Star Sailors League ranking leader Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi return to Miami next week seeking to defend their title at that venerable Star sailing event, the Bacardi Cup. Just four years younger than the Star Worlds, the Bacardi Cup was first held in 1927 and over the decades has earned itself a reputation for its top competition on the water, its large entry of sailors (from legends of the sport down to weekend warriors), plus its outstanding parties, laid on by the world’s most famous rum brand.
“For us the Bacardi Cup is a special event, for sure - it is an event that I’ve done ever since I started sailing the Star in 2006,” admits Negri. “In the past all these big sailors and Star class champions sailed this regatta and the parties afterwards– they were very popular! Then for a while it became more serious and went down, but in the last few years it has grown up again and it is once again one of the Star’s main events. So it is still a great pleasure to meet all the old legends and all the younger ex-Olympic sailors there.”
In 2018 Negri and Lambertenghi were the first Italians ever to win it (and only the third Europeans). “When you win it, you get to write your name on the trophy, something that will last forever. Twice I was second and I’ve come very close to winning the title. So last year was a big satisfaction for me.”
Their victory, Negri admits, came as a pleasant surprise. “I was busy with some other sailing before and only I arrived the day before the regatta, without too many expectations. Of course I was thinking about the Star Sailors League ranking, which I was leading still, so it was important to be there. The goal was to be top five.”
Negri and Lambertenghi got off to a strong start with a 3-2 in the first two races. Finishing the regatta with only two of the six races off the podium, they secured the win by just two points from Robert Scheidt/Brian Fatih with Eivind Melleby/Joshua Revkin third.
“I seem to be good in Miami,” continues Negri. “It is a difficult race area and I have twice been second in the World Championship there [in 2008 and 2016] and I have finished in the top 10 at the Bacardi Cup pretty much every time.”
Alongside the Star’s World Championship, the Bacardi Cup is one of the few remaining events still having ‘traditional’ courses, with daily singleton races and a mix of windward-leewards and triangles - all of them long… “A race lasts for two to two and a half hours with a two mile or 2.2 mile upwind,” said Negri. “You normally sail triangles in strong breeze, but we haven’t done those for a while. I really remember the long reaches from my first Bacardi Cups, when legends like Torben Grael were notorious for their speed on those legs. In the long races there is always a chance to recover, if it’s not going well, but equally there is the chance of a bad position, if you aren’t focussed all the way to the finish.”
The styles of course, Negri says also relates to his choice of crew. Typically he sails with either Lambertenghi or Frithjof Kleen, the 2014 World Champion (with Robert Stanjek) and 2017 SSL Finals winner (with Paul Goodison). There is reason behind this, Negri explains: “There’s a good spirit between Sergio and I. He is a ‘traditional’ star sailor. He is in a good positive mood always in these long races, which you need, because anything can happen. Whereas at the last SSL Finals I was sailing with Frithjof. He is younger and always very competitive, and is better for the shorter course formats. The Finals in Nassau are good for young hungry sailors like him!”
So Negri will be returning to Miami this weekend with his ‘long course specialist’ Lambertenghi. When racing starts on Monday they will be up against the usual heroes including Scheidt, Cayard, Melleby, Rohart, Kusznierewicz, Eric Doyle, Augie Diaz, Lars Grael and some of the next generation such as Brazilian crew Pedro Trouche, winner of last year’s SSL Finals with Jorge Zarif.
“It is just perfect,” Negri continues. “In Italy it is still winter. Last weekend I was sailingin 8-10°C and it was gusting 20 knots. In Miami we’ll be in shorts and flipflops. All year you look forward to going. I have to thank Bacardi and the SSL because who have supplied us with a boat.” In winning last year, Bacardi paid for Negri to compete in the Star Worlds in Oxford, MD.
Looking back over his results in recent years, Negri has only won the 2011 Star Europeans and last year’s Bacardi Cup, but has shown unrivalled consistency, regularly finishing on the podium or in the top five. As a result of this Negri has led the Star Sailors League ranking for the last year, despite serious competition from especially Norwegian 2017 World Champion Eivind Melleby and Olympic legend Robert Scheidt, who respectively stand on the steps below the 47-year-old Italian on the present SSL Ranking podium.
This year Negri has the advantage that two of the Star class’ major events will take place on his home waters – the Worlds in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in June following May’s Riva del Garda-based European Championship, doubling as the Star Sailors League Breeze Grand Slam.
“I don’t think I’ll be under pressure, but I will just sail the event like every other,” says Negri of his prospects. “I have had a few podiums in the last four or five years and I will try to get to the podium again. But I would like to get the World title sooner or later. I am focussed and I am happy about my sailing and I’ve been leading the SSL rankings for almost one year which means I am pretty consistent.”
These two events will have the different Star boat formats – the Worlds retaining the traditional one race-per-day long courses, while the Europeans/SSL Breeze Grand Slam will adopt the SSL-style full fleet qualification rounds, followed by a final day of knock-out rounds.
In terms of Porto Cervo, Negri was there last year coaching the Momo team on their way to victory in the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship. “The Costa Smeralda is one of the best places in the world to sail, especially in June. It’s also the 30th anniversary of when the Stars last had their World Championship there.”
And if Negri does well on his home waters maybe this will propel him to victory in December’s Star Sailors League Finals, on what will be his sixth attempt. Negri says that this is now recognised as one of the Star class’ major events. “The Finals are special because only the best are allowed to come. It is a big opportunity. Plus it is nice sailing in Nassau.” In fact ensuring that he gets to compete in Nassau every December by remaining in the top 10 in the SSL ranking is a principal motivation for his campaigns.
While the Star boat retains the no1 place in Negri’s heart, since he stopped Olympic sailing he has become a professional sailor and coach which he taken him to other classes. In addition to the Maxi 72, he finished third in this year’s Dragon Worlds and was also third at the J/70 Worlds two years ago and is this year coaching a Melges 20 team.
“The experience you have as a sailor is always important. You have to keep your mind open, to keep used to sailing, used to the pressure of regattas, to smell the wind and trim the boat. That way you become better and better – you keep learning about everything to do with sailing. Even on the coach boat when you can see the whole regatta from the outside, you can then jump on the boat and transfer the experience you had to there. So it is very good.”
So will 2019 belong to Negri? “Before the end of the year I hope to give you some good news…” he quips.
SSL Press Officer since 2015