The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

Sailed in the Martin 16, the World Championship has attracted disabled crews from around the world, including several who are more often found sailing the Paralympic circuit of events.

Current leader, Gustav FRESK is a past World Champion in the 2.4mR, claiming the title in 1995. More recently Gustav has competed in the Sonar, qualifying Sweden for the 2004 Paralympic Games from his results at the 2003 IFDS World Championship. Presuming Gustav is selected to represent Sweden, it will mark his third appearance at the Paralympics in the Sonar, having participated both in 1996 and 2000 placing fourth each time. With crew Aron ANDERSSON, Gustav has pulled out an early lead in this nine race series and has clearly settled into a winning pace.

Position	Crew	Nation	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Total Points
1	Gustaf Fresk & Aron Andersson	Stocksund, SWE	1	1	3	1	6
2	John McRoberts & Paul Tingley	Victoria, BC, CAN	4	3	1	4	12
3	Dan Fitzgibbon & Grahme Rayner	Brisbane, AUS	2	2	8	2	14
4	Dave Cook & Ken Kelly	Victoria, BC, CAN	5	4	5	3	17
5	Karen Mitchell & Mike Grimm	Deerfield Beach, FL, USA	8	5	2	5	20
6	Joe Hogan & Tom Franklin	Charlotte, VT, USA	3	7	4	9	23
7	Jussi Mattila & Danny McCoy	Finland	7	6	10	6	29
8	Cam Perry & Wayne Phillips	Ancaster,ON, CAN	10	8	6	8	32
9	Mindru Tada & Miho Hamada	Chiba-Ken, JPN	11	9	9	7	36
10	Chris Atkins & Mike Wood	Gosport, UK	6	10	12	12	40
11	Merle Hickey & Robb Lawrence	Calgory, AB, CAN	12	12	7	10	41
12	Eddie Pickering & Rachel Morris	Gosport, UK	9	11	13	11	44
13	Chris Loscerbo & Jim Thweatt	Chemainus, BC, CAN	13	13	11	15\DNF	52
14	Peter Johnson & Carol Tibus	Fox River Grove, IL, USA	15\DNF	14	14	13	56

The Martin 16 is a spinnaker-equipped, high performance sloop designed specifically to accommodate sailors with severe disabilities. The Martin 16 is sailed by a two-person crew. Both the helmsperson and crew seat positions can be equipped with ergonomic seat modules and upper body support harnesses for those sailors requiring them. A deep bulb keel provides stability in any wind and sea conditions.

An open approach to electronic assistive equipment and innovative adaptations allows sailors with significant disabilities - both men and women - to compete equitably with anyone. The Martin 16 can be equipped with any combination of portable, power-assisted sheeting, control line and steering systems. Men and women with high quadriplegia (no movement below the neck) control the helm and sails through a "sip & puff" control interface, using their breath.

Controls and lines can be located so that either crew may perform any function on the boat. A crew with reasonable manual dexterity (IFDS Classification of 2-7) can handle the self-launching spinnaker and continuous sheet. The spinnaker halyard may be power-assisted.

Being held at the St Petersburg Yacht Club, Florida the Two-Person Keelboat World Championship follows on from the Single-Person Dinghy World Championship held in Melbourne, Australia in January 2004, both events attracting severely disabled sailors.

Racing continues through until Saturday.