(Valle de Bravo, Mexico)- After many months waiting for the first J/70s
to arrive in Valle de Bravo, a total of thirteen J/70s participated in
their first major regatta- J/70 Nacionales de Mexico — on the famous
Valle de Bravo lake better known for having more than one hundred J/24s!Amongst the fleet were several notable teams, including Ignacio and Alvaro Perez that brought their boats from Puerto Vallarta for the first official National Championship. The favorite to win was FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO skippered by Julian Fernandez who just finished 12th at the North American Championship a couple of months ago. Furthermore, some of the best Mexican sailors from different classes were amongst the teams as both skippers and crews. Chris Snow was calling tactics for Sean O'Keefe who brought his J/70 from San Diego to have it in Valle de Bravo for the winter!
Over the two day weekend, the fleet enjoyed seven races in a wide range of conditions from 6 to 12 knots which gave everyone a good feeling for their new boats. First place was taken by Fernandez’s FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO, followed in second place by PELIGROSO’s owner Diego Berho and skipper Yon Belausteguigoitia. Third place went to the team led by Alvaro Perez, who showed that experience and time on the boat counts a lot! Fourth was Sean O’Keefe and Chris Snow and rounding out the top five was Gerardo Lozano.
The J/70 class in Mexico had a perfect start to what looks to be the next big one-design keelboat in Mexico! What was great to see in the Nationals was that five boats (nearly half the fleet) won races and seven of the thirteen boats all posted at least one or more top three finishes! That’s healthy for the Mexican fleet, in fact a reflection of what has been seen in other competitive J/70 fleets across the world! Next year the national circuit will include sailing in Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco and Cancun. It should be a lot of fun as the owners will sail their new boats in all kinds of conditions and, hopefully, against twenty or more boats! For more J/70 Mexico one-design class sailing information
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