99th Bacardi Cup Day 4
by Hannah Lee Noll & Ana Stewart 6 Mar 05:53 UTC
March 2-7, 2026
Cayard & Kleen looking sharp on day 4 of the 99th Bacardi Cup © Hannah Lee Noll
Opening day at Bacardi Invitational Regatta Sees Heaton, Morris, Alexander, and Quintero take early lead
Cayard holds a strong grip on the fleet at the 99th Bacardi Cup. Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry won Race Four at the 99th Bacardi Cup today, snapping Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen's run of race victories, but not quite loosening their grip on the overall regatta.
Scheidt controlled the race from the front, but behind them the fight was relentless. Cayard and Diego Negri with Sergio Lambertenghi traded pressure throughout the final legs, each looking for the moment to gain the upper hand. Scheidt held on for the win. Cayard secured second. Negri finished close behind in third.
What Cayard & Kleen have built through four races is simple: consistency, in one of the strongest fleets the Bacardi Cup has assembled in years. Among the 77 teams are 17 Olympians, six Olympic medalists, three Olympic champions, and 14 Star World Champions. Yet Cayard has posted a near-perfect 1-1-1-2 scoreline.
"Paul is on fire," said Scheidt. "He's having a super great regatta. Not making any mistakes."
Cayard understands exactly what that level of competition demands. "There are a lot of world champions, a lot of top-quality sailors in this class," he said. "Everywhere you look you are in a battle."
The approach onboard Cayard's boat has remained deliberately simple. Start clean. Trust the speed. Then react.
"Our boat speed is good, so we're not changing much," Cayard said. "We try to stay clean on the start and let our speed work for us. Then halfway up the first beat we try to find where everybody is and make a strategy from there." In a fleet where dozens of sailors are capable of winning a race, that discipline has kept Cayard firmly in control heading into the final two days of the 99th Bacardi Cup.
99th Bacardi Cup Results after Day 4: (top five, 4 races)
1. Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen (USA) - 5 points
2. Robert Scheidt/Austin Sperry (BRA) - 11 points
3. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada (POL) - 17 points
4. Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) - 20 points
5. Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA) - 22 points
Opening Day at the 2026 Bacardi Invitational Regatta sees Heaton, Morris, Alexander, and Quintero take early lead
Bacardi Invitational Regatta opened with three or four heavy air races across the J/70, Melges 24, VX One, and Snipe fleets. 25 nations are represented across the board, and there's no doubt they enjoyed the sunny, warm Miami day.
J/70 — 34 Entries
J/70 U.S. Class President John Heaton's Empeiria leads a fleet of 34 J/70s. It's a very international fleet with teams from USA, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Uruguay, and the UK.
Heaton and his team of iconic Portuguese duo Gonçalo Ribeiro and Paulo Manso as well as Aussie Mark Spearman leads with 12 points after three races, but world champion Joel Ronning is hot on the trail. His Catapult team is now a Mixed-Plus entry that features J/70 World Champion Jeremy Wilmot as well as 49erFX Olympian Stephanie Roble, ILCA Olympian Sarah Douglass, and Etchells World Champion Beccy Anderson. This star-studded squad is just two points behind the leaders. No stranger to front of the pack, Haroldo Solberg's OceanPact from Brazil rounds out the podium.
"We feel like we sailed well, but there are a lot of really good teams & sailors so don't want to get too high after one good day," said Heaton. "The top 15 boats are phenomenal - there's no one single team we're watching out for. This regatta is great for the Class every year. It's wonderful to see all the international boats here in the US. Just spectacular for the fleet."
Melges 24 — 25 Entries
A rivalry is brewing in the Melges 24 fleet. At the Melges 24 U.S. National Championship a few months ago, Cuyler Morris's Dark Horse passed Bora Gulari's Mavi and won the title by just one point. Today at Bacardi, they're painting the same picture. Dark Horse has 9 points to Bora Gulari's 10. Each has a race win under their belt. And don't count out 2025 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, 2025 J/70 World Champion, and 2025 Melges 24 Worlds Runner-Up Laura Grondin with her tactician Taylor Canfield who just took the win at SailGP. Grondin's famous Dark Energy team sits just a handful of points behind the Dark Horse / Mavi rivalry.
This is just the beginning. "One race at a time," Dark Horse's Mark Ivey reminds us. "Beautiful conditions, efficient racing, and more to come. Really looking forward to the battles ahead. We know we have a lot of teams all wanting to put it all together and win the Bacardi Invitational!"
VX One — 27 Entries
Opening day saw four races for the VX One fleet and four first place finishes for four-time consecutive Bacardi winner Chris Alexander with Gracie Howie and Ricky Welch. Alexander's team set the pace early. They delivered a clean sweep of the day's racing and immediately reinforced their reputation as the team to beat in Miami.
Despite the dominant start, Alexander expects the regatta to remain a battle. "We've got a good fleet and some really stiff competition," he said. "I don't think it's ever going to get easier."
The VX One fleet has continued to build momentum in recent seasons, and the strength of the entry list in Miami reflects that growth as teams look ahead to the Class's first-ever World Championship, also scheduled to take place on Biscayne Bay.
Snipe — 18 Entries
Coconut Grove's own Enrique Quintero headlines. Last year, Ernesto Rodriguez walked away with the Bacardi Invitational Regatta Snipe Champion title. This year, he's got some competition. Quintero with Lorena Fundora kick off 2026 Bacardi in pole position, a point ahead of 2025 Snipe World Championship Runner-Up Rodriguez, now sailing with Spanish crew Marina Cano.
"We had a great day despite a few mistakes," said Quintero. "Speed-wise, we're good. Strength-wise, we're good. But we've got a few more days to go."
When asked about beating his training partner Rodriguez, Quintero commented, "He's one of the best in the world. Sharing the race course with someone like this is an honor."
"The snipe fleet is super fortunate to be a part of this prestigious event alongside the Stars and all the fleets," he added.
As always, Bacardi hospitality shined. In addition to the open bar at Shake-A-Leg Miami, Bacardi hosted a poolside SipSip party at the rooftop of the Mayfair House Hotel. Sailors enjoyed the sunset with Bacardi cocktails and a view from above, overlooking their Biscayne Bay race course.
The 99th Bacardi Cup Invitational Regatta is supported by Centennial Bank, North Sails, Shore Premier Finance, Palm Beach Yachts, Regatta Brokerage - the Brian Kamilar Team and Shake-A-Leg Miami.
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