Pepper and Giles take the lead

A third place in race two propels the New Zealand team to the front of the rankings at the Bacardi Cup

Miamian Jock Kohlhaus, former executive director of the U.S. Sailing Center, and crew Larry Scott from Canada won Monday’s race on the second day of the 2007 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta. The victory catapults them into eighth in the overall standings.

Kohlhaus and Scott held a comfortable 20-second lead over Sweden’s Fredrik Loof and crew Anders Ekstrom, the defending Rolex Miami OCR champions, at the fourth and final mark. Loof and Ekstrom tacked aggressively during the final leg and were within striking distance, when Kohlhaus and Scott slipped upwind of them. Kohlhaus and Scott rode a strong northern wind to the finish line, edging the Swedish duo by less than half a boat length.

“We went the right way from the start and on the second beat we picked up the wind shift and then hung on,” said Kohlhaus who is competing in his 15th Bacardi Cup regatta.

Defending Star Class World and North American Champions Hamish Pepper and David Giles of New Zealand finished third today and take the overall lead following a second place finish in Sunday’s first race.

Loof and Ekstrom move to second in the overall standings. Americas Cup veteran Iain Murray and crew Andrew Palfrey of Australia finished fifth Monday and sixth Sunday, moving to third place overall.

“To date in my Star Class campaign, the smartest thing I’ve done is to get the best people around me; and having a veteran crew like David Giles has been huge for me,” said Pepper, who made his Star Class debut just over a year ago at the 2006 Bob Levin Memorial in Miami. “We’ve had two good results, but it’s a strong fleet, and we have four important races to go. One slip-up and we can be at the back of the pack.”

Defending Bacardi Cup Champions John Dane and Austin Sperry, sailing out of Gulfport, Mississippi, are currently 16th in the overall standings.

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.

Results:

1-Hamish Pepper and David Giles NZL - 5.00
2-Fredrick Loof and Anders Ekstrom SWE - 10.00
3-Ian Murray and Andrew Palfrey AUS - 11.00
4-Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Domink Zycki POL - 13.00
5-Matthias Miller and Manuel Voigt GER - 14.00
6-Peter Bromby and Bill McNiven BER - 16.00
7-Flavio Marazzi and Donat Hofer SUI - 18.00
8-Jock Kohlhas and Larry Scott USA - 24.00
9-Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen NOR - 26.00
10-Luca Modena and Michele Marchesini ITA - 29.00