Race Three delivered a gritty contest as the fleet reached the midpoint of the series. Cayard led wire to wire. The leaders started on the left, worked toward the middle, then returned left as the first beat developed.
The first windward mark was fronted by Americans: Cayard, Brian Ledbetter, and Eric Doyle. By mark two, Norway’s Eivind Melleby and Ireland’s Peter O’Leary advanced. Little by little, Robert Scheidt recovered from a deep start and clawed his way back to fourth place overall, passing Mateusz Kusznierewicz in the overall podium.
On the final beat, Cayard extended his advantage and confidently took the win. Three back-to-back bullets. Hat trick secured.
With another bullet on his scorecard, the American skipper is distinguishing himself from Kusznierewicz and Scheidt, the trio that defined the opening days.
“It was just beautiful sailing – as good as it gets on Biscayne Bay,” said Doyle, who finished second. “Paul stepped out a little bit on the final leg and showed why he’s leading the regatta right now.”
With three races complete, Cayard and Kleen now sit firmly atop the leaderboard, but with three races still to sail and a throw-out looming after five, the Bacardi Cup remains unclaimed.
“The game is still pretty open,” said Scheidt.
Top 5 overall after three races
Paul Cayard/Frithjof Kleen (USA) – 3 points
2. Robert Scheidt/Austin Sperry (BRA) – 10 points
3. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Bruno Prada (POL) – 13 points
4. Eric Doyle/Payson Infelise (USA) – 16 points
5. Diego Negri/Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) – 17 points
