Brazilian Nationals – Day 1

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January 23, 2024. Rain, no wind and no races for the first day of the Brazilian Nationals.

Hopefully the weather forecast should be better for day 2.

Today (Wednesday)we heard about some discussions regarding the use of the so called “Flying jib”: a system to adjust the jib along the jib wire wile sailing downwind. Yesterday the SCIRA Technical Committee released an official statement to avoid any doubt: this system is not permitted. So this morning the event Head Measurer communicated and translated in Portuguese the SCIRA official statement, adding at the end: “Resumindo: Quem utilizar desse recurso estará sujeito às devidas penalidades. Sugestão: Descartar o sistema e voltar ao tradicional “cabinho”.”

Here the official press release:

The largest Brazilian National Snipe Championship!

by Catarina Weck Glashester

Whether it’s the number of titles gathered, or the number of boats in competition, the 2024 Brazilian National Championship is on track to become the largest edition of the event so far. After an excellent campaign by the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club and FEVERJ, the championship set a record for registrations with over 115 participating boats.

With Olympic, Pan-American, and world medalists on the water, the 200-plus sailors are vying for the coveted title of Brazilian Champion. It is estimated that just among world champions, there are more than 25 titles combined among the participating athletes. Alexandre Paradeda, Bruno Bethlem, Dante Bianchi, and Paulo Santos are some of the athletes who have accumulated the most national Snipe titles and are confirmed participants in the races that began on January 23. Not even the multi-Olympic champion Robert Scheidt wanted to stay out and is in Rio de Janeiro to compete with his son Erik.

“The Snipe class is one of the most prestigious and numerous classes in Brazil. Many generations of great sailors have sailed this boat. (…) In 1992 was my last participation in the Nationals, so there’s a huge gap there. Now they convinced me to come and race the Championship, with great longtime friends.”

Speaking of parents and children, several duos are being formed by this configuration in this event. This includes Alexandre Paradeda, a 12-time Brazilian champion, South American and Pan-American champion, who is sailing with his daughter Melissa.

“Very happy to be in Rio sailing this Nationals with many boats, sharing the racecourse with idols and friends, and happy to be sailing with my daughter! Very motivated,” declared ‘Xandi’ Paradeda.

Juliana Duque and Rafael Martins, athletes who have been gaining prominence nationally and internationally, will also be present to defend the current title and seek their third championship trophy. The duo has been a two-time bronze medalist in the Pan-American Games and are South American champions.

In addition to these recognized names in Brazilian sailing, the younger generation is coming stronger and promises to compete for good placements in the overall result. Bruna Patrício, the current Snipe World Champion alongside Ju Duque, comments on the championship expectations.

“(Caio, my helm, and I) had good training before the championship, and we’re very excited. It will be a high-level championship, and we want to place well beyond the mixed and youth categories.”

The under-18 sailor Newton Passos had a good placement in the Junior World Championship alongside his crew Joaquim.

“We had a great experience at the Junior Worlds and achieved a great result. Our goal was a top 10, and we got an 8th. (…) Now in the Brazilian Nationals, it’s an opportunity that only a few athletes have to sail in an elite class with great sailors.”

The championship runs until the 27th of this month, with 9 scheduled races and a forecast of rainy weather. The event is being live streamed on the Instagram of the Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro Sailing (@vela.icrj).

Catarina Weck Glashester

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