After three days of racing, the Angolan vessel, Angola Cables Mussulo 40, crewed by the Angolan commander José Guilherme Caldas and the skipper Brazilian, Leonardo Chicourel, completed the second stage of the Atlantic Cup, in fourth place in the general classification, among the 11 participating boats.
The pair concluded the second part of the regatta, in Portland, in fourth place, two ahead of the classification obtained in the first stage of the competition, with the direction of the wind and the intensity of the cold ending up influencing the performance of the Mussulo 40.
José Guilherme Caldas, captain of the vessel, says that this was one of the most difficult races in which he participated. Having started in first place, Mussulo 40 managed to maintain the lead for a long period of time. Throughout the race, however, the appearance of the headwind, which increased the speed, reaching almost 40 knots in intensity, began to favor the newer boats.
Leonardo Chicourel, skipper from Mussulo 40, shares the opinion of his sailing companion, guaranteeing that it was a very tough race, with very strong winds and very low temperatures. These conditions caused problems on the boat, such as the breakage of a pilot and the mast, due to the force of the rough sea water, which did not prevent the vessel, despite all the setbacks, from improving its classification in relation to previous stage, arriving among the first.
The next stage of the Atlantic Cup will take place this weekend inside the Port of Portland. There will be around five regattas in-shore, of short duration and which will continue to count points in the championship. For this last part of the Atlantic Cup, José Guilherme Caldas and Leonardo Chicourel will beat the teams of Brazilian Rafael Martins and Frenchman Robin Marais.