Tornado Sailing.
In Spring 1997 Fernando teamed with Antón Paz Blanco as crew to race in the Tornado Olympic catamaran for the Sidney 2000 summer Olympics. The Tornado Class is a two person catamaran that achieves very high speeds. It was added in 1976 to the assortment of boats in the Olympic Event overseen by the International Sailing Federation. The Tornado was designed in the autumn of 1967 by Rodney March from England, with help from Terry Pierce, and Reg White, specifically for the purpose of being the new Olympic Catamaran, which was to be selected by the IYRU in an Olympic Catamaran Trials. The boat was developed mainly in Brightlingsea, England. The Tornado has since remained unchallenged as the ultimate one-design catamaran. Even more after several design updates have been introduced over the years. With its modern, stylish rigging and sleek lines the Tornado is quick to catch the eye of any water-drawn on-looker as it speeds across harbors, lakes, and oceans in over 40 countries around the world. With its ability to reach speeds of 14-16 knots upwind, and 33+ knots downwind or reaching, the Tornado is truly the purists' speed machine.
The early years in the Tornado class were hard. Having a limited budget, and lacking a technical background in catamarans, they concentrated in physical condition, sailing, maximizing resources, while learning the basics. During these early years, all economical resources come from Fernando's parent's who saw a total dedication on both sailors. However, slowly, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation realized about potential of this duo. Importantly, good references from Tornado gold medalist and world champion Fernando León, his crew Pepote Ballester and the Tornado national coach Antonio Navarro, plus some promising results, promoted their presence in the National team. This brought them to a new level because León/Ballester were an international top team winning in Atlanta 1996. In 2000, Fernando and Antón were chosen as sparring (team B) in the Spanish Olympic sailing team for the Sidney 2000 Olympics.
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