Hot Racing at the Midpoint of the SSL Gold Cup Qualifiers
IslandStats.com
Rio was heating up in more ways than one as the SSL Gold Cup Pan-American Qualifiers hit the mid-point in racing terms, with the third race of the series.
The temperature was rising, and so was the pressure, as the teams knew that today could make or break their chances to qualify for the Copa do Mundo da Vela.
Only three of the eight teams will book their ticket to the SSL Gold Cup Finals 2026, with the winners of each group going straight through, while the teams placed second and third in the groups competing will then have a 'Last Chance' race, where the winner takes that final coveted spot.
Group I, Race 3
Racing started just after midday Brazilian time with Group I on the water. Cuba and Bermuda judged their time on distance perfectly on the line, with both Mexico and El Salvador pulling the trigger a couple of seconds late and suffering as a consequence.
The teams all favoured the left side upwind on Guanabara Bay, leading to a boatspeed battle and the crews hiking to the max, with Bermuda consolidating on their excellent start to eke out a small lead, but it was El Salvador, who had tacked away early to clear their air, that crossed ahead.
At the windward mark it was Mexico who tacked inside to jump from last to first with Bermuda, El Salvador and Cuba seconds behind. The spinnaker hoists were frantic as the athletes knew that in this race every second would count. Mexican helm Yanic Gentry set the tone downwind by sailing hard angles again to push the boatspeed to the max, rounding the leeward gate first, heading to the left with El Salvador while Cuba and Bermuda went right.
With the wind shifting right it was Cuba, helmed by Nelido Manso López, who took the lead with Rockal Evans and his Bermuda team hot on their tail, but a problem with the spinnaker retrieval line at the final windward mark hoist brought both Bermuda and Mexico right back into the game.
At the first gybe it was Mexico in the lead, Bermuda just a metre back, and Cuba dropping to third. This race was going to go all the way to the wire.
Mexico stormed through the final gybe to force Bermuda to gybe themselves, but the Bermudan Privateers held their nerve to cross the finish two seconds ahead of the Mexican Las Catrinas team and Cuba's Pirates of the Caribbean just ten seconds further back.
This was a race for the ages, leaving Mexico top of the leaderboard on 10 points, Bermuda and Cuba tied on 8, with El Salvador on 4.
SSL Team Bermuda's Captain Rockal Evans explained how he kept the team motivated and the joy of picking up the win today:
"Most of it was just keeping everybody positive and happy, reminding them that it's the first time we've sailed together as a team with lots of new crew members, knowing that we can improve the next day and that there's still a lot of racing to do. Heads up and keep trucking along. A day like today is such a good feeling. As we crossed the finish line it was a big exhale, congratulating everybody, and being a proud Bermudian sailor, coming from a small island."
The scene is now beautifully set for Saturday's racing, and then double points race on Sunday to decide our Group winners, and then the dramatic Last Chance showdown for that final ticket. It's going to be a rocking weekend in Rio!
Friday, November 13, 2026
Lack of Wind Forces Star World Championship Abandonment
IslandStats.com
Racing was abandoned for the day at the 2026 Star World Championship Presented by Schoonmaker as a lack of wind on Biscayne Bay prevented Race 5 from getting underway.
The Principal Race Officer (PRO) initially held the fleet ashore under a one-hour postponement before sending competitors out onto the water. However, after waiting a further 30 minutes for suitable conditions to develop, officials opted to abandon racing for the day, with a forecast of passing rainstorms further diminishing the slim chances of the breeze filling in.
With no racing completed, the overall standings remain unchanged heading into the final day of the regatta.
Italian duo Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi continue to lead the fleet on 35 points, holding a narrow three-point advantage over their closest challengers. Americans Will Stout and Danny Cayard sit level on 38 points alongside Eivind Melleby (Norway) and Christian Nehammer (Austria).
Further down the leaderboard, Bermudian Olympian Peter Bromby and his Bahamian crew Myles Pritchard remain firmly inside the top 10 in seventh place overall.
The championship now heads into its final scheduled day on Saturday, November 14th, with two races remaining and the coveted Gold Star very much up for grabs. Racing is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 am local time.
Friday, November 13, 2026
Meyers and Baker Lead Opening Day at Optimist Championships
IslandStats.com
Bermuda's Heath Meyers holds a narrow tie-break advantage over Great Britain's Arthur Baker after a fiercely contested opening day of the 2026 Bermuda National and Open Optimist Championship.
The 19-boat Championship Fleet completed four races on Friday to kick off three days of competitive action, with four different sailors claiming race victories across the opening session.
Meyers and Baker matched each other's consistency throughout the day, finishing level on eight points apiece to establish an early three-point cushion over the chasing pack.
Bermuda's Rex Henagulph sits third on 11 points, while compatriot Jesse Savage remains firmly in contention in fourth with 16 points.
Further down the leaderboard, a 10-point gap separates the top four from fifth-placed Aaron Riker (26 points), who leads a tightly bunched midfield that sees Ishmael Dill (27), American sailor Marius Garbayo Ante (29), and Elaine Jones (29) separated by just three points.
Leo DeCouto (36) and Alfie Jansma (41) round out the top 10 heading into the second day of racing, where shifting conditions are expected to test the young fleet once again.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Bromby Slips to Seventh at Star Worlds Championships
IslandStats.com
Two-time Star World Champion Diego Negri and crew Sergio Lambertenghi moved to the top of the overall leaderboard on day four of the 2026 Star World Championship on Biscayne Bay, as Bermuda's Peter Bromby dropped to seventh place.
With four races now completed across four days of demanding conditions, the title race experienced another major shake-up on Thursday. Argentina's Leandro and Lucas Altolaguirre delivered a masterful display in light air to secure their second race victory of the regatta, while Italy's Negri and Lambertenghi capitalised on the shifting standings to take control heading into the final two races.
For veteran Bermudian Olympian Bromby and his Bahamian crew Myles Pritchard, day four proved a stern test. A 33rd-place finish in Race 4 saw the pair surrender ground in the upper tier of the fleet, slipping to seventh overall as the competition enters its decisive closing stages.
Getting under way on schedule at noon under hazy skies, Race 4 unfolded in a delicate southerly breeze of just six to seven knots. In contrast to the steadier conditions seen earlier in the week, variable pressure zones stretched across the Biscayne Bay course, placing a heavy premium on tactical positioning.
While the left side of the course continued to offer a slight edge on the opening upwind leg, erratic wind shifts punished any miscalculation, leaving little margin for error across the fleet.
With just two races remaining to decide the 2026 championship, Negri and Lambertenghi hold the advantage at the summit, though the tight margins ensure plenty remains at stake over the final two days on the water.
Thursday, November 12, 2026
Mexico Lead in Group I as Bermuda sit third in SSL Gold Cup
IslandStats.com
Mexico established a narrow one-point lead at the top of Group I on the opening day of the SSL Gold Cup 2026 Pan-American Qualifiers in Rio de Janeiro, while Bermuda's Privateers ended Day 1 in third place.
Following a brief delay on Guanabara Bay to allow the breeze to settle beneath the iconic backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer, racing got under way with two fiercely contested encounters between Mexico, Cuba, Bermuda, and SSL newcomers El Salvador.
Race 1: Mexico dominate from the front
A razor-thin start saw Bermuda take the early initiative by covering Cuba, while Mexico pinned El Salvador at the committee boat end to spark a high-intensity drag race to the left side of the course.
With crews hiking to the limit, Mexico's Las Catrinas—helmed by Captain Yanic Gentry—found the speed to break clear, leaving the Bermudian boat trapped just beneath them. Rounding the top mark with a commanding advantage, Mexico maintained control through the leeward gate despite a messy spinnaker drop that briefly caught on the jib.
Behind them, Bermuda's experienced Captain Rockal Evans and his Privateers fought off sustained upwind pressure from Cuba's Pirates of the Caribbean to hold onto second at the final windward mark. Gentry then unleashed hot downwind angles to power Mexico across the finish line first, with Bermuda taking second, Cuba third, and El Salvador's Torogoz fourth.
Race 2: Cuba capitalise on El Salvador penalty
A shifting tide ahead of the day's final race caught all four crews off guard on the approach to the start line, with Mexico and Cuba duelling for the pin end while Bermuda and El Salvador trailed slightly behind.
Cuba immediately applied pressure above Mexico, raising their mainsheet traveller to sail a high mode that forced the Mexicans to tack away. Carrying on to the left proved decisive as the breeze clocked right around Sugarloaf Mountain, allowing Cuba to round the first mark 15 seconds clear of El Salvador, with Mexico nearly a minute adrift and Bermuda back in fourth.
El Salvador drew on their lake-sailing instincts in the shifty late-afternoon wind to reel in Cuba downwind, rolling the leaders into the leeward gate and executing a slick drop-gybe to snatch first place heading back upwind.
However, disaster struck for the newcomers when umpires penalised El Salvador for a bowsprit infringement. The resulting penalty turn dropped them from first to third, handing the lead back to Cuba and lifting Mexico into second. Positions held firm on the final lap as Cuba claimed the race win ahead of Mexico, El Salvador, and Bermuda—leaving Mexico atop the Group I standings on seven points heading into Day 2.
