Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands excel
Twenty teams contested the Open Orange Bowl Regatta hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Florida, USA from 27-30 December 2011.
The event incorporated the International 420 Class North American Championships. Winds gusted over 20 knots on Biscayne Bay during the first two days of the regatta and dropped to less than 8 knots the final two day of sailing making challenging conditions for all sailors.
Fresh from competing in the 470 Men’s event at the Perth 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships, Raul Rios made the transition back to the 420 with great style and swept the board with his crew Fernando Monllor. A scoreline of top 10 places, with one race win, was enough to secure series victory for the US Virgin Islands’ Nikki Barnes and Agustina Barbuto who finished 3 points behind to take second place.
USA’s Reinier Eenkema van Dijk/Matt Wefer finished third.
The top two teams from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands swept the rest of the fleet who were from USA and Canada, and both teams are used to representing their nations at elite events. Rios finished fourth in the Snipe event at the 2011 Pan-Am Games and earlier in 2011 Rios represented Puerto Rico at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships where he finished sixth.
Barnes/Barbuto (ISV) were also at the 2011 ISAF Youth Worlds and claimed the bronze medal.
A safety seminar on trapeze harnesses took place during the event, which was initiated by the USA National 420 Class Association in partnership with the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and led by coach Steve Keen.
Other Info ...
• Full Results
• Event Website
Image: l-r Fernando Monllor, Agustina Barbuto, Nikki Barnes, Raul Rios © Mercedes de Choudens
