Interview with Bruno Bethlem, WH&O Champion

ST: 2012 was a great year for you. Brazilians, Don Q, Nassau, US Nationals and Western Hemisphere & Orient. At the begining of the year did you expect a incredible season like this? 

Bruno: The first good surprise was our Nationals in January. Now there is a tie between us and Xandi [Paradeda] that got it 8 times. And that is so good because Xandi was a mirror for me for a long time. Some years ago when I got the title for the first time I could not imagine that I could get it 8 times. Don Q and US Nationals was also hard as a good training for the WH&O. The WH&O was tough because, as usual, during the most important regattas the sailing conditions were totally different from the practice week.

ST: How did you prepare this last sailing season? Did you choose a particular regatta as your main goal? Family and work … Do you have time for training regularly?

Bruno: Our main goal was the WH&O because it qualifies for the Worlds in Rio. We’ve chosen important events in US because US fleet is very strong. We are old now and unfortunately we need to work. And I’m also married but my wife gives me a great support for sailing at a high level. She is behind me cheering for me. We are always trying to get some time for training but sometimes it is impossible to train and race the regattas. So we are more interested in racing big regattas than training.

ST: Can you shortly describe your main regattas?

Bruno: The Snipe’s atmosphere is always great all around the world. It’s nice because after a hard day of racing all the people spent some time talking about the race and having a beer. There aren’t too many secrets to keep. We talk about setting up the boat and we share experience with everyone. Many times people send me emails asking about settings and I write everything that I know. And I feel good about it. That is one of the things that moves me forward.

ST: Technically speaking, which materials did you use this year?

Bruno: I used the same package of the last 2 years. Olimpic sails, Sidewinder Gold and Diemer boat. The only difference was that the new Diemer boat has a different jib car system. It can control the jib in and out easily. The rest of it was the same cake recipe.

ST: Next year we have the Worlds in Rio! Your sailing program for the next season?

Bruno: We’re gonna try to do the important regattas as we did this year. Brazilian Nationals, Midwinters, Don Q, Taça Octanorm, US Nationals, East Brazilian, Rio State Championship and Worlds. And for sure we will try to practice to improve things that we need to improve. And also eat less and work out to keep the right weight.