Since sailing was included as an Olympic sport in “Les Jeux Olympiques Paris,1900”, the Spanish have had more than their fair share of medals in this discipline. In Spanish waters come September, we will surely witness a momentous occasion in Olympic Sailing.

In the bay, between the 11th and 25th September, this Championships will have the greatest number of entries ever seen in an event of this kind; with more than 90 countries represented.

Counted among the more than 1,800 competitors are some of the best skippers in the world. They are taking part, not only to be the best in the world in their respective classes, but also to qualify for the Olympics being held in Aghios Kosmas, Greece, between the 14th and 28th August 2004.

The Organisers of the Championships, Consorcio Mundo Vela and the Public Limited Company for Andalusian Sports, considers that this event will draw both the elite of sailing and the Olympiads; who, in the absence of any other International competition of this kind, can use this as a trial run up to the Olympics. After the Americas Cup in New Zealand, the absence of competitions like the Volvo Ocean Race, among others, will place the focus of attention for aficionados of sailing, firmly on the waters of Southern Europe and the coming races.

There will be three venues for the different classes of the Championships. Cadiz, the oldest city, will hold the World Championship Laser Class. The new Elcano Nautical Centre, located in the city port, will house the 120 teams who will participate in this event.

Rota, in the specially built Puerto Deportivo Astaroth, will hold the World Championship Class 470; which was also the Class in contention in these waters in 1992 and where the Spaniard, Theresa Zabell, earned one of her many International titles. Once again it will be the venue for the men and women’s 470 Class.

Puerto Sherry is at the north end of the bay, surrounded and protected by pine trees. It is a modern marina built two kilometres from the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria.

The superb installations at Puerto Sherry will host the rest of the Classes in the Championships: Finn, Tornado, Star, Mistral, Yngling, 49er and Europa.

The Competition itself will include a series of social events and concerts, all served up with excellent local cuisine in a wonderful setting; where you will find some of the best wines and the finest Cartesian horses. More than six thousand people will be involved overall, namely: competitors; members of the various committees; VIPs; guests and national & international journalists, who are among those looking to enjoy one of the best Championships that Olympic sailing has seen in recent years.

So the competitors can prepare as thoroughly as possible, the organisers have arranged a series of International competitions in the same areas where the World Championships will be held in September. The most recent was the III Carnaval Regatta which had more than four hundred teams taking part.

The positive results of the Regatta give every indication that the coming Worlds will also be a success, not only from the point of view of the Organisers, but also the sponsors and collaborating companies such as: Iberian Airlines; Volvo; Brother Iberia; Seur, Avis and Coca Cola., among others.

The nearly two thousand boats that rendez-vous for the Worlds will blanket the Bay of Cadiz in white sail; a sight never seen before.

Source: Modesto Sanchez