Practice Day 3

These lead up days have been fairly similar. The breeze was a bit lighter yesterday but basically still mid wind maybe a little lighter as the day goes on. Each day they train for a bout 3-4 hours joining up with other teams and doing some small races. More countries arrive every day, still missing are USA, GBR, FRA, ITA, JPN, GRE but not many more than that and we are still 5 days away from the first official race. The atmosphere has been very relaxing and teams are all on different schedules so the Club doesn't seem too crowded, yet.

Today is day one of the the two day pre-worlds regatta. Not sure how many countries are entered  but Martin would like to see how they are sailing and have an opportunity to tweak anything over the weekend if necessary.

Everyone is healthy and well and not too sunburned!

Practice Day 2

Another beautiful day down here. Very hot but the breeze helps. The breeze is staying pretty much in the 12-14 knot range and dropping off as the afternoon goes on. With the dropping breeze the waves become more noticeable and a couple sailors felt a little seasick but nothing too bad. BER trained with a few teams yesterday and all felt they are sailing fairly well. Almost half the teams are here now with many more arriving each day. The Club is definitely filling up. It will be interesting to see how crowded it is on the weekend as I understand that is when most of the locals come down from Santo Domingo but for the now the kids are very happy and thoroughly enjoying the venue. We decided with a few sensitive stomachs to eat at the Club out on the gazebo last night. That way we could order a basic arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) for those who needed some bland food rather than take our chances with the hotel food.
Thursday and Friday is the Pre-Worlds regatta which I would imagine will be well-attended and a nice chance for the kids to see how they match up after 3 days of practice.

Practice Day 1

Yesterday was fantastic by all accounts. The Club Nautico Santo Domingo is beautiful and the kids loved the pool and the slide in the sea. Martin had set our boats and equipment aside already so all that was left was to rig up and get on the water. Lunches are part of the entry so they were right there at the Club ready to go when we needed them. After a quick bite they went out and sailed for about three hours. Conditions were middle wind without too much swell. Martin felt the Scotia Bank regatta helped everyone and that they were quick to get to the groove. More importantly they are all feeling confident and seem to have a good mental state about the event.

The team arrived safely after long delays in Miami. First with a maintenance issue, then an electrical storm and finally sitting on the plane on the runway for almost two hours while beverages were delivered!
We were met inside the airport by a regatta rep who collected our passports and forms and whisked us right through effortlessly. A very quick van ride and we were here. It is the same place the team stayed in 2009 just under a different name.
We got settled easily with Makai, Antonio and Chase in one room and Peter and Rory in another. Plenty of space for all. Had dinner, which although filled with variety was by no means fantastic but more than adequate.
Plenty of teams here already, ARG, BRA, PER, CHI, SWE, SUI, NED and NZL. Monday will be boat prep and a trip to the supermarket. Then lunch at the Club and a long afternoon sail.

Worlds Team Ready!

The 2012 Bermuda Worlds Team is preparing to depart on Sunday July 8th to participate in the 2012 IODA World Championships in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.  The team (L-R) Chase Cooper, Peter Dill, Rory Caslin, Makai Joell and Antonio Bailey will have a number of days to train in local waters with Coach Martin Jenkins before the opening ceremony on July 15th.

Many thanks to Gold Sponsor  - Aspen Insurance, Silver Sponsor - Kitson Group of Companies and uniform sponsor Digicel for their support.

Final 2012 SudOpti wrap up

Day started bright with crisp air and a steady breeze of 18-20 knots. Two races were scheduled. Martin pointed out how important it is to finish strongly and make each race important in its own right. As expected Rory' size was an advantage in the bigger breeze and he had his best two races of the regatta finishing with a 7 and 8 for an overall place of 45. The stronger wind set Mikey back a bit finishing 29th in both races, he finished 54 overall and had a great regatta. Ceci again rounded the top mark of both races in a top position but couldn't hold it through the finish. She had a 21 and a 13 for an overall spot of 73. Chase, although the neck injury had begun to improve, with a long flight ahead and the stronger breeze, the decision sadly was to sit the last day out. He finished 112th. Benn did have better starts but his inexperience in large fleets was his downfall. It is much easier to read the course when it is occupied by 20 sailors then when sailing in fleets of 50+. He finished with a 38 and a 32 for an very respectable 122 for his first IODA showing.

USA dominated the results. Overall winner, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th and 11th as well as 1, 2, 3 in the Nations Cup. Peruvian Renzo Sanguineti was South American Champion finishing in 6th. Gold Cup sailor Odile Van Aanholt was top girl and 4th overall.

The Bermuda team did well. Definitely missed out on chances but Martin sees much potential in this group and is keen to see the sailors minimize the small mistakes so that the results will improve.

Outside of some unusual choices of music to accompany the awards, the Closing ceremony was quite beautiful set out on the lawn in front of the Club. A short reception followed then back to the hotel for the last bit of trading before calling it a night.

A nice tourist day in and around the city, one last delicious ice cream and off to the airport we go. Adios Argentina!

Bernews Article here

SA Champion and Winner of South American Championship

Closing Ceremony

Bumper boats

Lay Day and Day Four Racing

The lay day brought more sunshine after a thrashing evening rainstorm with hail and high winds that actually saw 15 deaths in the city and western part of Buenos Aires. A late night party ensued following the unusual mid-regatta prize giving for Team Racing. A bit of a bus mix-up, actually the drivers were on the dance floor, left us not back in our beds until close to midnight. So a lazy start to the lay day was definitely in order!

Once up and moving the plan was firmly established and a train ride to the Parque de la Costa along with the AHO team was set. A quick bite at a small cafe with 'submarino' drinks, hot milk with a melted chocolate bar! Delicious!! Not enough tourists so train was cancelled which was too bad as the train seemed to add to the adventure. Anyway the Parque was filled with tons of rides and all thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was nice to disconnect from sailing and run around and have fun. Bought churros filled with dulce de leche to close the day, there is no shortage of sugary treats here. Dinner at the Club and back for an early night.

Cooler temperatures and a bit more wind to start Day four. Wind was around 7 building to not much more than 12 by day's end. Organizers had scheduled two races for today. Conditions saw the current play a factor along with puffy breezes. Although the team's results were not terrible, they were however a disappointment as all the sailors did not capitalize on some very strong positions rounding the top mark. Both Ceci and Mikey rounded the top mark with top 10s which was a result of excellent starts and strong upwind legs. Ben struggled a bit to get in a good starting position which made it difficult for him to see strong races. Rory had a nice race one but struggled like the others to retain his position throughout race 2.

Chase has had an injury and sadly is unable to finish the regatta. He has seen a wonderful Dr here which was arranged by the organization and has a bad neck spasm which is causing him discomfort and some immobility. Such a shame as he was having a decent showing here.

Tomorrow is the last day and once again two races are scheduled. We are hoping that the strengths of today will prevail tomorrow.

Team Race Prep - Photos by Capizzano

Ceci

Team Bermuda place 4/5 in Nations Cup

Much to celebrate today! Team racing was a huge success! Wind was back and the breeze fluctuated throughout but was fairly consistent in the 8-12 range. Bermuda placed in the 4/5 spot which brought many smiles. One sailor said it was the first Team race win that they had ever had. First up was Ecuador 3 which was a good warm up and an easy win. Next USA 3, which BER controlled throughout and with one tactical slip, the lead was lost and the win went to the USA. Then a win over MEX pitted Bermuda over URU. A tough fight but BER came out victorious once again setting us up for another go at the USA. Unfortunately they gave us our second loss. When we left the venue USA had beaten CAN and all 3 USA teams were battling it out for the 1,2 and 3 positions. BER finished 3-2. The team was never thoroughly outmatched and could have easily been in the 1,2, 3 spot today.

The team sailed well and considering the lack of TR success recently and time working on Team Racing this group showed much promise. Even those who claim to hate TR were happy today. Another stop to the ice cream shop to celebrate, a well deserved treat. There are many great things about Argentina but the ice cream is one of the best!

Lay day tomorrow then two more days of fleet racing. Team will go into Friday with a bit more confidence after today as well.

Benn

Racing Day 3 update

Well....this was one of those days. Winds were light. No more than 4-5 knots all day. This makes for the third day of these trying and tricky conditions. The lack of concentration, which is so vital when the wind is light, was clearly evident and plagued the team today. Thankfully they only held two races.

Mikey had a solid first race. Chase made many mistakes in Race 1 and ended up 43rd. Ceci and Rory had decent first races and Benn remained in the 30s. The second race was an unfortunate one for Mikey who was OCS although the score does not reflect this yet. Ceci and Rory had terrible races and Benn who is capable of better again finished in the 30s. Chase seemed to hold it together in race 2 and finished in 7th.

Overall scores now see Mikey in 30 (pre OCS adjustment) Chase 58, Rory 60, Ceci 93 and Benn 117. Light winds forecast again for tomorrow for Team Racing then lay day and HOPEFULLY the last days of the regatta will have more breeze and the team can finish strong.

Race Day 3

Cloud cover, cooler temperatures and light winds greeted us this morning. Off to the venue at 8.30 to see the new fleet assignments. IODA has changed the format and sailors are divided into 3 divisions rather than 6 and stay sailing against the same fleet throughout the day. The organizers forgot to add the drop so fleet assignments had to be changed at the last minute once the drop was taken into account. As always the drop mixes things up. Sean Brennan and Romain from the US still dominate in 1 and 2 with 11 and 12 pts respectively. BER sailors for the most part benefited with the drop. Mikey is now in 25, Chase in 51, Rory in 61, Ceci in 79 and Benn in 117. Today Chase and Benn are in red, Rory and Mikey yellow and Ceci blue. There has been talk of only two races today but I am not sure.

Yesterday's sailing saw Mikey with two top 10s, Chase with all top 20s. Ceci improved her day with a 6 in Race 1 which brought a big smile to her face. Long days on the water! They have shifted dinner forward which is nice because sometimes it was a long wait between the end of racing until dinner. Kids usually head to the playground for about a half hour before coming in for dinner. Seems to be a nice way to forget the day and relax. We have also discovered a little place on the way home that makes empanadas to take out in a matter of minutes. These are a favourite of everyone on the team. They come in many flavours but the most popular are jamon y queso and carne or ham and cheese and meat. Kids devour these on the way home while making friends with neighboring cars on the way home.

Start of Race Day 3

Mikey

Chase

Racing Day One

Today was a good start for Team Bermuda!
Mikey was on fire! He finished the day in 19th with 2 out of 3 races in the top 10. Rory sailed very consistently, keeping himself in the top 25 all day. Chase had 2 good races and finished the last in the top 10 only to find an OCS once ashore. Benn at his first IODA event had two excellent races and was quite pleased as he should be. A scare of an OCS in Race 1 was merely a confusion of PER 1324 vs BER 1324. Ceci started the day with an OCS and ended the day with a disappointing last race. During the 2nd race she was top 10 but was caught on the wrong side of the shift.
Sailors were under the i-flag all day and started the day with about 8-9 finishing closer to 5 knots by day's end. USA dominated all day but also got caught out with a number of OCS. Argentina is also doing well showing hometown advantage under tricky conditions. Forecast today is for stronger breezes around 13-15 knots.
Bermuda-
Mikey 19
Rory 38
Chase 92
Benn 100
Ceci 134

Sailors heading out....