2019 Snipe World Championship starts tomorrow in Ilhabela, Brazil
by Rachele Vitello 7 Oct 16:29 PDT
8-12 October 2019
2019 Snipe world Championship © Matias Capizzano
Racing at the Snipe World Championship 2019 begins tomorrow, Tuesday 8th, at the Lars Grael Sailing School, in Ilhabela, Brazil. 70 teams from 11 countries will be on the start line: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, United States, Italy, Japan, Norway, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay. Nine races are scheduled with two drops for the worst results. The forecast for the first races is for moderate breeze from the South.
The Snipe World Championship features the top names in the class, including Olympic medalists, World Champions and Pan American Champions. Spain's Angela Pumariega, the London 2012 Match Race gold, will team up with compatriot Martin Gallego:
''All is ready for the regattas. Now is time to make the last adjustments and then we will sail the World Cup, '' said Angela Pumariega.
The Brazilian squad is the most numerous and it is led by Alexandre Paradeda, who won the World Snipe Championship in 2001, as well as being Champion at the Rio 2007 Pan American Games. Two time Snipe World Champion, Carioca Bruno Bethlem is also among the sailors at the event, and the double bronze medalist at Pan Am de Lima 2019, Juliana Duque and Rafael Martins.
Brazil has a total of 13 World Snipe Champions. The last one was won in 2015, in the edition of Talamone, in Italy: the duo Mateus Tavares and Gustavo Carvalho climbed to the top of the podium. Matheus Tavares is here racing with American Kathleen Tocke:
''I couldn't refuse Kathleen Tocke's invitation. Attending the World Cup in Brazil is an honor and I stopped my break from competitive sailing to come here and try to add another good result for my Country,'' said Matheus Tavares.
The last edition of the World Snipe Championship was held in 2017 in La Coruña, Spain. The Puerto Rican duo Raul Rios and Mac Agnese are the reigning champions.
Junior Worlds 2019
The Snipe Junior World Championship 2019 was decided on the last of nine races in Ilhabela, last week. Gustavo Abdulklesh and Leonardo Motta (BRA) won it, followed by the Portuguese brothers Mafalda Pires de Lima and Tomas Pires de Lima, who finished second.
The third place of the event went to Bahian Rafael Rizzato and Gerald Wicks, winners of the last race of the series on Saturday, Ocotber 5th.
Gustavo Abdulklesh and Leonardo Motta's win, keeps up the Brazilian Snipe Junior tradition: it was the ninth Carioca wins in the competition. The first champion was Brazilian super star Torben Grael with Eduardo Mascarenhas, in Mission Bay, USA, in 1978.
For more information visit Snipe Worlds Official Website: