A five sailor team from the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association [BODA] departed this weekend, destined for Porto Alegre, Brazil to take part in the IODA South American Championships.
The team of Mikey Wolmann, Benn Smith, Peter Dill, Chase Cooper and Ceci Wollmann will have almost a week to train and acclimatize themselves before the regatta’s opening ceremonies on March 22nd. BODA High Performance Coach, Martin Jenkins has joined the team in Brazil for the early training.
Porto Alegre is the capital in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and is one of the top cultural, political and economic centers of Brazil. The sailing will take place on the eastern bank of the Rio Guaiba, where five rivers converge to form the Lagoa dos Patos, a giant freshwater lagoon navigable by even the largest of ships.
The 150 sailors from 14 countries are scheduled to race 12 races over 6 race days. The team will have one rest day in the middle of the regatta along with another day designated for the team racing championship. Racing starts on March 24th and concludes on March 30th.
BODA President Anthony Bailey wished the team well and commented, “All five of these sailors have demonstrated that they have the potential to bring back some impressive results.
“They have trained hard and even travelled to a regatta in Argentina last month to gain experience and to get a better feel for the competition they will face in Brazil. The championship in Brazil will also be a good highly competitive, large fleet warm-up for the North American Championship here in Bermuda this coming July.”
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