Ahead of the main event in the Copa do Mundo da Vela is the final qualifier for the SSL Gold Cup Brasil 2026. Eight teams from the Pan-American region are vying for the final three tickets to the Finals.
The teams have been practicing hard in the SSL 47 yachts, honing their manoeuvres and trying to work out the local weather conditions, which can often confound even the very best of sailors.
The more experienced racers, particularly those who competed in the inaugural SSL Gold Cup in Gran Canaria, are guiding the new, young recruits as to how to work as a team and get the most out of the boats. The practice days can make or break a nation’s chances, and all have been using their time wisely.
Tuesday evening saw the teams gather at the Marina da Glória for the Pan-American Qualifiers Opening Ceremony, where the voice of the SSL Gold Cup, Yann Dorset, introduced the teams and Regatta Director Paul Hutton-Ashkenny declared the event open
For SSL Team Bermuda, ‘The Privateers’, Team Captain Rockal Evans is pleased to have had time on the water with both his established crew and the new sailors on board:
“It feels really good to be out here in Rio. It’s the first time in Brazil for a bunch of our crew members. We’ve had four days of training here and we’ve been getting our three new crew members up to speed and we’re pretty happy now, with how we’ve progressed from day one to today. It’s been good.”
Vice Captain Emily Taylor-Nagel is feeling the tension build as the countdown to the first race is well and truly on:
“There’s a lot more pressure this time to be honest. As Rockal mentioned we’ve got a few new crewmembers, but we’ve also got people in different positions, so it’s been a pretty steep learning curve for some of our youngest sailors. We’ve got an 18 year old as part of the team so we’re trying to teach them all how to do the different jobs on board. None of us have sailed the boats since Gran Canaria, so it’s remembering how the systems work – all the funky little tricks – and we’re also in a brand new place that hasn’t exactly been simple the past few days with one day having anywhere between 5 and 25 knots and today where the wind would just disappear, and add the current as well and there’s plenty on the race course to deal with.”
The 18 year old on board is Trystan Hocking, for whom racing the SSL 47 yachts is a stark contrast to his usual racing:
“It’s been really different sailing a boat this big, but it’s been good to learn everything about these very fast boats. I’ve been doing quite a bit of team racing in Fireflys at Southampton University, and also some J70 sailing. The amount of communication that needs to go through everybody, so that everyone’s on the same page, is critical on these boats. It’s also really cool to be out here in Rio – it’s a nice venue.”
SSL Team Uruguay, known as ‘La Celeste’, have one of the stars of the 49er Olympic circuit helming. Hernán Umpierre is used to sailing with crew Fernando Diz, but now the full team of ten have had to learn how to work together, and it’s been quite a shift for Umpierre:
“We started the week a bit out of sync, but these last couple of days we’ve become much more synchronised and confident with the manoeuvres. The team is getting to know one another and are starting to trust each other, with good vibes, which is the most important thing. For me the biggest challenge is to ‘live’ a ten person campaign. In our 49er campaign there’s just the two of us and our coach, and here you have eight more people and you need to trust in them getting the best out of each other, and we’re all pushing hard.”
A familiar face in many elite international sailing events is SSL Team Antigua & Barbuda’s Captain Shannon Falcone. The towering powerhouse of a sailor has ensured that the new, young members of the crew quickly got up to speed and working in harmony with the rest of ‘The Rum Runners’ team:
“We are here mostly with our 2023 SSL Gold Cup crew. We have two new entries with Shanoy Malone, who is Junior Sailor of the Year in Antigua, and Ozani Lafond, and they’re great sailors, super-young, making our average 25 years old, if you take me out of the equation! I feel super-lucky as the communication in the team is already there, the foundation is there, and the team sails a lot together back at home on keelboats.”
Regatta Director Paul Hutton-Ashkenny reinforced that it’s now 66 nations in the SSL family, and gave a warm welcome to the latest newcomer, SSL Team El Salvador, at this Pan American Qualifier.
The ‘Torogoz’ team is led by three-time Olympian Enrique Arathoon who has had to bring an entirely new group together so that they can compete for one of the coveted tickets to the Finals:
“It’s always a big challenge to sail with a group of ten and trying to figure out how to do the simple things in the most practical ways so we don’t make elementary mistakes sailing around the course.”
On the Rio race course and the associated weather challenges Arathoon added:
“We come from sailing on lakes, so we’re used to these conditions. I think we can get the most out of the gusts and shifts, which can be 30 degrees, if we stay connected as a team. Having sailed here a lot in 2016 I know the conditions change a lot, and if we stay in sync with the wind then we’ll be able to challenge.”
Most importantly, he says his ‘Torogoz’ team, named after the colorful tropical bird native to Central America, is fully enjoying the moment:
“We are a happy team! We need to share the joy of being here and the joy of sailing. Sometimes we may be a little loud, but it’s most important to be happy.”
The time for practice is now over with the first of four days of racing set to take place on Thursday. All of the action will be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/starsailors , with more insights on our website, https://sslgoldcup.worldofsailors.com/ and reels of the sailors and the sailing on our @SSLGoldCup social media channels.
