Saturday (the 4th) was decisive in making the contest of the Energisa Búzios Sailing Week 2026 even tighter. On the penultimate day of racing, the competition returned to the windward-leeward format between marks at the ICAB (Iate Clube Armação de Búzios) and confirmed the Crioula 52 in the overall lead, but with the fight for the following positions increasingly intense after five races held.
After Friday's (the 3rd) coastal-course race, the ocean fleet returned to the more technical and demanding model, with medium-intensity winds and heat on the Rio de Janeiro coast. On corrected time, the Argentine sailboat Double Black, of skipper Diego Belli, won the first race of the day, while the Duma came out on top in the second. The Crioula, for its part, was the line-honours boat (Fita Azul) in every race.
Crioula keeps the lead; Duma takes second place
In the ORC Overall and in the contest for the Lachmann Trophy, the Crioula 52 kept the lead, now with five points lost, even without winning on this Saturday. The Veleiros do Sul boat, led by Eduardo Plass, took two second places on the day and remains the main reference of the fleet.
"Búzios is a unique course in Brazil, which offers really good sailing, always with very strong wind. The Crioula is favoured by strong wind, but it is a difficult boat to sail, especially because we are a new team. But the expectation is good," said Guilherme Hammelmann, Pan American champion and member of the Crioula, a TP52 that is the reigning champion of the Búzios Sailing Week, the Ilhabela Sailing Week and the Brazilian ORC.
The Duma, of skipper Haakon Lorentzen, grew at the right moment, won the second race of Saturday and took second overall with nine points, overtaking the Magia IV, of Torben Grael, which dropped to third with ten. "The Duma is a good boat for strong wind, which is better for us! The sailboat has a canting keel and is all carbon," said Olympic medallist and Duma tactician Kiko Pelicano.
The other classes
Among the ORC sailboats in the Cruiser-Racer division, the Dona Bola, of Ricardo Tramujas, remained in front, but saw the Double Black cut the gap. In the ORC Performance, the Crioula 52 led with four points, followed by Duma and Magia IV, both with nine. In the BRA-RGS class, the Bierkaai (Bart Brouwer), which defends the ICAB colours, had already mathematically secured the title, with the Tangará II La Borie (Delio Valdetaro Jr.) as its main pursuer.
The championship ended on Sunday (the 5th), in Búzios (RJ). Organised by the ICAB in partnership with CBVela and ABVO, the event reaches its 39th edition and gathered big names of national sailing, among them Torben Grael, Marcelo Ferreira, Marcos Soares, Kiko Pelicano, Daniel Santiago and Samuel Albrecht.
By: Redação Mundo Mar
Photo: João Gomez | ICAB
