Stan Leads the Charge to Algarrobo, Chile
The 15 races sailed this weekend during the PWC Optimist National Championships also served as part of the qualifying series for next year’s IODA South American Championships in Chile to be held April 14 – 24. The championship will be sailed in the Bay of Algarrobo, 60 miles west of Santiago, the nation’s capital city. Hosting the event will be the Club de Yates Algarrobo and the teams will be housed nearby at the Hotel Pacífico.
Two time National Champion Sam Stan [pictured below] has a comfortable lead with a total of 16 points. Top girl Ellie Wollmann is safely lodged in 2nd with 32 points. Only 7 points separate the next five sailors which include Ceci Wollmann, Antonio Bailey, Rory Caslin, Makai Joell and Chase Cooper.
Bermuda may send up to 7 qualified sailors to the South American Championships. The team will be determined after 5 more races are sailed in February completing the qualifying series. It is expected that Polish high performance coach Zizi Staniul will accompany the team to Chile with at least one official from the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association.
