Chase Cooper Sitting In 13th Place In Mexico
After six races Bermuda’s Chase Cooper (14) is sitting pretty in 13th place out of 149 competitors at the halfway point of the 2012 IODA Optimist North American Championships. This year’s regatta is being sailed in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, a man made lake near Mexico City, 2500 meters above sea level.
Cooper is Bermuda’s sole entry at this year’s event and has had results of 23, 14, 6, 6, 19 and 12. He sits within striking distance of a top ten finish with a narrow margin separating the top sailors.
The first 2 race days have seen typical conditions in Valle de Bravo, thermal winds from the west at 10 -12 knots and oscillations of 10 – 15 degrees. Cooper arrived in Mexico early and trained and tested speed with one of the world’s top female Optimist sailors, Odile Van Aanholt which seems to have paid off.
Van Aanholt from the Netherlands Antilles is currently the top North American entry but sits in second place behind Singapore’s Samuel Jiun Jie Neo. The USA’s Sean Brennan is 3rd.
Racing continues on Friday and Saturday after the Team race event on Wednesday and a lay day (day off) on Thursday. 6 more races are scheduled.
Way to go Chase we are very proud of you.
Love from your grandparents