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"We positioned ourselves off the starting line more or less in the middle of the fleet and it was a bit of a drag race because the mark was quite a long way to the right," said Lööf. "At that point, most boats were right port tack and the sailors that positioned themselves too far to the left suffered a lot.

"We sailed quite aggressively toward the end and we positioned ourselves on the favored side with the wind coming in from the right. Still it was close, we lost a little bit, and then we came up and were across the finish line by no more than half a boat length. It was a good battle and an interesting, really close race."

Unfortunately, Lööf and Salmiren did not fare as well in the second race, placing 20th, which they attributed to a rough start. "If you're not in the front right away, you're struggling all the way through," said Lööf. "A lot of those guys were pushing hard at the start."

The second race was won by Alexander Schlonski and Matthias Bohn (GER) who finished ahead of their fellow countrymen Johannes Babendererde and Timo Jacobs.

Only one Star team has recorded single-digit finishes over the course of the five races thus far. 2008 Olympian Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (IRL) finished 8-4 yesterday to move from fourth overall into the lead of the 89-boat fleet with 18 points.

Guillaume Florent and Pascal Rambeau (FRA) are one point behind in second overall. Lööf and Salmiren and early series leaders Eivind Melleby and Petter Morland Pedersen (NOR) are third and fourth, respectively, with 24 points each. Andy Horton (South Burlington, Vermont) and crew James Lyne (Granville, Vermont) finished 3-6 yesterday to move from ninth up to fifth overall with 25 points.

In the 35-boat Melges 24 class, Lorenzo Bressani (ITA) had a near-perfect day, winning two races and placing second in the final race of the day. He remains first overall with five points, followed by Riccardo Simoneschi (ITA) with 14 points, and Brian Porter (USA) with 20 points.

Two teams did all the winning in the J/24 fleet: Kris Werner (Rochester, N.Y.), sailing with John Enwright, Michael Mansfield, Fred Meyer and Kiki Werner won the first two races on the day, and Robert Pincus (Miami) with Patricia Amaducci, Eammon Delisser and JB Slater won the last two races. Pincus moved into first overall with seven points. Werner is second, tied on points, with Brian Kamilar (Miami), sailing with Fran Bellocchio, Fabio Galarce, Mauricio Galarce and Enrique Quintero.

BACARDI Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank concludes Saturday, March 12. For photos, results and additional information please visit www.BACARDICup.com and www.MiamiSailingWeek.com