By The BVI Beacon
Alec Anderson and Chris Brockbank re currently competing in the 49er World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics. Photo: Matías Capizzano
Alec Anderson and Chris Brockbank are currently competing in the 49er World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina in hopes of qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.
The regatta is the second of three chances for the Virgin Islands sailors to qualify for the games. The regatta started on Monday and will wrap up on Saturday.
“Today was very much a learning day,” the sailors posted on Facebook after the first day of the regatta. “Three races, no keepers. Looking to get back on the horse tomorrow! Stay tuned!”
As of Monday, the top three teams are Croatia, Spain and Poland. Messrs. Anderson and Brockbank have been in Buenos Aires for the past three weeks preparing for the event. They recently competed in the “warm up” event, the 2015 49er South Americans, where they missed qualifying for the Gold Fleet by just two points.
They sat in first in the Silver fleet after two days of racing. Some of their best performances in the fleet included a fourth-place finish in the fourth race and several top 10 finishes.
“We have done a great job securing some top five races throughout the days leading up to Worlds, we need to limit our bad races to ones that we can keep the score, this will help us in achieving our best result yet at the 2015 Worlds,” Mr. Anderson said.
According to the sailors, the venue has been a difficult place to sail, with shallow brown water, very shifty conditions and steep choppy waves.
The World Championships feature 30 countries competing for just three Olympic qualifying spots. The sailors are some of the best competitors from around the world, including recently crowned International Sailing World Male Sailors of the Year: Blaire Tuke and Peter Burling from New Zealand. The duo took silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
After the World Championships, Messrs. Anderson and Brockbank will be back in the VI for three weeks to train before they head to Miami for the World Cup. This event will be the last chance for the sailors to qualify for the Olympics.
To follow the sailors’ progress, go to www.49er.org or visit Anderson/Brockbank Sailing on Facebook.
