Preworld Championship

The Class J24 Pre-World Championship was held just one nautical mile from the grandiose Bay of Acapulco and with it the final of the first eliminating round for the selection of the Mexican yachts that will represent our country in the World Championship to be held in Acapulco in March 2007, as well as the Mexican Team in the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The competition was of a high standard in difficult and demanding conditions and consisted of seven regattas over three days of competition with southerly and westerly winds of between 4 and 8 knots, which was a determining factor.  However, the strong sea current turned out to be yet another challenge for all the competing yachtsman. Only those who knew how to take advantage of the opportunities and formulate an intelligent strategy taking into account all these factors were able to triumph.

 

 

The positions changed throughout the entire event and it was not until the end of the final regatta when all was decided. The four first places, which automatically qualify as part of the 15 yachts that will represent our country at the coming world championship, were skippered by Kenneth Porter, Joaquín Bargalló, Yon Belausteguigoitia and Peter Colliard, respectively. The Amura Team, skippered by Manuel Villarreal, having finished in fifth place, just missed out on qualifying, but headed the list to qualify as part of the Mexican team at the coming regattas to be held in Valle de Bravo.

 

 

Equally, the yachts skippered by Kenneth Porter and Joaquín Bargalló will represent Mexico in the next Central American and Caribbean Games to be held in Cartagena, Colombia in July of this year.

The J24 Class continues to grow and is without doubt the most competitive class at national level; therefore all the attention will be focused on the next championship, in which the yachts will come together to form part of the Mexican team in the world championship.     

 

 

 

Text: Manuel Villareal ± Photo: Scappino.