(Algarrobo, Chile)- One-design sailing continues to grow quite
dramatically in the Southern Hemisphere. It's a result of the efforts
of numerous sailors and sailing clubs in the region that see sailing as a
family activity. In general, the local sailing community continues to
grow and foster development both at the beginner levels in Optimist
sailing as well as in more advanced levels of offshore keelboats.A testimonial to that development evolution is the growth of the J/105 fleet in Chile over the last two years. There is no question the Chileans have some magnificent sailing areas both on the Pacific Ocean as well as in the many bays and island archipelagos in the southern parts of their gorgeous country.
With
nineteen boats on the starting line, the 2012 Chilean J/105 Nationals
were sailed this weekend in a wide variety of conditions that challenged
the sailors during the six races sailed. On the first day, the J/105
teams experienced nice steady 10-12 kts Southwest winds, enabling the
PRO to run three races. On Sunday, the wind shifted into the Northwest
and got lighter during the day with winds ranging from 5-10 kts, the
fleet again enjoyed three good races.Most of the boats sailing had family crew onboard, including lots of women and kids as crew. In fact, several boats had husband/wife combinations and a few even "engaged couples"! The camaraderie amongst the sailors was evident as all had a lot of fun both on and off the water.
The racing was very very close for the fleet with both 1st and 2nd and 3rd and 4th determined by tie-breakers! Finishing first was TRICALMA sailed by Daniel Gonzalez, the J/105 Chile Class President. Second was RECLUTA III sailed by Miguel Perez, also with 15 pts. Third on the podium was BIG BOOTY s
ailed
by Miguel Salas and losing the tie-breaker at 17 pts was Patricio
Seguel's GRAND SLAM, taking 4th overall. Rounding out the top five was
Sergio Baesa's family team with 21 pts-- in fact they had perhaps the
most family on one boat, Sergio Baesa father & son, Sergio Jr's
wife, daughter and two friends! Their hull #173 was the first J/105
brought into Chile fifteen years ago! Today, there are now 24 J/105s in
Chile, most in the Algarrobo/Valparaiso sailing harbors.The next event for the J/105 Chile fleet is the "Bio Bio Circuit" at the end of January 2013. For those of you familiar with the disastrous earthquake/tsunami that hit almost 3 years ago on Feb 27 2010, they will be sailing at "Zone Zero", the waters over the epicenter of that massive earthquake! Oh, and here's the photo of the the sneak attack by the J/70 on the 105 fleet loaded with pirates!
