J/122E and J/99 Set Pace Offshore in Chile

(Valparaiso, Chile)- The 50th edition of Off Valparaíso Regatta was raced in Valparaiso Bay on October 17-18 and was hosted by Yacht Club de Chile. Conditions were light on Saturday, with only 1 race with westerly winds of 4-7 kts. On Sunday, the conditions were much better with southwest winds from 12-14 kts.

Thirty-three J/Boats participated in the regatta amongst the fifty-nine keelboats in the regatta. 56% of the fleet was J/Boats! That’s an amazing statistic for any regatta in the USA or Europe, but it’s truly remarkable in a South American regatta!

J/24 Class
The regatta had seventeen J/24s sailing on a dedicated windward-leeward race course. The fleet was preparing for the J/24 South American Championship to take place from December 5-8 at the same host club- Yacht Club de Chile. Also, this regatta was part of an international Navy Academy regatta, organized by the Chilean Navy. Different Navy Teams were invited from Canada, Spain, Italy, the UK, and Argentina. The class was won by Ivan Sepulveda on board MARGARITA with 6 PTS, followed in second place by Javier Nuñez’s BRIBON with 7 PTS, and third place went to the Canadian Navy crew on TRIUNFANTE with 7 PTS.

J/105 Class
In the J/105 fleet, ten boats sailed and completed three races over the weekend. Winning by a significant margin was Robert Malsch’s GRAND SLAM with a 1-3-2 record for 6 pts. The balance of the podium was determined by a tiebreaker at 12 pts each. Winning on the count back to take the silver medal was Jose Tomas Errazuriz’s WICHITA with a 5-6-1 record. Losing that count back to take the bronze medal was Horacio Salamanca’s CHUNGUNGO with a 7-2-3 record. The balance of the top five was Miguel Perez’s RECLUTA in fourth and Claudio Leon’s TRICALMA in fifth place.

The J/105 had this last formal training for the 2025th J/105 National Championship that will take place on November 8, 9th, 22nd, and 23rd. A dozen boats are expected to take part in the Championship, which will be held by Cofradía Náutica del Pacífico in Algarrobo.

IRC Racing Division
In this sixteen-boat fleet, Carolina Ibañez’s J/122E BELEN took the silver medal with a 4-1-3 tally for 8 pts. Eduardo Capdeville’s J/99 LADY CHOPPER finished in 8th place with 23 pts; they had a difficult day on Sunday.

IRC Classic Division
In the IRC Classic fleet, the winner was Antonio Pi’s J/120 VIENTO DEL SUR!

IRC Cruising Division
In the IRC Cruising fleet, it was Francisco Allamand’s J/145 ALIMANA that took fourth place.

The 3rd and final date of the Apertura Championship will take place on the 22nd and 23rd of November in Cofradía Náutica de Algarrobo.

Pictures:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1e2VwMyi3_Gs-t7U5QiSq_43ibGP-Q6Tt