Cayard and Kleen Continue Star Run to Win Bacardi Cup
On March 7, Paul Cayard (USA) and Frithjof Kleen (Germany) capped off a banner year in the Star class by winning the 99th edition of the Bacardi Cup in South Florida. The duo won the 2025 Star World Championship back in September in Croatia, Cayard’s second world championship in the class (37 years after the first). Now, after topping a massive 76-boat fleet, Cayard has won his first-ever Bacardi Cup after 45 years of trying. It was the only major Star class championship that he had not yet won.
“Winning the Bacardi Cup completes my Star class résumé,” Cayard tells us. “After the annual Star World Championship, the Bacardi Cup is the biggest event in our class. Forty-six years after my first Bacardi, trying off and on over the years, grateful to get this one in the bag.”
Cayard and Kleen came out of the gates in nearly untouchable form, winning the first three races of the event to jump out to a commanding lead. The battle for the cup would come down to Cayard and Kleen and the Brazilian duo of Robert Scheidt and Austin Sperry.
While Cayard and Kleen could not have started the regatta better, with just three points after three races, competition was still fierce. Scheidt and Sperry had finished third in races one and two, and then fourth in race three for a total of 10 points. The Polish boat of Mateusz Kusnierewicz and Bruno Prada had finished second in races one and two, and then ninth in race three. In race four, Cayard and Kleen’s picket fence was finally snapped by Scheidt and Sperry, who were victorious (the eventual champions were second). “Paul is on fire,” Scheidt said during the regatta, per the Bacardi Cup’s official press release. “He’s having a super-great regatta. Not making any mistakes.”
Race five saw the regatta reach fever pitch, with Scheidt and Sperry winning, and Cayard and Kleen finishing sixth. Going into the final race, Scheidt and Sperry needed a top-two finish ahead of Cayard to claim the Cup.
Cayard and Kleen started match-racing the Brazilian boat 10 minutes before the start, and the two regatta leaders didn’t cross the start line until well after the gun. Scheidt and Sperry eventually battled back to a 10th-place finish, but with both boats still holding a drop, it wasn’t enough to top Cayard and Kleen, who ultimately DNF’d the race once their work was done. The final delta saw the American boat with a net total of 11 points and the Brazilians with a net total of 12. Kusznierewicz and Prada finished with 16 to round out the podium.
“I told the Star sailors last night at the awards that it is our turn on watch to continue writing the legendary history of the Star class,” Cayard tells us. “When I joined the class in 1978, it was North, Conner, Blackaller, Melges, Buchan and Schoonmaker who were writing. Before that it was Elvstrom, Knowles, Burnham, Smart, Straulino, Petterson. And now, you take the first 15 names of the 99th Bacardi results sheet and you have those on deck continuing to build what is already the greatest legacy of sailing talent ever assembled!” he continues. “And this group is paying it forward, bringing along the next Robert Scheidt, Mateusz, Diego and Eric. I think we are living up to ‘Star standard.’ Hopefully we can push the bar higher!”
You can find the full results for the Star Class in the 2026 BACARDÍ Cup here.
Good Jibes #234: John Sweeney on AI Sailing and AI Lawsuits, With Host John Arndt
This week we chat with accomplished Bay Area sailor John Sweeney about the latest in AI sailing and AI lawsuits. John Sweeney won this year’s Three Bridge Fiasco and has a storied history in the America’s Cup, El Toro Nationals, and Baja Ha-Ha.
Tune in as John Sweeney shares with host John Arndt his foundational role in sailing sponsorships, his fascinating lawsuits related to the America’s Cup and Point Buckler Island, how AI is already changing sailing, what we can do to keep the human element of sailing, and how we can make racing better.
Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- What are the key violations of the Deed of Gift?
- John’s journey into the America’s Cup, from Young America to Oracle
- What got John started in sailing as a kid?
- What is John’s dream boat for a Pacific cruise?
- How could cost controls make the Cup accessible to smaller nations?
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!
Learn more about John Sweeney at JohnDonnellySweeney.com
Check out the episode and show notes for much more detail.
Life Is Better With a Boat — Find Yours Today With Cruising Yachts
Josh Kali Finishes First-Ever McIntyre Mini Globe Race
On Tuesday, March 10, Seattle sailor Josh Kali crossed the finish line to complete the first-ever McIntyre Mini Globe Race around the world. Kali was the ninth finisher of the final leg as he sailed into Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. Upon his arrival in Antigua for the finish, the joy and excitement was palpable. Race organizer Don McIntyre and several other sailors met Kali at the dock, helping tie off his boat Skookum before lavishing him with congratulatory hugs and backslaps all around.
Racing in ALMA Class Globe 580 home-built 19-ft plywood yachts, the fleet of 15 boats set out to sail 24,000 miles, starting from Antigua in February 2025 and sailing westabout via the Panama Canal back to Antigua, across four legs. Eleven of the 15 starters completed the entire race.
The winner was Renaud Stitelmann of Switzerland (#28 Capucinette), who won every leg of the race and set the inaugural record time of 180 days 11 hours 25 minutes and 57 seconds of sailing time. His average speed through all weather and oceans of the world was 5.54 knots, or 133 miles a day. This is a remarkable average for a 19-ft boat! He returned 377 days after the start, with the competitors having visited 15 ports in 13 countries along the way. Second across the line in Antigua was Pilar Pasanau from Spain, who finished the fourth leg just a few hours later.
We spoke with Josh on our Good Jibes podcast before he left and will be connecting with him for a future podcast as soon as he recovers his land legs. Creating and managing the event is an enormous achievement, as is the fact that 11 of the 15 19-ft boats completed the circumnavigation.
The second edition of the McIntyre Mini Globe Race is scheduled for 2029, with over 25 sailors already committed. If you’re thinking of going, you’ll want to start building your boat!
Coyote Point Yacht Club Hosts John Pitcher Memorial Race
The John Pitcher Memorial Race remembers a Coyote Point Yacht Club sailor who passed while racing aboard his Pearson in the late 1960s. In keeping with that spirit, the race is open to any boat berthed in Coyote Point Marina, club member or not. It remains one of those days when the course carries a bit of history.
Five boats took part in this year’s race on Saturday, March 7: Svea, Surprise!, Sweet Grapes, Paradigm, and Ventus. The course ran C, Z, A, Birdcage, 6, C and home.
At the start, a north wind around 12 knots gave the fleet a confident beginning. Sweet Grapes carried her 130 with a reef tucked in the main, and the early legs moved quickly as the boats worked their way north in steady nine- to 10-knot breeze. The air had a restless character though: Direction wandered; pressure came and went.
Ventus found a clean lane and pushed ahead toward Birdcage with Paradigm close astern and Sweet Grapes keeping steady pressure. Svea and Surprise! followed not far behind as the fleet stretched across the water.
Then the Bay quieted. Between marks 6 and C the wind faded to almost nothing. Boats drifted while the flood current became the only real motion on the course. It was the sort of stillness that asks for patience and humor. Svea eventually chose humor. When a pair of sea kayakers slipped past her as if she were tied to a dock, she decided the day had made its point and she retired.
The breeze returned in patches, and the leaders kept trading small advantages. Paradigm hoisted a chute and made a determined push, but the shifting air refused to settle. At C the race tightened again. Ventus defended the inside and led the fleet onto a final beam reach as the wind filled from the east.
From Charlie to the finish the race sharpened into a duel. The leg became a close reach on port tack as the boats approached the marina gate. Paradigm carried her familiar asymmetrical spinnaker, with headsail drawing as well, pressing for speed. Sweet Grapes came on with full main and her 130-percent genoa pulling strongly. With a slightly higher angle and steady pace, Sweet Grapes crept up along Paradigm’s windward side in the final stretch. Just before the line she edged ahead, then bore off sharply to slip through the gate. Across the water Ventus finished first. Sweet Grapes crossed next, just ahead of Paradigm after that late move at the line.
Corrected time, however, told its own story. Paradigm took the win, followed by Surprise!, with Sweet Grapes rounding out the podium.
It was a thoughtful race, full of shifting wind and quiet moments, the kind that rewards attention and leaves sailors with a few more stories than when they started.
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