did not have much resistant. Many "die-hards" form our local water front welcomed the new idea, all wanting a piece of the action. My gut feeling was that the new powers were heading down the wrong path, but I decided to remain positive and open for the new. Sort of like give it a chance, it could be a good thing. Now that it is all said and done, my opinion has not only changed, but it is also very firm.
Bacardi Cup was considered the third most prestigious regatta in the Star class. I remember reading about it as a kid back in Sweden in the 60's and I first sailed in it 1978. I somehow managed to be a part of the winning team five times, sailing Miami, with three different skippers. I do feel as I'm entitled to an opinion.
The regatta could have been the second most significant event in the class after the Olympic Regatta, but Bacardi's policy of not allowing any outside branding (other than their own) on boats and equipment, always kept some of the top names in the class away. It is not an ISAF sanction event so Bacardi rules it. The discussions ran hard for many years. It seemed to many of us laymen that having other brands represented would only increase the Bacardi brand exposure, but that's not how the educated decision makers saw it. It also seemed to some of us that the exposure that Bacardi received last year was pretty nice. We appeared on local TV, there were banners throughout the City of Miami, there was good newspaper coverage with front page exposure, numerous online reports and videos covering the event. Bromby and I even had our picture on Times Square for a while. How much does it cost Bacardi to run this event? Advertising is super expensive and we all know that. There used to be no entry fees, big parties with food and all. This year the entry fee was $300 per boat and even though the horderves were decent, the crepes they reportedly served at the awards ceremony really don't compare with the past, sailing Miami.
For those of you that keep reading this, I want you to know that some this is not just my opinion, but the one many of the Star sailors that I have talked to. They will likely comeback no matter what, because what what our natural resources can offer. The main objection seems to be that the event was so spread out on the water front. Bacardi used to take place at the CRYC and we were all a big family. This time it was scattered all over the place. The Hospitality Center didn't even have chairs to sit in, where we going there to stand around after a day of racing? Don't think so. Mixing in the other classes is was not good. We had to deal with some J-24's docking at the super crowded CRYC. One morning I witnessed a J-24 crashing in to a power boat docked at Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. Luckily it wasn't a Star boat that got damaged. Do we have four Bacardi Cup Champions this year? One each in the Star, Melges 20, Viper and J-24. It gets confusing for the novice and dilutes the prestige of winning in the Star class.
One more thing to get of my chest. The press was just terrible and worse than ever. Completely incompetent. No need to get in to the details on this one, but if you want to know, I will tell you.
In closing I would like to say that the Bacardi Cup has faded to just another regatta. If you want to race against all the top sailors in the class you better attend an ISAF Grand Prix event, the Worlds and/or the European Championships. Like it or not, that's my personal view.