With a practice race with many surprises, the 2010 Soling worlds started this Sunday at the Veleiros do Sul in Porto Alegre. 20 teams from Brasil, Germany, Argentina, USA and UK.
The practice race doesn’t count points to the championship and was scheduled to start at 14hs, but due to lack of winds only at 18:15hs the PRO sent the sailors to the race course.
When the teams were at the second downwind, at the Guaiba race course, they were caught by surprise with strong gusts reaching 34 knots, the situation last for about 15 minutes, but was enough to cause the race cancelation.
Most of the fleet started to broache with the spinnakers flying like crazy and the Diferencial team BRA 31 skipered by Nelson Ilha couldn’t maintain stability and broached heavily filling the cockpit with water, the boat ended sinking despite all the efforts of the crew, the Race Committee and others in the race course, the big sailing boat Habitu skippered by a Soling sailor Niels Rump and many competidors and volunteers, were able to successfully recover the boat after three hours of work, luckly the boat is at the present moment ready to start the championship on Monday, when the first race will be held.

Event website:
www.solingworlds.com


Article wrote by Ricardo Pedebos / VDS