In 2015, in an unprecedented move for a small country like Uruguay, 10 boats were imported by the Yacht Club Punta del Este to start the J/70 Class to promote modern sailing within its members and the local sailing community. Uruguay has a long tradition in J/24s, but neighboring Argentina, where most of the J/24s in the region were built, was not in a political mood by that time to lead the development of the J/70 as they did with the J/24 before. But times are changing. So the boats arrived from the US, and Uruguay immediately placed a bid to organize the first South Americans in Punta del Este, a renowned beach resort mid-way from Chile and Brazil, where the J/70 had been growing for a while already. Although Brazilian crews could not make it, Chile did and Argentina took the opportunity of the one charter boat that the local fleet decided to leave to promote someone coming from abroad. The local fleet had been sailing since May 2015 and two of the crews attended Miami Sailing Week last March, but nothing could prevent new kid on the block Francisco Van Avermaete from winning the first South American Championship in an masterly fashion. The Argentineans, having only raced the boat in the Uruguayan Championship a few days before, showed great skill surely derived from their experience in racing the Soto 33, a boat alike the J/70 but 10 feet longer. The event started with an atypical westerly light breeze, slowly turning to the left. The first day was dominated by Per Von Appen and his crew from Chile in a show of speed both up and downwind. With a 2-1-1, he looked hard to beat. But the slow turn to the left ended in extreme conditions from the Southeast for the following two days of competition. In gusts topping 28 knots, the boats flew over the water during Friday and Saturday, with the local crews facing a steep learning curve to avoid broaching in the runs. Fun and jokes were in the air, as there was no breakage in the boats in spite of the wrecked scenes when the big puffs pounded on the bay. Francisco Van Avermaete, Gerónimo Galvan, Carlos Lachin and Rafael de Martis mastered the conditions in the last four races with an 1-4-1-1 to win the Championship for Argentina with a five-point difference over Per Von Appen from Chile and his crew. The Uruguayans followed, with Diego García in third, Pedro Garra in fourth and Sebastián Raña, recently the first Uruguayan J/70 Champion, in fifth. The Yacht Club Punta del Este was a proud host to the event. Apart from the professionalism in organizing the regattas on the water, the after race gatherings and social events were great. This was only the start of a great future for the Class in the region! For more J/70 South American Championship sailing information, visit https://www.facebook.com/J70Uruguay/.