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

PROZAK Wins Rolex Ilhabela

(Ilhabela, Brazil)- The 39th edition of the largest ocean sailing event in Latin America, Rolex Ilhabela Sailing Week, saw some great duels unfold on the waters of the Sao Sebastiao Channel off YC Ilhabela, host for the event.  The sailors were treated to an incredibly wide range of conditions, what is now becoming a routine for sailors in this event.  Conditions ranged from light to heavy and sunny with very shifty winds funneling around the island, to massive rain squalls and stormy conditions forcing postponements back to the final day with gorgeous 12-14 kts wind enabling all classes to get in two races out on the Sao Sebastiao Channel.

In ORC 700, the J/24 PROZAK sailed by Marcio Finamore) had a tough battle with the "Argentine Sea & Sailing".  However, after seven races with one discard, Marcio's PROZAK crew amassed a 1-2-4-1-1-4-2 for 11 pts to crush a fleet of more modern boats like the Mastracchio 24.5s and Skipper 21s.

Of note, other renown Brazilian J/24 sailors from the past were winning skippers or tacticians in other divisions.  Eduardo de Sousa Ramos, past Brazilian National J/24 champ won the Soto 40 class on his boat PAJERO while J/24 Pan-American champion Mario Buckup was responsible for the tactics to become the top 30 Class boat.  Said Mario, "We are very happy. Winning the Rolex Ilhabela Sailing Week is important for all Brazilian sailors. The races are always very close, and requires full attention on the race course."  For more Rolex Ilhabela sailing information

J/24s Sailing Rolex Ilhabela Week

(Ilhabela, Brazil)- Some J/24 teams are looking forward to yet another spectacular week sailing in one of the world's more beautiful and exotic islands off the coast of Brazil.  The Rolex Ilhabela Sailing Week is considered the largest in Latin America and the numbers prove it. There are 150 boats between the major classes of ocean and more than 1,400 sailors from three countries - Brazil, Chile and Argentina - and nine states - Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Parana, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Brasilia, Minas Gerais and Bahia.

Hosted by YC Ilhabela, the teams start the event off with their biggest challenge, a race of 55nm on a spectacular route back and forth to the island of Alcatrazes. The race for Eldorado Alcatrazes will be played with winds ranging from 8 to 25 knots towards the south and predominantly temperature below 20 degrees C, i.e. the boats competing in the largest ocean sailing competition in Latin America will have rough seas and medium to strong wind.  "The boats will go upwind to Alcatrazes. This makes sailing more difficult. The race is always a different adventure, since most conditions are not repeated year to year. Every sailor who runs the race gains from that experience," said meteorologist John Hackerott.

Certain to be factors in the ORC 700 Class will be two well-sailed J/24s with top Brazilian teams leading the charge.  The J/24 CALA will be sailed by Gabriel Coussilas and J/24 PROZAK will be skippered by Marcio Finamore.  For more Rolex Ilhabela sailing information

J Sailors Leading Volvo Ocean Race- Leg 5

(Itajai, Brazil)- The Volvo Ocean Race is a game of logistics, luck, seamanship and smarts.  Gotta have it all to win and, like in one-design racing, those who make the least mistakes wins.  Such a maxim is applying in a huge way to the 2011-2012 edition of the VOR.  So far, a bunch of guys who've sailed one-design J/80s in their hometowns in Spain, including skipper Iker Martinez, are winning sailing their blue-colored beauty called TELEFONICA.  Another contender happens to be another one-design champion, multi-J/24 World Champ Ken Read skippering the red & black "octo-pussy" called PUMA Mar Mastro.  Incredibly, these two teams sailed an epic, mind-blowing fifth leg from Auckland, New Zealand to Itajai, Brazil-- by far the toughest sailing leg in the whole event.  A down-to-the-wire finish with classic one-design boat-to-boat tactics (keep yourself between your competitors and the mark!) saw Ken's PUMA Mar Mostro picking up their first leg win of the race, by just ten minutes elapsed time over Iker's TELEFONICA!

"Unbelievable!", reported Kenny. "Nobody quit and the atmosphere on the boat was really cool and everybody was ready to tackle the task at hand. I'm very proud of this team. It's a great feeling." Kenny further went on to say, "I don't remember when I wrote my last blog. I don't really remember when I slept last. We started rationing food days ago and had our last meal this am. And I am really, really happy.

This has been an epic leg. Like nothing any of us in the sailing world has ever seen. It seems like every leg we come in and say, "This was the toughest leg ever." But, this time we mean it. This was the toughest leg ever.

Going around Cape Horn was amazing. Our duel with the incredibly unlucky Groupama. The remarkable fortune of Telefonica to get the weather window they did in order to eat up a 450 mile gap in the last 2,000 miles. And to be able to hold them off not once, but twice, drifting to the finish when they closed the gap to within 100 yards. Just unreal.

I am very proud of the boat building team (New England Boatworks), the shore team and all the engineers and designers that put this boat together. Your boat made it folks. It is in great shape and lord only knows we put her through the ringer. The sailing team salutes you all.

And to the sailing team who hung in there through thick and thin, amazing work. As safe as we can be. All in great spirits. And we get to do it all over again in two weeks.

This is a leg and a trip that I will remember forever. Probably my last foray into the Southern Ocean. An adventure within an adventure you might call it. Glad this one is behind us and the "friendly" confines of the Atlantic Ocean await."  We wish Kenny and the PUMA Mar Mastro boys "Fair winds and following seas" on the next leg.  And, as a fellow J sailor, we also wish the best to Iker and his TELEFONICA 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 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