Christian Noe, the former Argentina sailing coach, believes the racing conditions in Rio could be ideally suited for Cecilia Wollmann at the Olympic Games.

Noe feels light winds expected at the Marina da Glória will be to the liking of Wollmann, who is making her Olympic debut in the Laser Radial in the single-handed Olympic class dinghy.

Having spent almost two years coaching the Argentina Olympic team at the same venue where this summer’s sailing events will be held, Noe has plenty of local knowledge that should beneficial for Wollmann.

“Rio is normally not a windy place, so this could give us a big advantage,” Noe said. “I’m very familiar with the venue because I spent nearly two years working there as coach of the Argentina Olympic team before I started coaching Cecilia.”

Wollmann qualified for the Rio Games at January’s Sailing World Cup in Miami, where she was accompanied by Noe.

“Our goal was Tokyo 2020 but we did a very good job and Cecilia was able to qualify for Rio and it’s amazing to have a sailor representing Bermuda at her age,” Noe said.

“This was something that came as a surprise and there is no pressure on us in Rio because we are on a learning curve. This is a long-term job.”

Wollmann and Noe travelled to Rio on an Olympic scouting mission last month.

“We have been working with Cecilia in Rio and have everything almost settled there to have a fantastic games,” Noe said.

“My expertise of being there many, many times helps to make all the logistics a little easier.”

Noe took Wollmann under his wing two years ago to assist her preparations in the Byte class for the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China.

He is presently on island putting Wollmann and British 2020 Tokyo Olympic hopeful Jack Cookson through their paces.

“Cecilia is a very smart sailor,” Noe said. “She has worked very well on starts, strategy and boat handling, which is very important.”

As well as preparing for the upcoming Olympics, Wollmann, who sails out of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, has also been busy training with Bermuda’s Red Bull Youth America’s Cup team.

Bermuda’s sailors are taking their first steps towards learning the art of foiling in the NACRA 17 catamaran, which Wollmann sailed during her training camp in Rio last month.

“When I was in Rio I went out for a day and it was fun,” Wollmann said. “We found out someone who had one and jumped in.”

Bermuda’s RBYAC sailors will use the NACRA 17 as an initial test platform before transitioning to a larger catamaran, with the M32 and Extreme 40 believed to be among the classes being considered.

Next year’s Red Bull Youth America’s Cup will be contested in the same AC45F foiling catamarans being used in the ongoing America’s Cup World Series. The AC45 is a test platform for the 50-foot foiling catamarans teams will race at the 35th America’s Cup.