Today's Race Report

Open Hobie 16 World Championships
Friday, March 8th, Finals - Day 2 of 2

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Dubai, (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES): After twice being deprived of their sport's ultimate prize, Brazilians Claudio Cardoso and Frederico Monterio finally clinched gold today by winning the Hobie Cat 16 World Championship in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai.

The boys from Brazil, overnight leaders before the last day's final two races, bounced back from a disastrous opening leg to at last claim the winners' berth after two successive runners-up spots in Guadeloupe in 1993 and Mexico last year. But while there was no wiping the huge smiles off the faces of the two Brazilians, there was also no disguising the relief of the new world champions.

With very little wind disturbing the sails of the 56 Hobie Cats on the beach for the Dubai Ports Authority/O'Neill-sponsored event, the scheduled final three races to determine the winners became just two. And with skipper Cardoso having a disastrous first race - the Brazilian produced his worst score of the Finals by finishing in 40th place - the advantage was handed back to the South African husband and wife team of Bill and Lucinda Edwards who went into the last race of the series in first place overall.

With Papua New Guinea skipper Mark Laruffa in second and Aaron Worrall of Australia in third, fourth-placed Cardoso knew he had to get a good finish in the last race to have any chance of winning the title. And while Germany's Detlef and Reinhold Mohr won the final race, a close second for Cardoso and Monterio coupled with poor placings for their nearest challengers meant the first ever Hobie Cat sailing world title for Brazil.

"It's a dream come true," said a beaming Cardoso as the Brazilian flag flew high over the winners' podium. "When we finished in 40th place I thought we'd blown it again. But God was with me and he gave me the good winds I needed. I'm just so very, very happy for myself and Frederico and for everyone who has come from Brazil to Dubai to support us." Brazil 2

Few of the original 300 competing teams would deny Cardoso his long-awaited success, especially after winning five of the 15 Finals races. There was, however, a certain sympathy for the Edwards who finished second overall after a poor 33rd place finish in the closing race. For defending world champions Worrall and Sylvester there was no repeat of their 1995 title triumph. However, sixth and 10th place finishes yesterday were enough to push them ahead of South Africans Shaun Ferry and Alison Lewis for third place on the podium.

While the race statistics show Nicky and Alan Knotze of South Africa took the penultimate race of the series ahead of Rod and Kerry Waterhouse of Australia and Brent Latter and Michael Cockburn of South Africa, the championships belong to Cardoso and Monterio who finally buried their world championship jinx in the cool waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Cardoso, a 35-year-old electronics engineer, and 27-year-old sailing instructor Monterio deserved their title thanks mainly to a magnificent hat-trick of wins on the penultimate day of the 11-day event. Elsewhere, the highest finishers from Europe in the 17-nation Finals were the Mohr brothers of Germany in eighth place, sole British survivors Mathew Eeles and Phil Hillyard finished 45th, top Americans were Carlton Tucker and Kathy Ward in 23rd, while Womens World Champions Kerry Ireland and 14-year-old Jenny Dickson from Australia - the only all-girl team in the Finals - finished in 52nd place overall.

The new world champions received their trophies at a gala desert barbecue dinner staged under the Arabian skies at the Dubai International Marine Club. Attended by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the dinner was held to honour the 600 sailors from 57 different countries who attended the Middle East's biggest-ever sailing regatta.

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