March
Iate Clube de Brasilia (Yacht Club of Brasilia)
12/03/08 10:01
I have
sailed in my first regatta in Brazil, a race to
celebrate the 48th
anniversary
of one of several clubs on the shores of Lago do
Paranoa, a lake that provides great recreational
opportunities just minutes from central
Brasilia. I boarded the beautiful 26 foot
fibre-glass yacht named “Arrojado”, an Argentinean
designed trailer yacht at the Iate Clube do Brasilia
at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning and motored with the
skipper Cisa to another arm of the lake to the
regatta start point. We picked up two more crew
there and had a shake down while we waited an hour
for the wind to settle and the race to start.
Fifty yachts jostled for position, we were certainly
not the largest (some so big they must have been
keelers) and away we went in a reasonable
position.
As things progressed in the upwind leg to the first port rounding mark we were well positioned in the top ten (the skipper and crew were very good sailors), the spinnaker hoisted promptly at the mark for a down wind leg that included several gybes to keep us in a good place. The yacht sailed even better upwind taking a couple more places as we went tacking up the shoreline in a breeze of around 8 to 10 knots. The skipper played the breeze well, positioned the boat well to exploit the starboard rights and laid the top mark perfectly before the spinnaker was hoisted again for the second and final downwind run. We found an area of lighter wind for a while but faired better later in the leg to be close to two other similar yachts at the bottom and penultimate mark. A tacking duel followed to the finish line, we had the best of it and knocked one of them off. Second in class and well inside the top ten overall was a good finish after an hour and a half of sailing.
What a great, great place to sail in, 2000 kms from the sea, 800 meters above sea level the third most populous sailing area in Brazil I was told. The lake that also provides hydro-electricity and a panoramic view for scores of social/sports clubs situated around its shores(I can not forget the presidents residence, hotels, apartments and houses). The Iate Clube do Brasilia is the finest of them all (I am told), a very good find for me. The club has several indoor tennis courts, a swimming pool, beach volleyball courts (and attractive young ladies to go with them), a triathlon club, shops and several buildings for both small and large social functions. At the yacht club its self, paid staff see to that the yachts are ready in the water for the skippers and retrieved after the days sailing. They have a great tradition for hosting, the vice commodore has a table not far from the bar, wine and cheese laid on throughout the day and into the evening. It was his birthday too so the evening on Saturday was a busy and enjoyable one too.
I almost forgot that I sailed a Laser too, half a dozen youngsters and I went out in the afternoon; they were being coached. A nice little breeze to start with, very typical of what they get, then a little later 25 knots came through and either flattened them or sent them scurrying for home. I stayed with a couple of yachts till the rescue boat could deal with them and then had an exhilarating reach back to the clubhouse, one of the few not to take a swim in the tropical waters. What a great afternoon that was!
Ross Wrenn
As things progressed in the upwind leg to the first port rounding mark we were well positioned in the top ten (the skipper and crew were very good sailors), the spinnaker hoisted promptly at the mark for a down wind leg that included several gybes to keep us in a good place. The yacht sailed even better upwind taking a couple more places as we went tacking up the shoreline in a breeze of around 8 to 10 knots. The skipper played the breeze well, positioned the boat well to exploit the starboard rights and laid the top mark perfectly before the spinnaker was hoisted again for the second and final downwind run. We found an area of lighter wind for a while but faired better later in the leg to be close to two other similar yachts at the bottom and penultimate mark. A tacking duel followed to the finish line, we had the best of it and knocked one of them off. Second in class and well inside the top ten overall was a good finish after an hour and a half of sailing.
What a great, great place to sail in, 2000 kms from the sea, 800 meters above sea level the third most populous sailing area in Brazil I was told. The lake that also provides hydro-electricity and a panoramic view for scores of social/sports clubs situated around its shores(I can not forget the presidents residence, hotels, apartments and houses). The Iate Clube do Brasilia is the finest of them all (I am told), a very good find for me. The club has several indoor tennis courts, a swimming pool, beach volleyball courts (and attractive young ladies to go with them), a triathlon club, shops and several buildings for both small and large social functions. At the yacht club its self, paid staff see to that the yachts are ready in the water for the skippers and retrieved after the days sailing. They have a great tradition for hosting, the vice commodore has a table not far from the bar, wine and cheese laid on throughout the day and into the evening. It was his birthday too so the evening on Saturday was a busy and enjoyable one too.
I almost forgot that I sailed a Laser too, half a dozen youngsters and I went out in the afternoon; they were being coached. A nice little breeze to start with, very typical of what they get, then a little later 25 knots came through and either flattened them or sent them scurrying for home. I stayed with a couple of yachts till the rescue boat could deal with them and then had an exhilarating reach back to the clubhouse, one of the few not to take a swim in the tropical waters. What a great afternoon that was!
Ross Wrenn