Top five finish for Pepper and Monk at Bacardi Cup, Miami

Top five finish for Pepper and Monk at Bacardi Cup, Miami

The NZL Sailing Team Star crew of Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk href="http://www.miamisailingweek.com/" target="_blank">Bacardi Cup Miami Sailing Week Regatta 2011.

The Bacardi Cup for the Olympic Men’s keelboat – the Star - dates back 84 years and the event attracts a world class fleet; 2011 was no exception and a 93 strong fleet took part in the week long regatta.

A top five finish for Pepper and Monk marks a solid start to the 2011 European season for the pair who joined forces in 2009 to campaign towards the 2012 Olympic Games in the Star class.

Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau of France won the regatta with a one point margin over Ireland’s Peter O'Leary and David Burrows. Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen of Norway rounded out the podium places for bronze two points further back.

The kiwis saved their best until last rounding off the regatta with a race win on the final day recording three top three finishes’ from a total of six races sailed during the week. In line with class tradition the fleet sailed just one race per day in an every race counts battle of the best in the Star.

A 14th on day one, and an 18th in race five were the stumbling blocks for Pepper and Monk in terms of securing a podium finish this time. Their best performance as a pair in the Star to date is a silver medal at the 2009 Star World Championships in Varberg, Sweden.

Individually both have built hugely successful careers in sailing with highlights including Olympic bronze for Monk in the Finn in 1992, and a Star World Championship title for Pepper in 2006. Together now they continue to demonstrate that they’re a force to be reckoned with in the hotly contested Star class.

Pepper and Monk are coached in the Star by Andrew Palfrey.

Bacardi Cup, Miami Sailing Week Star Class 2011
Top five results

1st Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau FRA
2nd Peter O'Leary and David Burrows IRE
3rd Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen NOR
4th Fredrik Loof and Max Salmiren SWE
5th Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk NZL

See the regatta website for full daily news reports, full results, images and more.

© Scoop Media