Skip to main content
Time to race start
00 days
:
00 hrs
:
00 min
:
00 sec

New Chilean sailing president chases lifelong dream — and a Pacific future

Home 2025 New Chilean sailing president chases lifelong dream — and a Pacific future

Article Image

Yerko Cattarinich’s first Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is more than a personal milestone. For the newly elected president of the Chilean Sailing Federation, it is a statement of intent about where he wants to take the sport — and his country.

news
—

 “It is the dream of my life,” Cattarinich said after securing a late berth in the iconic 628 nautical mile offshore race. But the dream nearly ended before it began, when plans to sail on his original boat collapsed just days before the start.

Cattarinich enjoying the Sydney sights - Cattarinich pic.

Disappointed and unsure if he would race at all, Cattarinich instead found an unexpected lifeline. Hearing his story, the owners of Ocean Crusaders J-Bird invited him aboard, giving the Chilean sailor a second chance at the event he has followed for decades.

“I was very sad at first,” he said. “But I came here for two reasons — for my personal dream, and for my responsibility as president.”

Only weeks earlier, Cattarinich had been elected to lead Fedevela for the next three years. A former Chilean Navy officer, certified high-seas captain and owner of the 42-foot yacht Altair, he brings both military discipline and lifelong sailing experience to the role. His résumé includes service as Maritime Governor of Aysén, Commodore of the National Naval Command, and leadership roles in elite naval sailing programs.

Now racing in Australia, Cattarinich sees the 80th Sydney Hobart Yacht Race not just as a test of endurance, but as a bridge across the Pacific.

Cattarinich at the CYCA - Cattarinich pic.

“My idea is to connect Chile with Australia and New Zealand,” he said. “The Pacific is not a border — it’s a connection,” he said at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia marina.

During his time in Sydney, Cattarinich has met local sailing officials and yacht club leaders to explore exchange programs that would allow young Chilean sailors to train and compete in Oceania. He believes exposure to Australia’s offshore culture could fast-track technical development back home.

Chile’s coastline — more than 6,000 kilometres long — should make sailing a national passion, he argues. Instead, participation remains limited.

“This is something I want to change,” he said. “Chile is a country of the sea. We import and export through the ocean, but sailing is still not for everyone.”

As president, he wants to expand grassroots programs, particularly junior sailing and technical education, while also rebuilding Chile’s offshore racing calendar. One long-distance race of 1,000 nautical miles was abandoned years ago due to extreme weather and safety concerns.

Cattarinich believes lessons from Australia could help bring it back — safely.

“I want to create a race similar in spirit to the Sydney Hobart, but adapted to Chile,” he said, describing a possible course from Valparaíso to Puerto Montt, through fjords and channels comparable to Tasmania’s rugged waters.  Crucially, any such race would involve close coordination with the Chilean Navy for search-and-rescue support.

On board Ocean Crusaders J-Bird, owned by Ian and Annika Thomson, Cattarinich is the final crew member — number 15. His role is flexible, helping wherever needed, but his broader mission is fixed.

Ocean Crusaders J-Bird nearing the finish of the 2024 Sydney Hobart - CYCA/Salty Dingo pic.

“To enjoy it, yes,” he said of his Hobart ambition. “But also to learn. To take this experience back to Chile.

“This country shows what is possible — quality of life, strong sport, strong community,” he said. “If we can mirror even part of this in sailing, Chile will be better for it.”

For Cattarinich, it is not just a race to Hobart — it is the starting line of a longer journey for Chilean sailing across the Pacific.

Steve Dettre/RSHYR media