The final day’s racing at the 2002 Acura SORC Miami Beach delivered idyllic sailing conditions with a 15 knot breeze on Sunday 10 March.

In the Farr 40 class, defending champion John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti defended its class championship and also won the US national championship. A second place finish in the day’s first race sealed the deal for the El Seguendo, CA-based boat. The 11-point margin of victory at this year’s event was significantly more comfortable than Samba Pa Ti’s .25 point victory last year over Boston-based James Richardson’s Barking Mad who was also runner-up this year.

“It’s really special, not only to defend the title but claim a national championship in the process,” said Kilroy. “The field here this week was outstanding and I really need to single out our new tactician, Jeff Madrigali, who was huge for us this week in finding good wind in some challenging conditions.”

Kilroy also was awarded the Mark H. Baxter Trophy, presented for the best performance by a Farr 40 in the regatta.

In the IMS class, George David’s Idler finished the regatta with a spotless record to claim the title while Garth Dennis’ Smiling Bulldog of Ithaca, NY, recorded a first and a second on the day to win the PHRF 2 competition. Smiling Bulldog also won the Florida Governor’s Perpetual Trophy for the lowest point boat across all three PHRF classes, and the Acura SORC trophy, presented for the best performance by a series yacht.

In the J/80 class Geoffrey Pierini’s Bada Bing of Metuchen, NJ, notched two firsts to win the class over fellow NJ boat, Hyperdrive owned by Matthew Baker of Princeton. In the J/105 class James Doane’s of Naples, FL, aboard Flame, rebounded from a 10th place finish in the day’s first race to win the regatta’s final competition and seal a two-point victory over David Wagner’s Chicago-based Gigi.