Strong winds put paid to Peter Bromby reasserting his Bacardi Cup title challenge in Florida yesterday.

The Island Olympian and crew Martin Siese are defending the trophy they won last year and were lying in 13th place after two days.

They had hoped to do better than their 19th and 18th place finishes in yesterday's scheduled third round, but the poor conditions saw racing cancelled.

"The average breeze exceeded generally accepted limits for Star Class racing and the starting gun never fired as the fleet, many of whom stayed in dock, attempted to line up at the start," an event spokesman said.

According to Principal Race Officer Rich Raymond yesterday's winds averaged 23 knots with gusts of 28 making it difficult to race safely.

The plan is to get two races in today when the conditions are expected to be more agreeable.

The Bacardi Cup runs until Friday with six races in total. Established in Havana, Cuba in 1927 and held at the Coral Reef Yacht Club since 1962, it is the only Cuban-born sporting event that survives today in the US.