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The Brazilian
Nationals - Third Report
February 31, 2004
No
report for the third day. Sorry about that.
The
fourth and last day of the Brazilian Nationals was another
great sailing day in Rio, with the race course set inside
of the Guanaba bay. The light winds were comming from
the entrance of the Guanabara Bay, southeast-east at
6 to 8 knots. The low tides brought the murky waters
from the back of the bay, making the sea appear more
like a river. Warm temperatures and a searing sun on
a very clear sky.
Race
one started at 14:13, with the fleet preferring the
left side to take advantage of the tide channel and
of the easternly shifts. By mid upwind, the fleet was
pretty much divided between right and left.
At
the first downwind mark was Florent on the lead, with
Zielhuis in second, Signorini third, Bruno Prada in
fourth and Ben Ainslie in fifth.
With
the east winds picking up at the entrance of the bay,
and a steady southeast blowing at the comission boat,
the skippers extended as much as possible to the left,
tacking at the lay line.
Back
donwind to the finish of the first race, it was Signorini
on the lead, closely followed by Florent, Zielhuis,
Ainslie and Willems.
As
the wind shifted on the comission boat and the 16:00
time limit drew near, Florent, leading the championship,
pressed for an early ending. The comission boat tried
to reposition for a last regatta, but it was not to
be. The buoys were 30 seconds too late to get in position
and the second race was cancelled. Florent, married
to a Brazilian himself, is now the 2004 Finn Class Brazilian
Champion.
Pictures
of Day 4
Final
Standings (not official):
Race
Joca
Signorini - BRA 10
Guillaume Florent - FRA 73
Jaap Zielhuis - NED 78
Ben Ainslie - GBR 3
Sander Willems - NED 80
Andrew Simpson - GBR 6
Balazs Hajdu - HUN 1
Bruno Prada - BRA 1
Sebastien Godefroid - BEL 7
Stefan de Vries - NED 6
Dean Barker - NZL 14
Maguila - BRA 3
David Burrows - IRL 8
Mauricio Bueno - BRA 100
Bruno Ismael - FRA 972
Marco Aurelio - BRA 10
Gustavo (Guanabara) - BRA 108
For
more info: www.icrj.com.br
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