Monday, October 30th, 2023.- The conditions on the coasts of Algarrobo and El Quisco provided an intense day of sailing, with both the United States and Peru taking advantage of their skills.

The American team led in four of the 13 participating classes. Peru also made good progress, leading in three categories: ILCA 7, female's Sunfish, and female's IQ Foil. Brazil, the leader in the historical medal tally, secured two gold medals: Male's Formula Kite and female's FX.

It was indeed a good day for sailing, with southeast winds averaging 12 to 14 knots and gusts of 18 knots. These weather conditions made up for the canceled races from the previous day and kept the program on track.

Allan Therhune Jr., part of the American Lightning team, commented on their performance, saying, "We had a great day. We had three good races. We got 2-1-2. We had a good start to the race on a cold day. It was a great day. We had a beautiful sail."

Team Chile leads in the Male's Sunfish category and is second in ILCA 7 after a strong performance by Clemente Seguel, similar to the Lightning team of Felipe Robles (Carmina Malsh and Paula Herman) and the Snipe team of Clemente and Constanza Seguel. Maria Jose Poncell finished third in the female's Sunfish.

Chilean sailor Diego Gonzalez said, "We salvaged the day. The rivals are quite clear: Peru, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The nautical conditions were good, with winds ranging from 10 to 18 knots and varying conditions, good waves. The race course was very messy, which made it quite challenging, but good conditions for sailing."

He added, "It was a day where we complicated ourselves. We had the race course fairly clear, which is a common condition here in Algarrobo that we know well. Due to a bit of nervousness, we didn't advance in the first race and had to return to the starting line. We fell quite far behind, but with a good and clean race, we managed to finish third, which was very important for us and a boost to our spirits."

Gonzalez concluded, "The second race was a bit calmer, but we still collided with the Canadian boat. We ended the day with 3-3-1, which puts us in second place in the standings."

After the day, the leaders in Pan American sailing are as follows:
Male's IQFoil: Aruba, Ethan Westera, with a total of 15.
Female's IQFoil: Peru, María Bazo with 13.
Male's Formula Kite: Brazil, Bruno Chaves, with 17.
Female's Formula Kite: United States, Daniela Moroz, with 24.
ILCA 7: Peru, Stefano Pescheira, with 15.
ILCA 6: United States, Erika Rose with 6.
Male's 49er: United States, Ian Barrows and Hans Henken, with 12.
Female's 49er FX: Brazil, Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, with 6.
Nacra 17: Argentina, Mateo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco, with 2.
Male's Sunfish: Chile, Diego González, with 13.
Female's Sunfish: Peru, Caterina Romero, with 5.
Lightning: United States, with 5.
Snipe: Argentina, Julio Alsogaray and Malena Sciarra, with 6.

The competition is still ongoing to determine the top five sailors in each class who will compete in the medal race, which carries double points and cannot be discarded.

The fourth day of sailing will take place tomorrow, starting at 1:00 p.m., in the waters of the Central Coast, 120 kilometers from the capital.

It's worth noting that this sport offers direct qualification spots for Paris 2024.

Written by Esteban Gómez, Rodrigo Parragué, and Patricio Echague; translated by Andrés Castro / Santiago 2023 via Photosport
Photo by Matias Capizzano / Santiago 2023 via Photosport