Argentinean Rossi and SHARK Team Win
(Costa Del Sol, Brazil)- The Argentine team, led by Alejandro Rossi, won the South American Class J24 which ended on Saturday in South Sailboat In rank he was vice commander Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. And the Uruguayan Diego Garcia, who began leading the competition, finished third. The three final races were very exciting with heated competition among the top five in the fleet; in fact nearly full blown match racing between the current J/24 World Champion and the ultimate race winner.
When crossing in 3rd place at the finish line of the last race, the crew of the boat SHARK celebrated their victory nearly shouting themselves hoarse. Skipper Alejandro Rossi, 34, had won for the first time the South American title after sailing for fifteen years in the J/24 class. "The Brazilian, Mauritius Santa Cruz, offered tough competition on the race course, it was important to sail with great speed and be sensitive to changes in the wind. Santa Cruz is three times J/24 World Champion, so we expected a tough battle," said Alejandro. Another element of difficulty was the weather, pointed out Mr. Rossi. "The wind streaks were complicated, with very fickle wind, both in direction and intensity and with a lot of rain."The Mauritius Rio Santa Cruz team from Brazil sailed better in the last few races, but it was not enough for the title. Mauritius regretted having started the racing in bad form on the first day. "We lacked a bit of calmness and focus in the beginning. I sailed with a new crew. Sailing as a team is very important and we learned fast. All who were with me here are excellent," said the current J/24 World Champion. Santa Cruz said his team was Andre "Cheek" Fonseca, Marcos Grael, Georgia Roberts and Frederick Sidou.
Finishing third not too far off the pace from the two leaders, Rossi and Santa Cruz, was Uruguayan Diego Garcia, finishing with 26 points.
After the bad weather during the week, forcing cancellation of racing on Thursday, conditions were favorable for good sailing the last few days. The wind in Guaíba was east, with an average wind speed of 12 knots. This meant everyone was fast, so you had to sail nearly perfectly to maintain lanes and get the right wind shifts.
Captain of the Brazilian J/24 Class, Cláudio Ruschel said he was pleasantly surprised with the fleet turnout-- "We have a promising future", he says. Ruschel was fifth in this year's J/24 South American Championship.
The J/24 South Americans sailed nine races from Wednesday until Saturday with a total participation of fourteen boats from Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Uruguay. The 2010 edition will be held from 15 to 20 November in La Punta, Callao, Lima, Peru. For regatta, sailing, information.