The 48th Anniversary Regatta of the Iate Clube de Brasilia

I was lucky enough to be at the Iate Clube de Brasilia to celebrate their 48th year with a trailer yacht and keeler regatta in the first wekend of April. I sailed on a Delta 26 (26 foot) along with about 10 other yachts of this class in a fleet of 50 yachts in total. Really a great sight, especially in the early stages of the race when all the yachts were together. A nice 8 to 12 knot breeze propelled the yachts on a tight reach to the first mark followed by the popping of spinnakers for a long off wind leg that included a few gybes for most yachts. Around mark two positioned in front of an architecturally designed bridge over one arm of the lake and back upwind again. After a few tacks we rounded a peninsula on which is sited the presidents residence (and accompanying fortifications and markings to not to get too close) then onto a tight reach to the penultimate mark. A gybe around the mark and with the spinnaker raised then another gybe we shot through to the finish line in front of the clubhouse for a top 10 finish. The polished performance was finished by docking at the wharf without the use of the motor, just as we had begun the mornings sailing.
It might have rained a bit to start with, but at 25 plus degrees that’s nothing to worry about, the sun shone towards the end of the hour plus long race to make things dry. We packed the sails away and left the rest to the helpers at the club to put the yacht on the tractor pulled trailer and park it in it’s customary berthing spot. Drinks were then on the house, very nice and time for me to practise some Portuguese and for some locals to practice their English, I almost forgot some pasta and cheese too. I presented the Vice Commodore with a Ngaroto Sailing Club shirt and the skipper of my boat with a Ngaroto cap (this will go well with the North Sails jib, the Navman electronic equipment and the Weaver front hatch (Auckland). NZ equipment is widely used and known to sailors around the world. I talked (in Portuguese) to the skipper of another Delta 26 named “Peter Blake” (after Sir Peter’s infamous death in the Amazon River); a Brasilian consulate representative also talked (in English was much easier) sadly of the incident too. Truly the Brasilians are a very hospitable lot making the most of a great environment for the sport of yachting! Being 2000 kms from the sea has the advantage of focusing sailors to Lago do Paranoa a paradise for those living in or near Brasilia.

The Delta 26 championship regatta takes place in May in Brasilia and an invitation is in my sailing dairy!

PS. Not for the ladies. English text is in use at the club (we are truly lucky to be native speakers of this language), they have to learn the English terms (sailing rules) that prevail at international regattas; a photo is attached.
Ross Wrenn