Team Hoss Goes for the Bacardi Cup

February 29, 2008 0 comments

One might expect to be the first to arrive to a regatta by flying in a week early, but for the Bacardi Cup that's the norm. Austin Sperry flew into Miami on Sunday to find loads of teams already practicing for this popular regatta, many that have been training in Miami all season. With 109 Stars registered as of Thursday night, the Bacardi Cup makes the 66-boat Olympic Classes Regatta look like a hometown affair.

One might expect to be the first to arrive to a regatta by flying in a week early, but for the Bacardi Cup that’s the norm. Austin Sperry flew into Miami on Sunday to find loads of teams already practicing for this popular regatta, many that have been training in Miami all season. With 109 Stars registered as of Thursday night, the Bacardi Cup makes the 66-boat Olympic Classes Regatta look like a hometown affair.

Austin sailed in his first Bacardi Cup with his dad 14 years ago, when he was barely in high school. Now married and headed to the Olympics, Austin still gets to share the course with his dad as a competitor. Not many families, or classes, can claim that longevity.



Austin and his Olympic teammate John Dane will hit the water this Bacardi Cup with eyes toward personal improvement. The size of the Bacardi Cup means it is not a great simulator for the Olympics, which will only have 16 boats, so Austin’s goal is to focus on skills that will carry over. “It’s the little things we can do better like tacks, gybes, laylines, roundings… Our goal is to do our best and hopefully win.”

Keep in mind that Austin and JD won this regatta in 2006 when there were 92 Stars competing. That was their first Bacardi Cup win and they’re very much the same team—but with some added improvements. “Now we have three coaches, a trainer, a physio and a couple of tenders.” Austin continues, “We’ve got a gold medalist and a silver medalist in the house with us.”

It’s a good thing they have such an attentive team, because Austin strained his back last week after tripping over an ‘ill-placed’ vacuum cleaner and a subsequent playful punch from his wife gone wrong. With two supervised stretching sessions per day, he feels fine to race on Sunday.

While Austin is looking forward to the racing, he is also preparing for the Bacardi Cup off-the-water challenge: The Creative Cocktail Competition. He has been nominated by his fellow sailors to the “Elite 16” who will test their mixing skills for Bacardi. Austin’s concoction is… “The Hoss.” We will have to wait until next week to see how Team Hoss does on and off the racecourse.