The Bacardi Cup is one of the oldest and most traditional sailing events in the world. What started out as a three-day event with less than 10 boats in 1927, now attracts more than 200 sailors each year from some 23 countries and the attention of international media. The Bacardi Cup is legendary as one of the few sporting events in which weekend enthusiasts have the opportunity to compete head on with Olympian and World Champion athletes. The tradition of camaraderie and competition surrounding the Trofeo Bacardi began in Havana, Cuba where it was first sailed as part of the Mid-Winter Championship known as the Cup of Cuba. For the next 30 years the Bacardi Cup established an esteemed reputation for competition and hospitality. The tradition flourished until political unrest forced Bacardi to leave Cuba in 1957, the last year the Bacardi Cup was hosted by Cuba. It was also cancelled in 1934, during World War II from 1943–1947 and again in 1956. In 1962, the regatta found a new home in Coconut Grove/Miami at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, where it has continued to sail from every year since. Miami native James "Ding" Schoonmaker, former World Champion and seven-time Bacardi Cup winner, and Frank Zagarino, 1969 Bacardi Cup winner, are credited with making the transition work. Ding won his first Bacardi Cup in Havana at the age of 19. In 2004, the Portuguese team of Afonso Domingos and Bernardo Santos was the first European team to win this prestigious sailing regatta. They won again in 2008. In 2007, teams from China and Croatia competed in the Bacardi Cup for the first time. In 2008, Hungarian and Russian teams were on the start line for the first time joining teams from 24 other countries. 2008 was a Bacardi Cup history first with almost three-quarters of the fleet from countries other than the United States. The Bacardi Cup is the only Cuban-born sporting event to survive and continue in the United States and it is sponsored in full by Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.