Pendola Leads Argentina's J/24 Autumn Cup

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- While winter seemingly still has not left the northern hemisphere, clinging a bit too tenaciously for most battle-hardened sailors, the J/24 gang down in Buenos Aires are enjoying nearly equally crazy conditions in their J/24 Autumn Cup, hosted by Yacht Club Argentino.

After a hard day of racing Saturday, the fleet was able to complete three good races. Southwest winds prevailed despite, providing the fleet with what is known locally as the "borneo conditions", rains blasting the fleet with massive wind shifts and winds gusting from 15-25 kts.  With the racing taking place not far off the "North Dock", the fleet was constantly challenged with shifty, gusty cells that keep mixing up the fleet.  After three races sailed, it was clear the CACIQUE team led by Sergio Pendola had established a good lead on the fleet with a 1-1-2.

For Sunday's racing, the fleet was blessed with a sweet sunny day with little breeze. After two hours of postponement a gentle northerly settled onto the race course, veering to the northeast that grew stronger during the day.  The RC managed to run two good races to make for a nice start for the two weekend series. The first race with soft breeze was again won by Sergio Pendola and the CACIQUE gang and the second race was won by Nico and Rina Cubria. The Rossi brother's on SHARK are still lurking and waiting for their chance at the lead.  Also, the BA J/24 fleet welcomes newcomer Adrian Segurado.  Next weekend concludes the Autumn Cup at YCA- April 13 & 14.   For more J/24 Buenos Aires sailing information

CARRER Takes J/24 Cordoba Championship

(Villa Carlos Pax, Cordoba, Argentina)- As they have for years, the "400 Club" as it's known amongst the J/24 sailors that go sailing in Argentina's Andes Mountain range hosted yet another fantastic regatta, weather be damned.  Located not far from its famous vineyards for making the delicious red Malbec's and for snow-skiing in yet another direction (like at the top of the lake!) the J/24 sailors made the most of what can be some of the world's most spectacular sailing conditions as well as it's craziest.  Think of sailing on any Swiss Lake, Lake Dillon in Colorado or Nevada's famous Lake Tahoe; micro-bursts are normal and boats sailing at one another with spinnakers on opposite legs are simply part of the game.

For this year's event, the Campeonato Centro de la Republica Cordoba, it was Pablo Despontin's team on CARRER that managed to win by the narrowest of margins.  With 21 boats on the water of Lago San Roque from Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mendoza and Neuquen the fleet managed to sail three races over the course of three days, such is the case with mountain breezes!

On the first day of sailing, the fleet managed to get in two good races with a reasonable winds.  The second day of racing was difficult and the RC was only able to get in one good race due to highly variable climatic conditions that went from storm to calm and mountain "Borneos" of 180 degrees changes in wind direction, until it settled to about 8 to 10 knots.


Despite the weather conditions, there was incredible enthusiasm and very cool racing amongst the J/24 sailors despite the heat of the competition. Not to mention, of course, was the absolutely amazing party in the evening with beautiful people, fine wines & champagne and incredible fireworks magically reflecting off the lake like it was a mirror!

Sadly, there was no racing Monday since there was a complete lack of wind.  As a result, the regatta ended with three races counting with no throw-outs.  True to their tradition for this event, the regatta organizers, 400 YCC, J/24 Cordoba Fleet and others had a fabulous closing ceremony and awards.  To next time, as they say, but this time with more wind!  See J/24 Cordoba photos in Picasa photos.  More J/24 Cordoba pictures on Facebook.

Cubria's Win J/24 Argentine Championship

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- The J/24 class in Argentina continue to sail a fun "summer series" while their J/24 counterparts are frozen way up North.  Their latest "Campeonato Argentina" had a small but highly competitive fleet sailing out of Yacht Club Argentina off downtown Buenos Aires (one of the coolest cities on the planet).

On the first day of racing on Saturday, the sailing was well organized by the YCA Race Committee P.R.O.- Gneri Antonio.  It was a full day with very gusty winds our of the west (blowing offshore) and plenty of sun.  At times the wind was a steady 6-8 kts, but would often gust to over 15 kts (top end of the genoa weather).  The fleet was able to complete three races with perfect starts.  But the gusty, shifty winds made it a tactically difficult, but very enjoyable day.  Sunday was another day with ideal weather. ENE wind at 10 knots, much more stable than Saturday's winds.

In the end, the Cubria's (Nicolas and Mario) with crew Fernando Bertrand, Gonzalo & Juan Fildoro sailed a very steady series, starting off fast and hanging tough for the balance of the two weekends of sailing, collecting a record of 1-1-5-3-2-5-1-2-8 for a net 20 pts.  Second went to Matias Pereira with a 2-4-7-1-1-3-4-1-10 record for a net 23 pts.  Thid was Alejandro and Augusto Rossi with a record of 7-2-3-2-4-4-10-5-3 for 30 net pts.  Rounding out the top five were Fernando Montes in 4th and Santiago Doval in 5th.

On land the organization was excellent, especially ending the day with pizza, beer and tasty PIMMS prepared by Ken Johnson. One of the regatta highlights were that attractive prizes were raffled, donated by Ken Johnson and North Sails and commemorative caps were distributed to all participants.

Remember, the "Andes Mountain Championship" will soon be hosted by the J/24 fleet of Cordoba (see at right).  They have prepared this event with great enthusiasm and the program they intend to run is impressive-- it should be a very memorable Championship.  The regatta will be  held from 9th to 11th February in the waters of Lago San Roque in Villa Carlos Paz.  It is open to any boat or crew associated with J/24 Class regardless of Fleet, region or country. Because of the high winds, the local Cordoban J/24 fleet sails the "Pan American profile" with sails limited to jib, main and spinnaker and limited crew weight of 320 kg.

PLEASE NOTE-- the first 7 boats registered (NOT from Cordoba) will be offered FREE accommodations for the crew throughout the event-- a bargain!!  And, if you FLY in from Europe or North America, we might even offer a FREE boat!  Call us.  Sailing photo credits- EL OJO NAUTICO.com   For more Argentinean J/24 class sailing information

ONLINE Blitzes J/24 Spring Cup

(Lago San Roque, Cordoba, Argentina)-- High in the Argentinean side of the Andes along its western borders their lies a simply spectacular lake set into the foothills of the Andes Mountain range.  In winter (the northern hemisphere summer) many Olympic ski teams from around the world head south to the famous town of Bariloche and places nearby to continue their year-round downhill ski-training programs.  While Argentinean sailors can often be found on the slopes themselves, they look forward to their spring-time sailing on simply spectacular lakes at the base of the Andes Mountains in quaint mountain village towns like Cordoba's Lago San Roque (http://goo.gl/maps/nnJGy) or San Carlos de Bariloche's Lago Nahuel Huapi (http://goo.gl/maps/vxM58).  It's a bit like the South American version of Italy's famous Lago di Garda in Italy's northern region bordering the southern reaches of the Austrian/ Swiss/ Italian Alps.

Recently, the J/24 fleet in Cordoba held their Spring Cup and had a solid turnout of sixteen boats to experience the rather chilly waters, amazing winds and spectacular vistas of Lago San Roque-- at least that's what the local Chamber of Commerce usually predicts for this time of year.

On the first weekend of racing the fleet was confronted with not too much wind.  In fact, it was uncharacteristically light for this time of year when the fronts are still raging around the South Pole and often the northern fingers hit the Andes and produce some monstrous winds.  Nevertheless, the RC managed to run three races with much effort, despite the wind at times blowing in from the Northeast, dying and then returning back again from the East.
The first race went to the ONLINE Team sailed by Adrian Bongioanni at the helm with his brother Saul on the sheets.  Second went to CALEUCHE sailed by Matías Arrambide, Gringo Betendorf and Pedrito Lozada.  Third went to Team CAMBURY skippered by Alvaro Abate.

In the second race, SAMA skippered by Frank Pesci, Mariana Buteler in the bow, Ezekiel Despontin in sheets and Carlos took the lead from the start to cross the line first!  They were followed closely by J-MAC sailed by Spoceti Gabriel, his son Paul, Adrian Berelejis on the sheets and Marcelo Romero at the helm.

The third and final race of the regatta went to ONLINE in first, with SAMA in second.  At the end, ONLINE's 1-3-1 for 5 pts total meant the Bongioanni brothers were crowned Spring Cup Champions in Cordoba!  Second was Team SAMA with a 5-1-2 for 8 pts for Frank Pesci and crew.  Rounding out the podium ws J-MAC's team led by Spoceti Gabriel with a 7-2-6 for 15 pts.  The balance of the top five was CALEUCHE winning a tie-breaker with a 2-5-10 for 17 pts over CLICK with a 6-3-8 for 17 pts.  If you're ever in Buenos Aires, be sure to take a trip out West to Cordoba and volunteer to  crew on a J/24 in this spectacular setting!

J/24 sailboats are also racing on Lago "Nahuel Huapi" in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, quite a bit further south of Cordoba and next to the famous Andes ski areas WSW of San Carlos de Bariloche. Take a look at this YouTube video of a regatta from Cumelen Bay on the NE shore of the lake to Piedras Blancas near San Carlos de Bariloche.

For a backgrounder on the 7 Lakes District around Bariloche take a peek at this GEO TV video.   For more J/24 Spring Cup Argentina sailing results

Team LUCA Wins J/24 Worlds

South American Teams 8 of Top 10!
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- The 2011 J/24 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina sailed this past week had 58 crews from 9 countries.  It marked the first time in decades that Americans did not factor as the principal leading boats in the top five.  Instead, the South American teams continue to chip away at the J/24 world order once led by mostly Europeans, Australians and Americans.  This year's regatta may be seen as a watershed event as it was clear the South American teams continue to ascend into the top ranks of the J/24 class worldwide and are raising the level of their game quite significantly.  This year, Argentina’s Alejo Rigoni sailing LUCA with crew Gustavo Gonzalez, Joaquín Duarte Argerich, Fernando Gwozdz and Sergio Armesto are crowned the 2011 J/24 World Champion after securing the victory on the final day of racing. Rigoni's LUCA is the first Argentine team to have won the J/24 Worlds in the three decades the J/24s have been racing worldwide as the world's largest international one-design keelboat class.

After the first three days of racing, the American Tim Healy of Newport, Rhode Island was at the top of the leader board leading by nearly 20 points, a seemingly unassailable lead at a World's event.  However, as they say in "da'islands", it was "movin day, mon."  Just over the hump of the middle stages in the regatta, either you show that consistency or you crack.  And when the cracks form in the veneer of impenetrability, sometimes things don't turn out so well or as one would want it to be.  In this case, 11TH HOUR RACING sailed by Healy's team saw some of the "wheels fall of their shopping trolley".  Two races were completed on the third day under sunny skies with winds ranging from 10 to 18 knots. After a general recall in each race, Principal Race Officer Teodoro Kundig was again quick to hoist the black flag to keep the aggressive fleet under control.  And this little black flag would prove the undoing of many teams.  In the day’s first race 18 of the 58 boats (including Healy) were scored BFD after two general recalls under the black flag. On the next attempt the fleet finally got away and Peru’s Luis Olcese hit the pin end start perfectly. Olcese led the fleet until the final few meters when he was run down by Alejo Rigoni who took the win. Conditions were more challenging for the second race as the wind had again built to around 18 knots, kicking up a very confused sea. Healy rebounded from his black flag disqualification to win the race going away followed by local favorite Matias Pereira in second.

The morning of the last day dawned with a weather forecast sure to strike fear in the hearts of the top contenders.  It was certainly going to be a challenge to get a race going before noon.  The RC tried to get something started in the morning and actually did start a race on the first try under black flag with the current running away from the line. The wind quickly died, as everyone expected, forcing the race to be abandoned. At 1430 the wind had finally filled enough to race and the event’s riveting, drama-laden final ninth race, also started on the first try under the black flag!  American Mike Ingham on RELOADED led at the first mark, and wound up third at the end to move up to third overall in the standings.  Francisco van Avermaete of Argentina on MENDIETTA won the last race to secure the 4th place overall.  Luis Olcese on GUERRERO from Peru finished second overall, a remarkably strong performance and the best ever by a Peruvian team in the J/24 Worlds!  Of special note was the best finish by a Uruguayan team was Pedro Garra on EXTASIS in 9th overall, the best Chilean team was Matias Seguel's team on Team VOLVO in 10th overall.  Also, the top Italian team was Ignazio Bonnanino on SUPERBA in 20th overall and top Australian was Sean Kirkjian on DEATHSTAR in 30th.  Brazil's past J/24 World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz, had to bail from the Worlds for personal reasons, so top Brazilian team was Nelson Horn Ilha on DIFERENCIAL SAILING TEAM in 37th.  Congratulations must go to the top Womens' team (pictured here), an Argentinean crew led by Mariana Crousse on NUBARRON with six women leading the charge into a very respectable 32nd place, a top half finish and beating half the American J/24 teams!  Sailing photo credits- Jorge Cousillas/ El Ojo Nautico.   For more J/24 Worlds sailing information   J/24 Worlds Youtube video- an entertaining view sailing on an Argentine J/24 team.

J/24 Worlds- Sailing Update- 11th HOUR RACING Leading

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- The 2011 J/24 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina started this week with 58 crews from 9 countries.  What is self-evident is the South American teams have learned a thing or two about racing J/24s over the years.  In the early years of the class, the Americans pretty well dominated most of the World Championships.  In recent years, top Europeans and top South American teams have leapt into the top of the leader-board and have managed to give the Americans excellent competition in any venue, regardless of wind and weather conditions.

On the first day of sailing, the host club's PRO from YC Argentino did a magnificent job getting off two good races considering the difficulty of the changing weather conditions.  The first race was to start at 2 pm, but there was only a 4 kt wind, so it had to be delayed. Finally, it started at 3:30 pm, with wind from the East of 6 kt. The winds continued to shift in direction and speed, challenging the skippers (and the anxiety-ridden tacticians) to stay on top of the rapidly shifting scenarios.  It was clear it was to the "locals" liking.  Coincidentally, the winners of both races were Argentinean teams, MENDIETA sailed by Francisco Van Avermaete and LUCA VIVE skippered by Alejo Rigoni.  Nevertheless, sitting at the top of the leader-board was Tim Healey, the current J/24 World Champion.

The second day of sailing proved to be tough again on the skippers trying to master the nasty chop, the current (because they're on the River Plate/ Rio de la Plata) and the even nastier oscillating/ persistent shifts from the East.  Mastering the conditions of the first race of the day (race #3) was yet another South American team, GUERRERO skippered by Luis Olcese from Peru.  The fourth race was won by Tim Healy's Newport, Rhode Island team sailing 11TH HOUR RACING.  Tim and the gang lead the entire race wire-to-wire by fellow American Mike Ingham skippering RELOADED.  Third was A PRUEBA DE BALAS skippered by Juan Grimaldi from Argentina.

At this stage, Tim's 11TH HOUR RACING holds a commanding lead of 20 points over a group of five boats all vying for the balance of the podium with a very consistent record of 3-5-4-1 for 13 pts total.  Francisco's Argentinean team on MENDIETA has a 1-10-12-10 tally for 33 pts, good enough for second.  Luis' Peruvian team on GUERRERO is third two points back with a scoreline of 6-13-1-15 for 35 pts.  Fourth in a tie is Matias Seguel's Chilean team racing VOLVO with a 16-12-3-7 tally for 38 pts and Miguel Saubidet's Argentinean team on FEFE sailing to a 12-3-7-16 also for 38 pts.  Just out of contention and staying in touch with the leaders are J/24 Champions Mike Ingham on RELOADED in 8th and Will Welles on PUMA in 11th.  Mauricio Santa Cruz from Brazil, another J/24 World Champion, is having his fair share of troubles on the first day, taking a Scoring Penalty in the first race and getting an SCP/DSQ in the second race, perhaps digging a hole that may be too deep to crack the top three-- nevertheless, if there was a magician on the race course, Mauricio has been known to make meteoric come-backs!  Watch this space!  For more J/24 Worlds sailing information

J/24 Worlds Preview

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- Considering the J/24 is approaching its 35th birthday, it's still pretty astounding to see both the level of activity and the depth of the competition in the world's largest one-design keelboat class.  Back in the day in 1977 the J/24 really was a "revolution", the "Laser with a lid", the first "sportboat" anyone had ever seen in its size range- a 24 footer that could actually plane!  Remember, back then the "hot" IOR Quarter-tonners all had masthead rigs, three foot booms, monster genoas and 10 foot spinnaker poles! Rod rigging was considered "hi-tech".  Say what? Yes, such IOR beasts were a wonder to behold, downwind with "bloopers" up (anyone know what that is?) they could "swap ends" faster than any other sailboat designs in history, and you didn't even have to steer when that happened-- just hold on for dear life!

Thank goodness, sailboat design has evolved, as have strong one-design classes.  The J/24 led the charge back then and with 5,000+ boats sailing around the world, the J/24 class continues to field very strong events-- a fleet of sixty-one boats from nine countries are sailing the 2011 J/24 Worlds in Buenos Aires, Argentina this coming week.  Contenders include some well-known faces in the class.  Starting with the hosts, Argentina has a strong contingent of 26 boats, including their top sailors like Roberto Authier and the top two from the Pre-Worlds- Francisco Campero and Matias Pereira.  From Australia is one of their top teams, Sean Kirkjian and Simon Cunningham.  Brazil is perhaps leading with its favorite, current J/24 World Champion Mauricio Santa Cruz sailing BRUSCHETTA.  From across the Rio de la Plata (River Plate), third place at the Pre-Worlds was Uruguay's Pedro Garra.  The USA always has a strong team fielded at the J/24 Worlds.  They're led by a very strong team of past World, North American and Midwinters Champions, including Tim Healy on 11TH HOUR RACING from Newport, RI; Mike Ingham from Rochester, NY; Scott Milne on TREMENDOUS SLOUCH from New Orleans, LA; Will Welles on PUMA from Newport, RI; and Keith Whittemore on CINQUECENTO from Seattle, WA. The other countries represented, Chile, Italy, Peru and England all have teams capable of challenging the leaders for the top ten.

Expect the YCA (YC Argentino) to put on a world-class event where the sailors will be treated to excellent race management as well as the famous Argentinean hospitality- what's not to like about Argentina's delicious Malbec red wine varietals and mouth-watering grass-fed beef from the pampas?!  Keep up with your favorite teams by following them on the link below.  For more J/24 Worlds sailing information

J/24 Worlds Argentina Youtube Promo

IF Mayan prophecies come true in 2012, could it be true this might be the last J/24 Worlds on Planet Earth?  Probably not, since even the Mayans themselves didn't' make it-- if they were so smart, why aren't they around today?!  Many sailors are looking forward to the epic 2012 J/24 Open Worlds in Rochester, NY-- the first ever OPEN J/24 Worlds!  Could there be a world-record set for J/24s (or any one-design ISAF keelboat) racing in a World Championship?  Perhaps.  PRO Hank Stuart thinks it will be "no problem, we'll just keep setting more 'mid-line' boats equipped with low-intensity lasers that burn holes in jibs as a simple means of "branding" teams pushing the line too hard."  Ooops.  Don't want too many of those tattoos, some jibs may look like Swiss Cheese! :)  So, for more entertainment value, have a look at this YouTube video for the Argentine J/24 Worlds (it is amusing, to say the least).

J/24 Worlds promo- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5EVfzg-Oq0

  

J/24 South American Champs XXVIII

Rigoni's LUCA Wins Tough Battle
(Puerto del Buceo, Montevideo, Uruguay- Apr 17-23)- The J/24 class had their South American Championship hosted by Yacht Club Uruguayo this past weekend.  With spirited competition from teams in the Buenos Aires and Uruguayan fleets, it was sure to be a tough competition.  After starting out strong Alejoni Rigoni on LUCA from Buenos Aires just managed to hold onto his lead going into the last three races, overcoming the late challenge from Diego Garcia skippering ALFA BETA from the local YC Uruguay club.

The YCU PRO managed to get off nine races over the three days.  The fleet was treated to nice conditions and some challenging races.  Rigoni's LUCA sailed a very consistent series, posting mostly top three finishes, but never winning a race!  Rignoi's 2-2-2-3-2-2-7-6-3 for a total of 16 points (two toss races included) was just one point clear of Garcia's 4-4-3-2-dsq-3-2-1-2 for 17 total points.  Lying third was Mateas Pereira sailing CARRERA from Buenos Aires, winning the most races (4) in the entire fleet. But Pereira's finishes were too inconsistent to overcome the regatta leaders, garnering a 1-5-1-1-1-5-6-5-5 for 19 points.    More J/24 South Americans sailing information  

Argentine J/24 Sailors Leading 29er Worlds!

* At the 29er World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentine J/24 sailors and Opti coaches Pepe Bettini and Fernando Gwozdz are atop the leader board sailing their 29er in spectacular sailing conditions-- 3-6 foot waves blowing 15-25 knots on the Mar del Plata.  When asked about the conditions, Bettini commented that "we had steady winds but a big swell with waves breaking on the top. At the beginning of the downwind legs it was like surfing the Pipeline against pro surfer Kelly Slater! Our PRO Tino Mora did a really good job and we're happy with the days results. We're tied with Tavella and Greggi in points."  For more 29er Worlds info.  Sailing Photos credits- Matias Capizzano.
  

Argentinean J/24 sailor- Fernando Gwozdz Interview

Argentinean J/24 sailor Fernando Gwozdz- Fernando's five-man J/24 team from Buenos Aires was among the competitors in the J/24 North American Championships in Seattle, hoping to land one of their nation's spots in the 2011 Pan-Am Games while encouraging sailors to join them in Argentina for the 2011 J/24 Worlds. The team, three of whose members sailed a J/24 to a second-place finish in the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, sailed well in this year's regatta.  Here's an interview of Fernando just  before the start of the J/24 NA's:

"We think it's going to be pretty hard,"said Fernando Gwozdz, the helmsman, who has finished his degree in business management and currently coaches sailing, mainly 470 sailors, in Argentina. "I am new to the team, but our trimmer has done a few regattas already and knows some of these guys, so we expect the fleet to be pretty competitive." Other members of the team are tactician Sebastian Peri Brusa, who is studying meteorology and sails 49ers, trimmer Gustavo Gonzalez, a builder, owner Sergio Armesto, a lawyer, and bowman Joaquin Duarte, who is studying naval architecture and spends a lot of time in sailboats.

They have nothing but good things to say so far about the sailing venue at Shilshole Bay Marina and on Puget Sound.  "We love it," Gwozdz said. "The setting is beautiful, the mountains are fantastic, and the hospitality is great as well. The people from the club have given us a hand with what we needed so we were impressed in a good way. The facilities are good as well. This club has everything you really need to sail."

Their home club is Yacht Club Argentino, which will host the World Championships for the J/24 class next year. The top four finishers in Seattle will qualify. The Seattle event will produce two qualifiers for the Pan-Am Games.  "Our venue is great, the Rio de la Plata is a great place to sail," Gwozdz said.