Campeonato del Oeste & PIMMS CUP(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- It is the fall in South America and all parts “down under”. In Argentina, that means there are three highly competitive events taking place over very short period of time.
For starters, there is the famous Campeonato del Oeste that takes place in Potrerillos, Mendoza in the far southwestern part of Argentina, at the base of the Andes Mountains in a fresh water reservoir so pure, you can drink it right out of the lake. Then, the second event is the PIMMS CUP hosted by Club Nautico Olivos in Buenos Aires on the Rio de La Plata on its famously choppy muddy brackish waters. The third event is the J/24 South American Championship taking place on yet another gorgeous mountain lake- Lago San Roque- at the base of the Andes Mountain range; the town of Villa Carlos Paz in Cordoba is perhaps more famous for its amazing skiing and training for the USA Olympic Ski Racing team.
For the first event, of what is known as “the Triple Crown” in Argentina, seventeen teams participated from across country; including the Salta, Córdoba, Buenos Aires and Mendoza fleets and some boats from Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Among
the giants of Argentinian sailing that was racing was Matías Pereira
and his crew on CARRERA from Buenos Aires. Last year, he won his fifth
consecutive Argentine J/24 title, a record unbroken in the history of
the J/24 class for Argentina. Perrera’s crew included Guillermo
Bellinotto, Juan Ignacio Pereyra and Andrés Guerra, also winners of the
Gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Hosting the event was the Mendocina Windsurf Association (AMW). Juan Barquero, President of the AMW, said: “As part of the organization for the J/24 Potrerillos regatta, this was an important step for us; we want to continue supporting any sailing and boating activity on this magnificent lake.”
Winning the event was Matias Pereira’s CARRERA with a record of 2-4-1-4-4–7-4-2 for 22 pts net in nine races. Just three points back was Ezequil Despontin’s INDIGO with a 1-7-7-1-1-4-13-3-1 for 25 pts net. Then, securing the final spot on the podium was Pablo Despontin’s CAMBURY with a 4-5-2-2-3-6-1-7-10 for 30 pts net.
In Spanish are two articles from the Los Andes Newspaper in Mendoza
Intro- http://losandes.com.ar/article/view?slug=yachting-los-gigantes-a-la-caza-del-viento
Day one- http://losandes.com.ar/article/yachting-los-gigantes-regresaron-a-potrerillos
For
the PIMMS CUP, there were just eight entries due to the fact that many
teams trailered their best boats to Potrerillos, then north to Villa
Carlos Paz for the J/24 South American Championship.Nevertheless, many top teams borrowed/ chartered boats from their own fleet so that they could sail locally in Buenos Aires. Winning the PIMMS CUP was the HAIK/ THOMPSON REUTERS team skippered by Rodrigo Benedeto with a 3-1-1-2-1 tally for 5 pts net. Second was Hernan & Nico Cubria’s MENDIETA with a 1-2-3-3-DNC for 9 pts. Then, taking the bronze was Guille Aporszegui’s SHARK with a 2-3-6-5-3 scoreline for 13 pts net.
As everyone anticipated, the social gathering on Saturday, as is tradition, was a smashing success; it lasted until 0400 hrs Sunday morning!! Thank you Ken Johnson the PRO, thanks to Club Nautico Olivos!
The 2018 South American J/24 Championship starts March 28, 2018 in Villa Carlos Paz, Cordoba, with racing taking place on Lago San Roque. Learn more about it here. For more Argentina J/24 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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