Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) Optimist sailor Chase Cooper led the local contingent at last week’s IODA South American Championships in Brazil.Provisional results showed the Warwick Academy student tenth in an overall field of 144 sailors from 14 countries.Cooper, Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association’s 2012 Sailor of the Year, posted six top ten finishes that included two seconds competing on the muddy river waters near Porto Alegre.He was in third at the halfway stage of the regatta before eventually falling off the pace towards the end of the six-day event.Cooper finished with 108 points after throwing our his worst score of 73rd which he received for being black flagged in the penultimate race of the regatta.“Chase has really matured in the past eight months to a year to become very consistent,” said RBYC sailing coach Paul Doughty. “He has the ability to get to the front of big fleets and be consistent and that comes from getting good starts, avoiding traffic and finding the fast lanes all of the time. He also has the confidence to carry out his goals and strategy.”Ceci Wollmann (56th) was the next highest local finisher in Brazil followed by her brother Mikey (76th), Benn Smith (104th) and Peter Dill (117th).United States’ Ivan Shestopalov (45pts) won the regatta by a five- point margin over Brazilian Gabriel Lopes (50pts). Argentina’s Fausto Peralta (66pts) rounded off the top three while compatriot Clara Vignati (125pts), who placed 14th overall, was the top female sailor in the fleet.