2003 LASER RADIAL WORLD & EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
2003 LASER RADIAL OPEN WORLD & EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
2003 LASER RADIAL WOMEN’S WORLD & EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Fraglia della Vela di Riva, Riva del Garda, Italy, 25 July - 9 August

Drama to the end

The final day of the Laser Radial World Championship provided drama, excitement and a cross-section of wind conditions. The fleet left the club early in the morning to take advantage of a light northerly “Peler” wind of 6 knots and to try and recover some of the lost races from the previous day. Overnight leader and defending champion, Karlo Krpeljevic from Croatia, had previously done well in the lighter conditions but like most good dramas there was a twist in the story and he could only manage a 23rd place. His nearest overnight rival, Marc Jux from Chile scored even worse with a 39th. Although ten races were now completed and a second discard allowed, Jux was in trouble as he already had to count a 34th place. Krpeljevic was in a better position but he could not afford any further mistakes. At the front of the first race Aron Lolic CRO helped his fight for honours with a second place behind Wojciech Paluszkiewicz POL. After 10 races all of the top sailors apart from Jake Bartrom from New Zealand had used their final series discard.

As the Peler wind died there was a nail-biting wait afloat to see if the stronger “Ora” wind from the south developed. 5km south of the racing area the Ora had developed but, unusually, was blocked in this position. Patience paid off and the fleet was rewarded with a 12 to 14 knot Ora which enabled the Race Committee to complete 2 more races for all but the bronze fleet before the time limit for racing expired.

Krpeljevic recovered his consistency in the stronger wind with a 4th place in the second race of the day, but ahead of him Lolic was on a charge, taking the winning gun from Andreas Rallotos GRE.

The stage was set for a last race climax with any one of 5 sailors able to take the overall title. Lolic, now in the overall lead, could still not afford a mistake and was happy to round the first mark in the top five, with Krpeljevic back in the twenties. His 3rd place finish behind Niksa Stipanovic CRO and Marc Jux CHI ensured that the World Championship title remained in Croatia.

In the women’s fleet there was further drama when Krystal Weir AUS, who was lying third overnight, failed to appear on the course area for the first race of the day, having failed to check the notice board for a rescheduled early start. Second overall, Nufar Edelman also had a bad start to her day with an OCS score in the first race, which was won by Jeanette Dagson. The defending champion, Katarzyna Szotynska from Poland, made sure of her fourth successive title with a solid fourth place, going on to celebrate by winning the last two races. Weir was out in time for the last two races and recovered her runner up position with second and third place finishes.