Cadet World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina Overall

FERNANDO GWOZDZ-JULIAN DE MARE ARE THE INTERNATIONAL CADET CLASS CHAMPIONS

Argentines Fernando Gwozdz-Julián De Mare are the new World Champions of the International Cadet Class; held under the organization of the Club Universitario de Buenos Aires, the National and International Cadet Class Associations, and the Argentine Yachting Federation. The team won 6 of the 10 races, and held the following positions in the other races: second, fifth, eleventh and nineteenth; the latter two which were discarded.

In this Worlds Argentina obtained the two remainig podium positions. Mariano Pellegrino-Santiago Verdino, with 22 points took second place as a result of their holding first place, three second places, two thirds, one fourth, two fifths and a twentyfirst. They discarded a fifth and twenty first places.

Meanwhile, Alejo Rigoni-Santiago Rigoni, with 31 points won the bronze medal as a result of their holding one first, one second, three fourths, two fifths, one sixth, one eleventh and one eighth (the latter two were discarded).

With the above results won by Gwozdz-De Mare Argentina recuperated the world title won by Australia in 1999, When Guillermo Pollitzer-Martìn Manrique had won the Championship. Last year, the new Champions finished fifth in Poland, where the English crew Sam Carter-Robert Graves were the winners.

Gwozdz (17 years old, living in Quilmes, a town close to Buenos Aires, and a member of the Argentine Yacht Club) and De Mare (12 years, born in Buenos Aires, and a member of the Club Barlovento) began racing together since July 2000. They participated in the Poland Worlds for the first time. They will now follow separate paths as Gwozdz will now sail in a 470, whereas De Mare will return to the Optimist.

Gwozdz declared that it was an intenseley fought out match with Pellegrino-Verdino as they interchanged first positions successively. He continued saying that in the first day he finished second, and thereafter fell to fourth, climbed to second, and yesterday won both races and led the Championship.

The organizers had planned two races (eleventh and twelvth) but due to a prevalent storm they could not be held. The idea was to start the first one at noon, but due to low visibility it was postponed by an hour. At l p.m. the fleet approached the race course where a, Southeast 25 knot wind which was in an increasing mode caused waves to form in heights larger than the Cadet Class could support. Several boats capsized, and were suffering severe damages (broken and bent masts) reason for which Juan Reinoso decided to cancel the last two races, thus concluding thes Worlds.

This Championship encompassed 43 boats from ARG, AUS, BEL, CZE, GER, GBR, NED and RUS. 10 races were ran in an Olympic triangle with 6 legs with a course length of 3.5 miles, and one mile inwards the Río de la Plata.

Overall Results: