Rossi Crowned J/70 South American Champion!

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The 2019 J/70 South American Championship was hosted by Yacht Club Punta del Este and was sailed off the beautiful seaside city of Punta del Este, Uruguay. Blessed with big waves, big breeze most days, and a picturesque coastline, the fleet of thirty-two entries from Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Italy enjoyed fierce competition over the course of eleven races. The battle for the podium spots went down to the wire in the final race and, not surprisingly, two of the protagonists included the dynamic, talented Rossi family from Italy- both past European J/70 Champions. The top three spots on the podium saw a spread of only one point after the scores were tallied, ten races counting with one discard.


In the end, it was "girl power" that ascended to the top of the standings, with Ms. Claudia Rossi's Italian team on PETITE TERRIBLE surviving the last race to be crowned the "open" J/70 South American Champion on a tie-breaker at 48 pts each.  Losing that tie-breaker was Argentinian Guillermo Parada on ARG 1270. Just one point back in the bronze medal position was Claudia's father- Alberto Rossi- making the podium a family affair with his Italian team on ENFANTE TERRIBLE.


As a result, it was Argentina's Parada that was declared the J/70 South American Champion as the top team from the continent. The second South American team was Renato Cunha's Brazilian crew on NEGRONI with 60 pts, and the third South American team was Francesco Avermaete’s SI QUERIDA.


The winner of the Corinthians Division also happened to be Avermaete’s Argentinian crew on SI QUERIDA, with Guillermo Amondo's Argentinian crew on BEBETO taking the silver, and Diego Garcia's Uruguayan crew on CHAPULIN garnering the bronze medal.  For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

Garcia Crowned ROLEX Circuito Atlantico Sur J/70 Champion

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The 2018 edition of the South Atlantic Rolex Circuit was held this past weekend, an event organized by the Yacht Club Argentino, the Olivos Yacht Club, the Punta del Este Yacht Club and the Uruguayan Yacht Club and sponsored by the prestigious firm Rolex.

Twenty of the exciting J/70 sportboats participated in the three-day event and within the ORC Club class were J/24s and a J/92. The teams came from Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina.

Day One
Racing began on Monday, January 15th for the enthusiastic fleet of J/70s.  Two races were held in a southerly 18 kts breeze.  Pedro Garra’s PLAN B led the fleet at the end of the day with a 2-1 for 3 pts. They were followed by Francisco Van Aermaete’s SI QUERIDA with a 1-5 for 6 pts.  Completing the podium after the first day was Ricardo Umpierre’s XTREME 4U with a 3-3 for 6 pts.

Day Two
For the second day of racing, the J/70 sailors were treated to a radiant sun and with ESE winds that grew from 12 to 17 knots. The J/70s managed to complete three more races and the “planing mode” conditions created a dramatic turnover in the standings.

As a result, it was Diego Garcia’s CHAPULIN from YC Punta del Este that flew up the standings and won the regatta with 17 total points. Holding their own was SI QUERIDA, holding on for the silver with 20 pts total.  However, it was Pedro Garra’s PLAN B that dropped off the pace a bit and survived to get the bronze to round out the podium.  The balance of the top five included Aldo Centanaro’s PURA JODA in 4th with 38 pts and in fifth place was Juan Pablo Fregonese’s BUTANTAN with 41 pts (of note- he was top dog in a three-way tie count-back scenario with Ricardo Umpierre’s XTREME 4U and Sebastian Rana’s BANQUITOS.

Grand finale- Vuelte (Round) Gorriti Island Race
In this fun, classic race that closes out the Rolex Circuito Atlantico Sur 2018, the “round island” race of Gorriti is enjoyed by all.  In the J/70s, winning was Fregonese’s BUTANTAN with Rana’s BANQUITOS in 2nd, Centanaro’s PURA JODA in 3rd, Garra’s PLAN B 4th and Nicolas Goulu’s CHISPITA in 5th place.

Winning ORC B Class was Marcelo Alzola’s J/24 BLUECROSS & BLUESHIELD.  Sitting in 5th position was Guani/ Arocena’s J/92 JUPITER.  Follow the Rolex Circuito Atlantico Sur on Facebook here   For more Rolex Circuito Atlantico Sur sailing information and results  Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CACIQUE Dominates PIMMS Cup

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)- In mid-December, the Club Nautico Olivos just north of Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted the COPA PIMMS on the Rio de la Plata for the J/24 class.  The weather was not the best as only three races could be held over the two-day event for the nine-boat J/24 fleet.

Club Nautico Olivos hosts the Pimms Cup as their traditional closing of the racing season. They provide a very, very relaxed atmosphere after Saturday's racing. The sailors have a great time, there is lots of camaraderie, music, good food and abundant drink based on the classic English liquor with soda, strawberries, and mint.  The “bartender” is famous for this concoction, and many sailors got the complete recipe from Ken Johnson! Finally, in a simple ceremony, after the regattas on Sunday, the CNO organizes a very nice award ceremony to end the 2017 regatta season.

The winner of the 2017 COPA PIMMS was Santiago Doval’s crew on CACIQUE with the unassailable record of three bullets for 3 pts total! However, behind him the standings were about as clear as the muddy waters of the Rio Plata! And, it was a seesaw battle until the very end.  Winning the fight was Nicolas Cubria’s RINA ALAGUA with a consistent 4-3-3 tally for 10 pts.  Only one point back was Andres Guerra’s CARRERA with a 2-5-4 record for 11 pts.  Rounding out the top five was Rodrigo Benedetto’s HAIK-THOMSON REUTERS with 13 pts to take 4th place and lying in 5th position was Gonzalo Nandin’s NOCTURNO with 17 pts.  For more Argentina J/24 Class sailing information Add to Flipboard Magazine.

TSUNAMI Wins Chilean J/70 Regatta Qualifier

(Algarrobo, Chile)- On September 23rd and 24th weekend, the last qualifying regatta for the 2017 J/70 South American Championship took place at Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico.  Eighteen Chilean teams participated in the racing, the fleet was treated to light to medium winds all weekend from the southwest.

In the relatively cold weather, the crews had to choose to go right and get slightly more breeze, or go left into the bay and get a more geographical wind shift that would help at the windward mark.

After just four windward-leeward races were sailed, the winners were the team on TSUNAMI, consisting of the Ducasse family- four brothers (Andrés, Ignacio, Coco, Rodrigo) and their father Andrés Ducasse. Andrés Jr and Cocó (Francisco) represented Chile in the last Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 470 class.

Taking second was WINDMADE, sailed by Juan Reid, his wife Francisca, Alvaro, Sebastián and Mati.

Third place went to Pablo Amunátegui and Rodrigo Guzman onboard BLACK JACK with Tomás Guzman Jr, Pipe and Pablo Herman. Both brothers are coming from the 49er and Lightning class.

In addition to the top three boats, the J/70 class in Chile will other sailors participating in the J/70 South Americans, like Per Von Appen (former J/24 sailor), Matías Seguel (former J/24 and Laser sailor), Alejandro Pérez (former Optimist and Lightning sailor), Rodrigo Zuazola (former J/24 and Lightning sailor), Felipe Robles (former Lightning sailor), and Vernon Robert (ex-J24 sailor).

All of these crews will be participating from the 26th to 30th of October for the second J/70 South American Championship.  The twenty local boats that have qualified will welcome five teams from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay- for a total of twenty-five teams.  Thirteen races are programmed for the J/70 South American in Algarrobo. Add to Flipboard Magazine.

CARRERA Crowned J/24 South American Champions

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The 2017 J/24 South American Championship was hosted by the extraordinary club  members at the Yacht Club Punta del Este on the gorgeous “Latin American Riviera” known simply as “Punta”.  Surrounded by spectacular high-rises, even more spectacular beaches, and an amazing harbor/bay to race around, the eighteen teams from three countries- Argentina (11), Peru (2) and Uruguay (5)- experienced near champagne conditions for the entire regatta.

After ten races, there was no question the class act of the regatta was the Argentinean crew on CARRERA, led by skipper Matias Pereira and crew of A Guerra, J Bellinotto, E Losano and G Bellinito.  Winning 4 of 10 races ultimately led to a winning total of 24 pts.

The first day of sailing the regatta was epic.  Three races in 18-23 kts of breeze, big waves and lots of sun!  The locals from Uruguay were tough in these conditions.  Local hotshot Pedro Garra and his PANTERA crew (M Garcia, I Guichef, M Leite, A Carlucio) were first with just 4 pts, having posted a 2-1-1 on day one.  They were followed by Matias Pereira on CARRERA with 6 pts and Harry Giura on LUCA (with crew of D Guani, G Arocena, I Arocena, M Pineyro) with a 3-5-4 for 12 pts.  Fourth was the top Peruvian boat, Javier Arribas’ MONARCA (with crew of J Gavino, A Lafosse, M Markovinovic, D Mendoza) with 17 pts.

The second day of racing on Friday brought beautiful, electrifying racing.  The breeze subsided to 12-15 kts with much less swell, with all teams returning to using their 150% genoas.  After a one-hour postponement, the racing started in a southerly breeze that slowly shifted left to the southeast.  Three more races were run, with the course clearly favoring going to the coastline off to the left and catching the breeze lines filling in off the beach.  It was a great day of sailing for Sergio Pendola’s crew on CACIQUE (C Dagusti, J Lupo, M Santangelo, L Luzzi), posting a blistering pace of 2-4-1 to surge up into the top of the leaderboard and win “Boat of the Day”.   Overall, Garra’s PANTERA was still winning with Pereira’s CARRERA following closely behind.

On Saturday, the third day of racing dawned with a 16 kts wind out of the north that little by little started to weaken and get increasingly shift.  Fortunately, the YCPE PRO Bernie Knuppel managed to knock out another three races, much to the delight of the fleet.  With the ability to apply a discard after six races, the leadership board has changed significantly.  Now, CARRERA was leading followed by Garra’s PANTERA.

For the finale on Sunday, it was a nearly anti-climactic scenario.  By winning the final race, CARRERA walked off with the Championship.  Taking second was Garra’s PANTERA followed by Pendola’s CACIQUE in third.  Rounding out the top five, it was Rodrigo Benedetto’s HAIK- THOMPSON REUTERS team that took 4th place with Marcelo Alzola’s BLUECROSS & BLUESHIELD team placed 5th.

The 2016 South American Champion, Matias Pereira, adds to his laurels that of Pan American Champion and Argentinean Champion 2016!! This result gives Pereira an automatic place to participate in the 2017 J/24 World Championship in Canada.   For more J/24 South American Championship sailing information

Duarte Crowned J/70 South American Champion!

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- With the advent of a new J/70 builder in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the momentum for the class continues to grow across South America.  Building on that enthusiasm, the YC Punta del Este in Uruguay hosted the inaugural J/70 South American Championship in the spectacular waters off the famous resort- known as the “Riviera” of Latin America.

Ten boats from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay participated in the five race series. It was clear the Brazilian team BRA 757, led by Rodrigo Duarte, was comfortable in the local wind and sea conditions, posting an unassailable record of 4 1sts and a 3rd for a commanding win.  Not far off their pace was the top Uruguayan team URU 780, skippered by Aldo Centanaro, posting a very consistent 2-3-4-1-3 for 13 pts to easily take the silver.

However, who was going to fill out the final bronze position on the podium was another story altogether! Remarkably enough, six teams were in contention going into the last race separated by just 4 pts!!  After the furious thrash around the race track, the winner of that battle was URU 75 sailed by Sebastian Rana on a tie-breaker over URU 759 skippered by Matias Garcia on 28 pts each.  And, only one point back, the balance of the top five was also settled by a tie-breaker; with URU 779 skippered by Philippe Umpierre taking the 5th spot over URU 777 helmed by Felix Leborgne at 29 pts each!  For more Uruguay J/70 fleet sailing information

J/24 South Americans Announcement

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The Yacht Club Punta del Este, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, will be hosting the 2016 J/24 South American Championship from December 6th to 11th on the gorgeous waters at the opening of the Rio de la Plata.  The sailors often experience surging south Atlantic swells born by gales swirling in the Roaring Forties not that far south.  As one of South America’s most famous “playgrounds” for the rich and famous, it is also a fun beach community and the YC Punta del Este does a wonderful job of rolling out the red carpet for the J/24 class, now sailing in Uruguay for over 30 years!

According to Fleet Captain Pedro Garra from Montevideo, “this will be yet another exciting Championship for J/24s in South America.  We have commitments for at least twenty-two boats that are coming from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Perú and Uruguay!”   For more J/24 South American Championship sailing information

SI QUERIDA Crowned 1st J/70 South American Champion

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The YC Punta del Este was host for the first ever J/70 South American Championships.  The venue could not have been more beautiful than the setting of YCPE sitting out on the end of a prominent peninsula that thrusts out into the intersection of the Rio de La Plata and the ferocious southern Atlantic Ocean.  Encircled by miles of sandy beaches, tall pines and a scene reminiscent of the famous French Riviera, the eleven J/70 teams in attendance from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay were treated to excellent race management from PRO Bernd Knuppel.

After completing seven races, the SI QUERIDA crew of Francisco Van Avermact, Geronimo Galvan, Carlos Lacchin and Rafael De Martis from Argentina were crowned the first J/70 South American Champions.  The team sailed a very consistent series and avoided making big mistakes, counting races of 3-2-2-1-4-1-1 for 10 pts net after throwout.

By winning the J/70 Chilean National Championship, the valuable experience gained by Per Von Appen’s Chilean crew on BLACK SAILS permitted them to also sail fast and consistently to take the silver.  Von Appen’s crew of Felipe Robles, Juan Sanches and Agustin Herrera started off fast then wavered a little towards the end, but nevertheless compiled an enviable 2-1-1-4-9-4 record for 15 pts net.

The bronze went to Diego Garcia’s CHAPULIN from Montevideo, Uruguay, the top local boat.  In fact, Garcia and the Centanaro family both sailed in the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week two weeks earlier to gain more knowledge on how to sail better against the top American, Italian and Mexican J/70 teams.  That practice certainly helped the CHAPULIN team of Garcia and crew of Martin Dovat, Max Schewe, and Diego Massironi not only win two races in the regatta, but also compile a record of 1-5-7-10-1-2 for 20 pts net!

The balance of the top five included past J/24 South American Champion and Uruguay J/24 Champion, Pedro Garra, sailing PLAN B to fourth place with 22 pts net and in fifth place was Sebastian Rana’s DON ERNESTO with 33 pts net.

Rana’s DON ERNESTO from Uruguay and crew of Chris Schewe, Alex Schewe and Mauricio Tejera won the Corinthians Division.  Second Corinthian team was the Centenaro family (Aldo, Marco, Aldo Jr) and Camilla Ruiz sailing PURA JODA.  Third in the Corinthians was EXTREME 4U sailed by Phillip & Ricardo Umpierre, Luis Purichelli and Santiago Gari.  For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information

J/70 South American Championship Preview

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The first J/70 South American Championship, sailing from March 22-27, is about to get underway at YC Punta del Este off the beautiful isthmus known as the “Cote d’Azur” of South America- Punta del Este.  Resplendent with its miles of gorgeous beaches and deep cobalt blue waters offshore, it’s hard not be amazed by the raw natural beauty of the southernmost point of Uruguay jutting out into the ferocious waters of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Three countries will be represented in this inaugural championship- Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.  The hosts will be fielding ten boats, including the former J/24 South American Champion- Pedro Garra, along with Alejo Morales, Philipp Umpierre, Sebastián Raña, Diego García and Aldo Centanaro (both of whom recently sailed the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week), Felix Leborgne, Harry Giuria, and Juan Grunwaldt.

The visiting crews include the recent Chilean J/70 National Champion- Per Von Appen, himself a leading J/24 sailor for years in the South American circuit.  And, from Argentina is Francisco Van Avermaete from Buenos Aires and YC Argentino.

The teams are looking forward to a windy weekend of racing.  Friday’s forecast shows a classic “roaring 40’s” type low blasting through in the morning with winds shifting rapidly from the north at 15-30 kts and swinging to the SSE at 20-25 kts, it should be an exciting start to the regatta!  Then, Saturday’s and Sunday’s sailing looks to be a bit more comfortable, with winds settling in from the SSE at 15-20 kts and gradually backing into the easterly quadrants Sunday at 14-18 kts.   Please check the event at J/70 Uruguay Facebook page.   For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information

Uruguay’s Garra Victorious @ J/24 South Americans

(Porto Alegre, Brazil)- Brazil's neighbors were the best in the South American J24 Class Championship which ended on Sunday in Porto Alegre, hosted by Veleiros Do Sul YC.  The continental title went to the Uruguayan EXTASIS Sailing Team, skippered by Pedro Garra from YC Punta del Este.  Second overall went to the Argentine Nicolas Cubria sailing WORKNET and third went to Brazil’s C’EST LA VIE Sailing Team, skippered by Henrique Dias from the host club- Veleiros do Sul YC.

The regatta had seven races for the dozen teams competing for the South American title. The outcome of the regatta came down to the last leg of the last race!  It was a fight to the finish between EXTASIS and WORKNET. But, it was the Uruguayan EXTASIS crew of Pedro Garra, Juan Real de Azúa, Ivan Guicheff, Alejandro Carluccio and Matias Garcia that won the finale.

"That was our first South American J/24 title, after having competed in three consecutive editions. The championship was spectacular with good racing and a lot of wind. Our adversaries, like Nicolas Cubria from Argentina, sailed very well and we knew it would be a tough race," said Pedro Garra, who in October also won the Buenos Aires Sailing Week and also races in the J/70 class.  Garra said the Brazilian C’EST LA VIE crew sailed well, “they were in the running with us for most of the regatta.”

The skipper of C’EST LA VIE, Henrique Dias, said, “unfortunately, we had a rough time in the last race, but overall it was a fun regatta! We finished third, which is a good position for us.” Dias’ team included Vilnei Goldmeier, Alexis Knebel, and Frederick Sidou (Marilia Bassoa and Michele Oliveira swapped each day).   Sailing photo credits- Ricardo Pedebos/ Veleiros do Sul  For more J/24 South Americans sailing information

2016 J/70 South Americans Announcement

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The YC Punta del Este is proud to announce they are hosting the inaugural J/70 South American Championship from the 22nd to 27th of March, 2016 in Punta del Este, Uruguay!  The J/70 fleet has been growing rapidly in South America, with nearly fifty boats distributed between Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia.  The YCPE expects to have over twenty boats since the country is easily accessible, even over the mighty Andes Mountains, from all major 70 fleets in the southern part of the continent.

Sailing in Punta del Este’s gorgeous aquamarine waters can be quite spectacular and full of surprises.  The yacht club itself is based at the very end of the sandy isthmus that forms the basis of downtown Punta.  The famous point encircles a large bay with a prominent island to the north and west offshore that makes for shifty, streaky winds when weather fronts roll off the Roaring 40s spinning around the Antarctic just a few hundred miles to the south.  As a result, it’s not unusual for denizens of the cold, deep waters offshore to pay a visit; expect a seal pup to pop his head out of the water giving you a quizzical look (like, “where’s my treat”!), or a flock of penguins to fly by underwater and look askance at what looks like a large upside down fish to them (your J70’s keel and rudder); or massive pods of hundreds of porpoises playfully frolicking around the boats.  Indeed, while Punta is famous for its “glitterati” and beaches, offshore is where the action is truly breathtaking.

For more information regarding the J/70 South Americans, please contact J/70 Uruguay Fleet Captain- Pedro Garra at email- pgarra@gmail.com.   For more J/70 class sailing information

J/70s Sailing Off Punta del Este!

(Punta del Este, Uruguay)- The most recent J/70 fleet to form is in Punta del Este, Uruguay.  The YC Punta del Este has ten boats that were recently delivered and commissioned for the club and its owners.  Over the last weekend of May, the Uruguayan J/Distributor, Pedro Garra of Montevideo, organized a training clinic.  Will Welles of North Sails One-Design Group led the three-day program that was blessed with the most extraordinary “winter” weather anyone could imagine in Punta at this time of year.

While it would not be unusual to have gales, high 40s F and horizontal rain at this time of year for a city that has hosted many Whitbread and Volvo Ocean Races, this past weekend was the happy exception. Situated not far north of the famous Cape Horn and the Antarctic Circle (and due east of Buenos Aires, Argentina), Punta instead served up simply spectacular weather for over five days.  While penguins, sea lions and pups were frolicking in the harbor (yes, penguins from Antarctica), the J/70s were sailing in awesome “shirts & shades” weather.

The training program entailed an overview of tuning onshore and evening reviews by Welles followed by 2.5 days of on-the-water short course racing and coaching by a cast of local talent that included Welles, Stu Johnstone and “Chato” from YCPE.  Coverage of the event was also provided by “Norbi” at El Faro sailing TV (see http://www.elfaro.tv).