J/70 FLOJITO El Capitan de Mexico Nationals

The J/70 Mexican fleet enjoyed some spectacular sailing for their 2015 Mexico National Championship in Cancun on November 27-29. Teams from Puerto Vallarta, Valle de Bravo, and Acapulco came to join the new J/70 fleet that is starting in Cancun. The 16 teams included the 2015 World Champion Julian Fernandez skippering FLOJITO Y COOPERANDO.

J/70 Flojito Y Cooperando sailing Mexican Nationals off CancunThe first day of sailing was just about postcard perfect- 17 knots, blue water and no foul weather or spray tops needed in Cancun! In these conditions the top three or four boats got a comfortable lead but the fight right behind was definitely full-on with very close finishes. At the end of the day, the Club de Yates de Puerto Cancun PRO managed to get in four races. Jorge Murrieta led the first day skippering BANDOOLA, with Julian Fernandez’s FLOJITO in second and Ricardo Brockmann’s VINCITORE in third position.

The local Cancun Tourism Bureau must’ve had a direct connection to the Aztec Gods, for on the second day they delivered chamber of commerce conditions again; winds in the 10-15 kts range allowed four more races to be sailed. This time, “los banditos locos” on FLOJITO had a great day, showing their transom to most everyone with terrific race-winning speed. As a result, FLOJITO took over the overall lead with BANDOOLA in second and VINCITORE in third.

On the last day, the Gods must have been crazy. How can they deliver such gorgeous conditions, again!? Who sacrificed what to make it happen? Perhaps, we don’t want to know. With the fleet treated to more 10-15 kt breezes, the racing was very tight with each of the top three boats winning one race, but also having to come back on other races from well behind.

The final leg of the final race was a perfect example of how FLOJITO became the 2015 World Champion. After rounding well back at the first mark in 6th place, they worked hard to get through the boats in front of them to ultimately finish 2nd in the race behind the Brockmann’s VINCITORE.

At the finish, big cheers erupted for the victors- Fernandez and crew on FLOJITO (Santiago Fernandez, Diego Cervantes & Willem van Waay) were crowned the Mexican J/70 National Champions for the third year in a row! Jorge Murrieta and crew on board BANDOOLA finished 2nd while Ricardo Brockmann and crew on VINCITORE completed the podium in third place.

Report courtesy of JBoats Newsletter. For results, click here.