2014 Soto 40 World Championship - Action begins July 6th

by Soto 40 on 28 May 2014 2014 Soto 40 World Championship - From July 6th to 12th, the Soto 40 International Class will celebrate the most important event of its 2014 calendar: the Class’ second World Championship that will be held at the Real Club Náutico de Valencia.

The boats that have confirmed their participation until now are Glen Ellen XXII (FRA), Uno (POR), Noticia (ESP), Earlybird (GER), Alegre (IVB), Bigamist (POR), Ngoni (GBR) and Santander (CHI). They will carry on board some of the best international sailors, who will show all their skills in Valencia’s waters to achieve the title of world champion.

The previous works have already begun and of course they will intensify as we get closer to the beginning of the event. Regarding the preparations, Ignacio Triay, President of the Soto 40 European Association, said that the organization of any event, no matter how big it is, is always a challenge. He also added: 'The heart of the race is located in an exceptional place that was also the Headquarters of the America’s Cup edition held in Valencia. It is not a Sailing Club, so the preparations and the adaptation works of the space require a bigger effort. But everything is taking shape step by step and I’m sure this will be a great event'.

Furthermore, Triay said that the championship will have umpires, which facilitates the development of the race as well as builds trust in the sailors. He also anticipated that the competition will include a first-level Technical Team. 'We’ll have María Torrijo as Race Officer, who is one of the best Race Officers of the world. She is also IJ and IU and I’d like to say -just as a detail- that she has been nominated ‘deputy pro’ for the next Olympic Games of Río 2016. Besides, there’s no doubt about the quality of the Jury: its President is the President of the ISAF Jury, the Chief Umpire is one of the few umpires that have participated in the America’s Cup last edition, and the rest are all internationally recognized. So they make a very solid and professional team'. The Jury will be composed of Andrés Pérez (IJ-ESP) as President, Miguel Allen (IJ-IU-POR) as Chief Umpire, Flavio Naveira (IJ-IU-ARG), Sally Burnett (IJ-IU-GBR) and Ricardo García (IJ-IRO-ESP). Pablo Ferrer, Chief Measurer of the Class, will be in charge of measuring, making previous controls before the championship and daily inspections.

The Class’ first world championship was held in Talcahuano (Chile) and it gathered together 15 boats from Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Bernardo Matte’s Pisco Sour highlighted among them and placed top position overall one day before the end of the event. 'The Worlds in Talcahuano left a very good taste, regarding the organization and the sport itself. The number of 15 boats will be hard to overcome, but we are sure that the competition level will be as good as it was, and we won’t notice the absence of some of the best teams. On the other hand we’ll have boats from seven different countries, which is always good for a world championship', explained the President of the Soto 40 European Association.

The 2014 Soto 40 World Championship has all the qualities to be an unforgettable event, for the reason that it will take place in an amazing city, with the best boats and crews and an excellent Technical Event website