Gone, but not forgotten.

Mike Bruno was a stalwart member of the J/88 class and always a top contender aboard his boat named Wings.

Bruno skippered Wings to victory in numerous major class events since joining the one-design class in 2015. The New York resident’s last big win came at Charleston Race Week 2019 when he placed first or second in five of 10 races to post a low score of 25 points.

It was a tight regatta among the fleet of 10 boats with Wing needing to win the last race to edge Albondigas by two points. Spaceman Spiff took third, just one point astern of Albondigas.

Bruno steered Wings to another big win at Block Island Race Week later that year. That would turn out to be his final regatta.

Bruno died suddenly of a heart attack on August 13, 2019 at his home in Armonk, N.Y. He was only 63 years old and left behind wife Meg and three children – Mike Jr., Russell and Price.

Armed with an MBA from Columbia Business School, Bruno enjoyed tremendous success professionally. He rose quickly through the ranks at Solomon Brothers, becoming vice president of mergers and acquisitions. In 1987, he joined Stonebridge Partners, which specialized in acquiring and turning around distressed companies.

A longtime member and past commodore of American Yacht Club, Bruno was renowned for his charitable endeavors – helping found the Robie Pierce One-Design Disabled Regatta and serving two terms as chairman of the Freedom Waters Foundation in Naples, Florida.

Sailboat racing was the longtime recreation outlet for Bruno, who was a two-time winner of the J/122 North American Championship and claimed class honors at 2016 Key West Race Week aboard that boat.

Albondigas is co-owned by Justin Scagnelli and Tim Price, members of Huguenot Yacht Club in New Rochelle, N.Y. Scagnelli, who previously crewed with longtime J/88 skipper Iris Vogel, took pride in earning newfound respect from Bruno and the Wings crew based off their strong performance at 2019 Charleston Race Week.

They bonded further at Block Island when Bruno invited the Albondigas crew to a Wings team dinner at the house he had rented for race week. “We became friendly with Mike here in Charleston two years ago and got to know him a lot better at Block,” Scagnelli said. “Mike and Wings set the standard in this class. As a skipper, I felt like he pushed me to be the best I could be.” Needless to say, everyone within the close-knit J/88 class were stunned to learn of Bruno’s passing, which came about a month and a half before the J/88 North American Championships.

Scagnelli and the Albondigas crew felt Charleston Race Week 2021 was the ideal time to pay respect to Bruno. He and Price commissioned memorial racing shirts that honored the fallen skipper.

On the back of the shirts, the Wings logo has been superimposed over the meatball logo of Albondigas (Spanish word for meatballs).

“We were all really bummed to lose Bruno and wanted to do something to remember him,” Scagnelli said.

Stuart Johnstone of J/Boats sailed with Bruno for many years, both on the 122 and the 88. He said Bruno brought the same detailed organizational abilities he successfully used in business to the sailing program.

“Mike was very thorough as an owner. He made sure the boat was always meticulously prepared,” said Johnstone, who is crewing aboard Albondigas this year. “Wings was always prepped and tuned extremely well.”

Bruno, who relied on longtime crew member Chris Morgan to keep Wings ship-shape, was also at the forefront of developing the sail package for the J/88 class. Those efforts ultimately benefited the whole class.

Scagnelli believes the best way to honor Bruno is by performing at a high level on the racecourse. He and Price are determined to finish at Charleston Race Week 2021 after coming up just short two years ago.

“We were leading going into the last race and made some mistakes that cost us the regatta,” Scagnelli said. “We definitely came here to win this year and have pulled out all the stops.”

Getting Johnstone as tactician and trimmer was a big boost, while a brand-new suit of sails should produce speed gains. Vogel and the Deviation team are always a force to be reckoned with, while Rob Ruhlman and his family team aboard Spaceman Spiff are perennial top contenders.

“I would like to consider our team the favorite. We will definitely be in contention. We have a great crew setup for this regatta. We have our A team here,” Scagnelli said. “We have a whole bunch of meatballs ready to go.”