24th September 2003 - Day Six

With only 1 race to complete the World Championships, it was down to a battle between Robert Scheidt BRA the overnight leader and Gustavo Lima POR who was only two points behind. To win Lima had to finish fourth or better with Scheidt behind. Like the Sydney Olympics the Laser class once again provided drama and a nail biting climax with the championship being decided in the last 300 metres to the finish.

The sailors were held on shore for an hour as a land breeze began to develop and eventually freshened to 12-14 knots for the start. After one general recall the fleet started successfully after Scheidt and Lima put on a display of pre-start match racing manoeuvres. They continued this until 1 minute before the start when they both sailed up to find small holes 5 boats apart at the committee boat end of the line.

Coming off the line it became evident that Lima had a slight advantage in boat speed and Scheidt eventually broke off a loose cover to allow Lima the right hand side of the course while he worked the middle of the first leg..

At the first mark rounding Peter Santen SWE led from Mike Leigh CAN and third place overall Michael Blackburn AUS. The leaders all came from the right hand side of the beat. Lima could only manage to round in 22nd while Scheidt was further back in 35th place. Both sailors made gains on the downwind legs with Scheidt drawing almost level with Lima's transom as they rounded the bottom gate.

On the second beat Lima sailed the shifts better than Scheidt. Staying to the right of Scheidt he managed to increase his margin to 9 places as he rounded in tenth place. Santen had held onto the lead and Diego Romero ARG had sailed to second.

At the last mark rounding Santen led and Lima had fought his way to fifth which was one place out of giving him victory on a tie break. However there was one further twist in this fascinating race as the breeze dropped for 2 minutes and then swung 120 degrees as the sea breeze began to fill in on the final short leg to the finish. Santen and Romero had enough of a lead to hold their positions, however Lima sailed out to sea and picked up the first puffs of the sea breeze to cross the line third to take his first World Championship, beating Scheidt by 1 point. Blackburn held on to third overall after a 13th place.

After the race Lima said he thought he had good boat speed as he has been training very hard and sailing at the venue since 4th September. "After the last beat when I rounded in tenth I thought it was possible for me to get the positions I needed, so I concentrated on every wave and bit of pressure, but I could only manage to round in fifth place. Just then the wind dropped and every one tacked so I thought I must do something different. A motor boat went past and I caught his wave for about 10m and then tacked and got a little gust to cross third. I couldn't believe it - I think God must have been on my side".

Final Results

1. Gustavo Lima POR 27pts
2. Robert Scheidt BRA 28pts
3. Michel Blackburn AUS 62pts
4. Luis Martinez ESP 66pts
5. Daniel Birgmark SWE 74pts
6. Mark Mendelblatt USA 76pts
7. Andrew Murdoch NZL 78pts
8. Gareth Blanckenberg RSA 78pts
9. Vasilij Zbogar SLO 88pts
10. Gustav Carlsson SWE 95pts

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