Portuguese Wrap It Up

Alfonso DOMINGOS and crew Bernardo SANTOS of Portugal assured themselves of the 2004 Bacardi Cup championship after the fifth race in the six-race Star Class Regatta on Thursday.

Their first place overall with 17 points is enough to make them the first Europeans to win the coveted Bacardi Cup since the race began in Cuba in 1927.

British 2002 World Champions Iain PERCY and crew Steve MITCHELL took first place for the second day in a row and moved into tenth overall. They finished yesterday with a long lead on the rest of the 93-boat fleet after passing the Danish team at the third mark in 15-knot winds coming in from the northeast.

“Once we passed the Danes they had no chance of catching up,” said Percy.

Nicklas HOLM and crew Claus OLESEN of Denmark took second place and the 2003 Star Class World Champions Xavier ROHART and crew Pascal RAMBEAU (FRA) took third.

“This was the best race of the series so far, but we made one small error that cost us the race,” said the Danish Skipper Holm. “We didn’t catch the right shift in the wind and the British did.”

Six-time Bacardi Cup champion Mark REYNOLDS moved into fourth place in the overall standings. Howie SHIEBLER and crew Will STOUT of San Francisco are in second place overall and Canadians Ross MACDONALD and Mike WOLFS are in third.

Sailors were allowed to drop their worst finish after the fifth race yesterday. The final race of the Bacardi Cup will be sailed today.

Top Ten (After Five Races)