Reports/Results	Reports/Results	Reports/Results
Cascais World Championships, Radial 2007 Welcome to Cascais, Portugal! Eleven Olympic Classes, 5 racing circles, 900 boats, 1,315 of the best sailors from around the World, 915 more sailors then the Olympics, 256 new lasers for the men and women, and the first event to qualify countries for the 2008 Olympics. This was large. After losing the selection for the 2007 America’s Cup venue, Cascais put their efforts towards the large ISAF 100th anniversary multi-class world championships. They did not disappoint. ISAF has scheduled multi-class world championships in the past, - ESP, AUS and GER - but this regatta had all of the classes sailing out of the same venue, an old historic Fort’s Harbour with plenty of water front cafes. This regatta requires a level of organization and event management that would be very restrictive for many countries. Nice job by POR and ISAF. Before the racing began, International Judge Bill O’Hara and ISAF officials ran a Rule 42 clinic to ensure all athletes and coaches knew the specifics of the rule and what the Jury is looking for. Many have concerns about Rule 42. The issue is consistency. Perhaps in the future, as with NFL Football, ISAF should consider shooting video of the violating situations, if not for a hearing then for teaching and educating sailors and coaches. It would be very beneficial to have video of international sailors, not club sailors, as the difference in technique is significant. Some classes such as Finn and 470 have internal rules such as unlimited pumping after a certain wind speed. One North American sailor was perplexed about a yellow flag call in 20 knots of breeze. Perhaps Rule 42 will continue to be a challenge, like judging for figure skating, diving or gymnastics. The Racing was staggered to allow fleets to access different racing circles. Each day of racing was in a different racing area. The Women’s Radial started racing on July 4^th at 13:00 on course 2, day 2 on course 1, then day 3 on the around the point windy course 5. After these 3 days and 6 races the fleets were split into Gold and Silver. Racing resumed after a reserve day. It was off to course 3 at for a 16:00 start time for one of the strangest days of racing ever at a World Championships. Wind was 2 knots to 18 knots, with puffs and shifts coming from above, straight down. The fleet had plenty of mixing. The scheduled 2^nd day on course 5 never happened, as it was 40 knots, -racing was postponed until it was finally cancelled. The last day had the Gold and Silver fleets on course 4. The top 10 “medal race” was scheduled at 17:00 right off of the break wall, with helicopters and live TV. Racing was very different than the ISAF Grade 1 regattas held earlier in the spring. Cascais had more breeze than in ESP, FRA and NED. There were many times when leading the group back into the middle of the course would not work out. Ducking sterns and getting to the side of the course had higher angles and lifted out on the fleet, sometimes because of wind and sometimes because of current. In race #1, a boat that looked to be in the bottom 10 just 200 meters from the top mark, was soon winning the race. In some races the fleet was very tight with 1^st and last all within minutes and meters. In other races, boats were very spread out, 50 or 100 meters between boats at the top mark. A lead was very seldom safe. A local concept called “Nortada” influenced the breeze, right was mostly good, but on day 4 there was some big left. On day 1, Sarah Lihan, USA had a very strong day but lost a protest for a DSQ. Tania Elias Calles Wolf, MEX had an amazing run with 4 top 3’s to go into the medal race in 2^nd. Tania also had a 2^nd overall at Princess Sophia regatta so is continuing her top results. Anna Tunicliff, USA also had strong consistent scores, with 7 top 10’s going into the finals, 8 points behind first. Defending champion Lijia Xu, CHN had 3 firsts in the first 4 races, but a DSQ, and a 21^st and 22^nd on day #4 day really dropped her. She was the last boat to qualify for the medal race, and was 18 points from first. Evi Van Acker, BEL who won the ISAF Grade 1’s,- Princes Sophia, Hyeres and Holland- was unable to put her typical strong string of races together in Cascais and finished out of the top 10. Past World Champion Paige Railey, USA had 3 top 5’s and flashes of her past success. However, her good races could not negate her bad ones and she finished 17^th. Keamia Rasa, CAN had a 3,4,and 6 to finish 18^th, a breakthrough event for her. Other North American Gold fleet finishers included Lisa Ross CAN, 31^st; Daniel Dube, CAN, 33^rd; and Sarah Lihan, USA, 36^th. The medal race was also full of drama- very windy and shifty. The top boats were GER 37, MEX 39, ISR 39, BLR 43, FIN 44, and USA 45. Tania and Anna were looking for left shift off of the start line, but at the top mark a right shift came in. China’s Xu was strong on the first beat, until she was stuck in irons at the windward mark. POL and FIN also benefited from the right shift at the top. Very fast sailing, the late passing on the downwind and the close finishes made the race very exciting. Drozdovskaya, BLR won the World Championships by finishing 2^nd and ahead of Multala, FIN. FIN finished 2^nd overall because Niemann, GER finished 7^th and GER won the bronze. There was a 3-way tie for 4^th with the tiebreaker going in favour of who scored better in the last race. POL finished 4^th, Anna 5^th and Tania finished 6^th. As the competitors came into the dock, young sailors were there to sail the top 3 boats to the ramp. The medalists still in their racing clothing were quickly on the podium, to receive their medals and hear their National Anthems. The 2007 World Championship also reflects the strength of the Laser Radial class internationally. Obviously, all of the National Sport Organization’s work in preparation for the Olympics has created parity. Seventeen countries in the top 20. Thirty-one countries in the Gold Fleet. USA, MEX and CAN have all qualified for the 2008 Olympics. USA has trials in Rhode Island, CAN will race off at the 2008 World’s, and Tania has already qualified for MEX. For a little roof top boat modified for smaller sailors back in 1984, and with the recent inclusion of women in the Olympics, the Laser Radial has certainly come of age.