Twenty knots of winds and big waves at Fortaleza, Brazil gave the 180 Laser master sailors some challenging rides at the opening day of the Laser World Masters championship.

The total fleet for the 2005 Laser World Masters Championship is split into four starts consisting of Apprentices (35 to 44 years), Masters (45 to 54 years, Grand Masters (55 years plus) in the standard rig and a further fleet of Laser Radials with the same divisions in the results plus a category for Great Grand Masters (65 years plus.

Regular Master campaigners have returned together with new faces that have previously raced against each other in the Senior Worlds 10 or more years ago. Within this group are Kurt Miller USA and Peter Conde AUS who last raced against each other 20 years ago!

For some the conditions were a bit too challenging but they had the consolation of knowing that even some of the leaders were taken a swim. In the Apprentice Radial category a battle is renewed between Mark Orams NZL
and Steve Cockerill GBR. After winning his first race Orams gifted the second race to Cockerill after he capsized on the downwind leg giving up a good lead.

In the standard rig fleets it was a southern hemisphere benefit with Brett Bayer AUS, Murray Thom NZL and Mark Bethwaite each winning both their races in the Apprentice, Master and Grand Master divisions. The Laser radial results were a lot more mixed.