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2005 Western Hemisphere & Orient Championships Cabo Frio, Brazil
Final Day by Jerelyn Biehl
Cabo Frio, BrazilThe lay day found teams relaxing and being tourists in Rio de Janeiro (for the Japanese) and Buzios (for most everyone else). Fortunately for the sailing and unfortunately for the sightseeing, it was a rainy day. Although it’s winter in Brazil, the normally crowded cities were virtually empty, so the various teams were able to wander about without the normal crowds. Saturday, everyone arrived early at the club to a beautiful day; warm, sunny but with no wind. After a postponement, the RC signaled at 1:30 to head out to the course. Once on the course a sequence began, but the wind dropped below knots and the AP went up. While everyone floated around, the wind died even more and at 3:30, the regatta was abandoned and the final standings are our results for the 2004 Western Hemisphere & Orient Championships. Observations: The seas and chop gave the North American and Japanese teams trouble. Once the wind picked up, they seemed to be in the groove more, but the South American teams were still an edge up. Being able to shift gears made the South American teams more adaptable to the changing conditions. Pablo Defazio and Eduardo Medici had blazing speed in the light & lumpy conditions of the first day. The Uchidas of Japan, with a new Diemer, were able to move through the fleet the first day. Eduardo Chapchap (21) and super crew Pedro Tinoco (19) sailed “with the big boys” despite a DSQ. They have been moving up the ranks in many regattas and are a current and future force to watch out for! Ricky Wanderley/Richard Zietemann are dangerous in any condition and gave Xandi and Eduardo Paradeda a run for their money. It will be their regatta very soon… Xandi and Eduardo are perfectionists and sailed a great regatta – even excelling in the light air the first day. The Diemer boats are now overtaking the Brazilian coasts! They are well built and nicely rigged. A new Diemer is approximately $5,000USD fully rigged. Sidewinder masts were the weapon of choice and few mylar sails were seen. The equipment list will be published on the website & Bulletin. The Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro ran an excellent regatta. Cabo Frio is a beautiful site for any regatta and the satellite club is very welcoming to sailors! The RC ran excellent races and the jury had a little work, but not too much! Congratulations to the Western Hemisphere & Orient Champs Alexandre & Eduardo Paradeda! Equipment Table (you will need MS Excel or equivalent)
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