| CADIZ, SPAIN-(6-2-2003) The Bay of Cadiz, the race area that will host the 2003 ISAF World Sailing Championships from the 11th to 25th of September, continues to welcome many of the teams that will take part in what is considered to be the most important Olympic sailing event of the year.
The Finish, British, Dutch and Danish teams in the different classes, who have been here for several weeks now, have been joined by sailors from other countries, such as Germany, France and the Ukraine. The local weekend sailors based in Puerto Sherry (EL Puerto de Santa Maria) are treated to skilful displays by the crews of one of the most spectacular Olympic classes, the 49er.
Puerto Sherry is the base for the top three crews in the 2002 ISAF ranking. The Spanish teams, who are trained by the gold medallist in the Flying Dutchman class in Moscow, (1980), Jane Abascal, and whose skippers are Iker Martínez and Santi
López Vázquez, (1st and 3rd respectively in the 2002 ISAF ranking), have come to train at the same time as the Ukrainian crew, Luka Rodion and George Leonchuk, who were second in this ranking in 2002. A coincidence that means that the three best teams in the world in this class are currently here in order to learn the prevailing winds and currents in this bay in the south of Europe.
On the other hand, a growing number of teams and crews have sent Mundo Vela their
entry forms for the III International Carnival Race, which will be held from the
6th to 9th March. The test event will be an excellent opportunity for Deporte Andaluz and the Mundo Vela Consortium, the local organisers of the 2003 ISAF Worlds, to try
out the human and technical teams, both on land and on the water, that will be involved in the Worlds in September.
Twenty British teams have confirmed that they will be taking part and they include Ben Ainslie (GBR-3), Gold medallist (Laser class) in Sydney 2000, 2002 World and European champion and ISAF sailor of the year.
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