Interview with the World Champion

Bruno Bethlem, 2013 World Champion (photos courtesy of Fred Hoffmann)

– Last september you won your second Snipe World Championship. What is the difference between the Worlds in San Diego and the last one in Rio?

The difference was that this year we were sailing our own boat and happy to be at home.

– Do you think it was an advantage to sail in your home waters, or it was it more difficult?

For sure it’s very good. But as a rule the conditions during the regattas were really abnormal. It’s not common to have 6 days of SW wind in Rio. Everybody was worried about the tide and the tide didn’t take a place. Organizing the charter boats almost drove me crazy. It’s really not easy because it never ends. We’ve got 30 charter boats and it’s not easy. But I think everything worked nicely.

– How did you prepare and train for the Worlds? I know you are sailing also the 470 and Dante the 49er. How did you find time for training and sailing in the Snipe? Was it difficult to find time for sailing the Snipe, considering Dante and you were involved in the organization of the Worlds?

We tried to share the time for the Snipe and Olympic campaign. We raced some regattas in the US and other small races in Rio. I’m paranoid about training because I always want to improve something. We didn’t train too much. Our goal was to race important regattas during the year.

– Can you describe your equipment (boat, mast, sails) the you used in Rio? Secret numbers?

Boat Diemer, Olimpic Sails and SW Gold. The basic numbers were the same. Just some small adjustment depending on the wind conditions. But not too special.

– The Brazilians finished with 8 boats in the top 10. In your opinion, why are the Brazilian teams so strong?

The class is the best option in Brasil. We are a big family! It’s cheap in relation to other classes and all the equipment is built in Brasil. That’s the biggest point! You don’t need to be an athlete, you don’t need to sail every day and we have the last 3 world champions from Brazil. Many people want to sail in the class and beat us.

– Which was the most important factor for the victory of the Worlds?

Patience! Our first day was tough. In the first race we had a very poor start. After the start we made a mistake and had to do a 720. But at this time we were sure we were mentally prepared. We kept calm and we won the race. But we had a ZFP. That was terrible. And in the next 2 races we had 3 and 5. At the end of the day I really thought we were mentally in the right way. We were tested.

– Can you describe your regatta and how you managed the 6 days of sailing?

For sure we had to sail in a different way during the starts. It was really difficult because the right side was almost always better and also the start at the RC. We thought it was too risky to start there and we paid a high price in the beginning of all races to start in the middle of the line.

– Did you have a coach during the Worlds?

Mauricio Santa Cruz was our coach. He was really important passing us his experience and helping during many moments.

– Did you expect the prevalent strong winds during the Championship or it was a “surprise”?

It was really abnormal. SW wind normally last 2 days. And it’s strong only in the first day. Because of the special meteorological conditions tide didn’t take place. We didn’t have even one typical day of Guanabara Bay.

– Your program for the future?

We will keep away from the Snipe the next 3 years trying to qualify for Rio 2016. After that we will come back. For sure!!!