Race winners Dragon Fire (red, white and blue kite) lead Wild Hogs out to the racecourse in the best breeze of the day. Right: the start of Race 1. Photos by Dan Tucker

Day 1 of Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, presented by EFG Bank, also known as Bacardi Cup (though apparently only the Star Class is legally allowed to call it that, even though everyone else does too — we just don’t get a giant trophy at the end that is taller and heavier than your average 420 sailor) is in the books.  Fun?  Sure — 18 Vipers were racing in warm weather, and the rest of us weren’t.  The weather didn’t cooperate much — great breezes on the way out to the racecourse gave way to a light air start and an even lighter run and beat, at which point the RC shortened course to allow all of the Vipers to drift across the line.  Could have been worse — several other classes that aren’t as strong in light air saw boats suffer the dreaded “TLE”.  Congratulations to Andrew Weiss, Byron Lamotte and Jonathan Asch aboard USA 179 Dragon Fire (Mamaroneck, NY – Larchmont YC fleet) for taking the victory over a very tough field, banging right on the first beat to find pressure and round the first mark with a 10-boatlength lead.  The race win is Dragon Fire’s first in a major Viper regatta, with perennial champions Brad Boston and Jackpot

(Sarnia, Ontario) a close second in their brand new boat, with class governor Kay VanValkenburgh (Boston, Mass.) in third.  The southerly never filled and no other races were started for the day, allowing sailors to hit the rum tent early.  Hopefully the wind gods will be in a more generous spirit tomorrow, and Friday and Saturday’s forecasts suggest that they will.  Dan Tucker has been posting regular updates to the Rondar Raceboats Facebook page, including 65 photos from Day 1 — “Like” Rondar Raceboats to get regular updates.  We’ve been sharing some of the better ones on the Viper 640 Facebook page too if you don’t already “Like” us. Results.