South American Championships … last two days…

First start today was around 10:30 and with light winds around 10-13 knots it was a tricky course with some big shifts.

First race Ross rounded the upwind mark in first followed by Gonzalo, the down wind was tricky, as some sailors got the right shifts and gust and made a lot of positions. On the down wind mark, I manage to pass Gonzalo as he had to jibe near the mark to make it. On the upwind, Ross kept going all the way close to shore and I followed him, Gonzalo and Paulao and Elizeu Vieira, decided to tack early. Ross rounded the second upwind in first and I followed him. Gonzalo, Elizeu and Paulao, had lost a bit by not going close to shore, but as Ross and I looked back, Gonzalo and Elizeu where on a Gust and coming down fast, Paulao had risked jibing and go to the other side of the course.

Ross Jibed half way and I followed him, suddenly the wind went really light and I stopped planning, to my desperation, Gonzalo and Elizeu got wind on the outside and by the time they jibed, they were ahead of me. Ross managed to get some wind and rounded the bottom mark in firt, Gonzalo came second followed by Paulao and Elizeu.

Going to the finish line, Ross crossed it in first followed by Gonzalo, Elizeu and I, who just manage to get passed Paulao who finished in 5th.

Second Race was a favored Port tack start and about 50% of the fleet went Port. On the start, Ross had a crash in Port and Catapulted right next to me. Unfortunately Ross mast hit one sailor really bad in the head and he ended up going to Hospital after fainting… he is ok now. By the time I manage to get through the start I could see, Gonzalo way ahead rounding in first followed by Paulao. I rounded somewhere in the 20th and Ross who had recovered from his crash a bit behind. On the downwind, Dulter Manhaes, BRA 39 who is leading the youth, got a incredible gust and was going deeper than anyone. Gonzalo went around the down wind mark in first followed by Dulter. In the upwind mark, it was Gonzalo and Duler. On the down wind Ross had a good come back and manage to sneak in second across the finish line, followed by Dulter in third, I in 4th and Paulao in 5th.

Last race was a starboard start for everyone, Gonzalo rounding in first followed closely by Ross and Mathias Pinheiro BRA 5. On the downwind I manage to sneak to second behind Gonzalo. On the upwind I thought I was going to rounde in first as Gonzalo had to double tack to make the mark, but I didn’t make it by 1 meter and had to double tack as well. On the downwind Gonzalo and I decided to go out while Ross who was in 3rd jibed and headed inside. Ross’s move paid off and he gained a lot of ground and just rounded the downwind behind Gonzalo who finished first, ross second and Myself in 3rd.

The last day

After 3 racing days the last day was reserved for the long distance race around the island.

A total of the 15 competitors participated in the long distance.

The start was right next to the race site near the brake water. I had a pretty good start and manage to clear the moorings ropes that where on the bay, Gonzalo just manage to jump two of the ropes while some sailors like paulao had some bad luck and catapulted on the ropes.

By the first mark downwind, I was in first and Gonzalo very close behind followed by Ross, from there we went to another mark to clear the protected area from the park and soon we started the upwind to make it around the tip of the island. Gonzalo and I engaged in a match racing tacking up wind to clear the point. Ross decided to go really close to the tip of the island and that paid off. As we cleared the tip to go to an outside reef that was a mandatory mark, Ross was leading with Gonza in second, followed by myself and Paulao who had a good recover after his crash.

From the tip of the island to this outside reef it was about 2 miles in open seas that was really hard to sail since the swell that hit the island and bounced back made it look like a boiling pot. As we cleared the reef and started the reach to the other end of the island (about 5 miles) it got pretty hard to control the board in the boiling ocean. Ross started the down wind in first with Gonza, I and Paulao. I am not sure who was after that. Once we cleared a bit of the boiling water, it became easier and fun surfing down these almost mast high swells.

As we started getting close to the tip of the island, Gonzalo that was about 50 meters ahead of me, decided to jibe with Ross that had another 50 meters lead and go close to the coast. I decided to go further out and clear the tip of the island, the wind got light in the outside and I ended up falling back from Gonza and Ross.

Rounding the tip was the tricky part since the wind is really light near the shore because of the mountains. Gonzalo manage to get a gust and was gone, Ross stopped plaining and I went a bit bellow him and stopped as well a little bit ahead of him. From this tip of the island to the finish it was an upwind of about 5 to 6 miles. As Ross and I got plaining we could see Paulao arriving in the windless hole with Nelsinho de Oliveira. Ross and I crossed each other several times in the upwind and then about 2 miles to go, he opened a gap between us. Gonzalo who administrated his lead perfectly, went across the finish line to take the win and complete the race in 1:37, Ross finished second about 4 minutes behind followed by myself about 1 minute behind him and Paulao after that in fourth also a few minutes behind.

Two guys broke down on the race, Steve USA 4 and Elizeu viera the master champion. There was a lot of rescue boats, but with all the waves it’s hard to spot someone who brakes, so it was asked that if someone broke down, the sailor closest to them should stop and stay near until the rescue came and that is what happened. Edwar Andres Castillo from Colombia (C1111) showed great sportsmanship and stayed next to both sailors that broke down and got a sportsmanship award for his true sportsman spirit.

To finalize, a special thanks to Marcelo and Homero Lacerda, the two brothers that organized an incredible event and one of the biggest South American ever.

Long Distance Result

1. Gonzalo Costa

2. Ross Williams

3. Wilhelm Schurmann

4. Paulao dos Reis

5. Nelsinho Oliveira

6. Rodrigo Costa

I am not sure of the other results.

For fotos please go to www.upwind.com.br