Strong presence at 420 Worlds

Open and Ladies World Championships start this Thursday in Ravenna, Italy

The 420 Open and Ladies World Championships are being held in Ravenna, Italy,this year. There are currently 96 boats entered in the open fleet, and 56 in the ladies from 23 nations.

The British Team has entered a team of 14 boats, with seven in each of the fleets. They have just completed a two week coaching session in Weymouth run by Tom Saunt and Bunny Warren, by far the most intensive training schedule undertaken in recent years.

There were a couple of absentees from the training: Nic Asher and Paul Davis for the Open, Victoria and Emma Rawlinson for the Ladies, who were busy competing in the Volvo Youth ISAF World Championships in France. The Rawlinson sisters failed to defend their title, however they weren't far behind, finishing an impressive second overall. Asher and Davis failed to return with a medal, however they both have another year as youths to try again.

These two boats both have a good chance of finishing in the top 10. The Rawlinsons have every chance of defending the Ladies Championship title, which was won by Christina Bassadone and Helen Mayhew (GBR) last year.

Ben Field and Nick Hutton, a new pairing for this season, were sailing for the second week of the training period. Field, current Enterprise world champion, has high aims: "Well top five, maybe top ten - I've got to beat my brother who was the last Brit to finish in the top 10 (eighth place 1998 420 Worlds in Palamos, Spain)." Field also believes that with the concentrated training the team has just completed everyone has the ability to finish inside the top 20.

Sam Carter, current Cadet world champion and Paul Jones are a pair that have an outside chance of finishing high up in the rankings. Although this duo qualified when Alex Cherry dropped out to compete in the 29er Worlds, they are still a force to be reckoned with. Carter and Jones are a fairly light pair, which could put them in good stead for the light winds forecast.

The only problem the team may have will be with the weather, forecast to be light thermal winds and choppy seas, conditions British 420 sailors rarely master. For this reason Steve Irish, winner of the 1991 420 World Championships, was employed to deal with this very problem.

Although the British Team can consider itself one of the top teams in the event the Italians, French, and Spanish are also fielding strong competitors. In particular, Mattia Pressich and Giacomo De Gavardo - sailing for Italy - are one of the favourites in the open championships having just taken gold at the ISAF Youth Worlds.
The ladies championship will also feature similar nations at the top, with Marjorlaine Le Moigne and Laurie Morvan - sailing for France - sure to be near the top having just finished third behind the Rawlinsons at the ISAF Youth Worlds. Also straight from the ISAF Youth Worlds will be the winning pairing of Melissa Bryant and Martha Leonard from Australia.

British Teams

Open Championship

1. Nic Asher and Paul Davies
2. Myles and Elliot Willis
3. Ian Martin and Laurie Fitzjohn-Sykes
4. Ben Field and Nick Hutton
5. Athol and Eamonn King
6. Nick Cherry and Chris Evans
7. Sam Carter and Paul Jones

Ladies Championship

1. Victoria and Emma Rawlinson
2. Gemma Farrell and Joanna Allen
3. Susanne Bennell and Jill Shorrocks
4. Charlie Odell and Katherine Hopson
5. Helen Mayhew and Julia Scott
6. Jeni Todd and Katie Graves
7. Carrie Vaughan and Rachel Larman