Report from Day 1
Amy Smith Linton

We've got a great view of the famous white columns of the Parthenon, which shines above the urban sprawl of modern Athens. Most of the 48 Lightnings hail from cooler climates, so the on-shore postponement, where the temperature is reaching 44 degrees Celsius (105+ Fahrenheit), means we are re-thinking our plans to trot up Mount Acropolis. We want a closer look at the marble rocks etc -- the cradle of Western Civ and all that -- but no one wants to be parched into human beef jerky by the experience.

The heat wave -- a word that tragically translates into Greek, Portuguese, German, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Italian, and Aussie Standard English -- makes it vital to carry an extra, say, nine liters of drinking water on the raceboats. Or would be, if we weren't on shore, keeping a sharp eye out for breeze on Day 2 of the Lightning World Championships.

Day One gave us a pair of 4-legged races just of Microlimao harbor yesterday afternoon. Still tasting the champagne from his Masters' win last week, Bill Mauk of Miami, Florida (hey, nearly just as hot, but with humidity!) ruled the day. Crew Michelle Sumpter and Kuli Kulinchenko apparently sniffed out hot and hotter puffs (somehow, Kuli figured out that the really arid shots of breeze paid on the left -- or maybe the right, anyhow...) and then helped Bill connect the fingers of pressure to finish with a first and a third.

While several long-time Lightning competitors are sailing the Pan Am Games this week (they too, under postponement, rumor has it. Must be global climate change. Or just regatta weather.), still, the fleet is steep in talent. Canadian Peter Hall sits in fourth. He won the 1989 Lightning Worlds, when the event was last held in Athens. Tommy Sumner of Brazil, 3-time Youth Worlds Champion is among the top ten, as is the young Greek team headed by Alexandros Dimou, who started the racing with a 5-point administrative penalty for a late put-in.

Ah ha! I hear horns--- An amendment has been posted. Oh. Our lay-day just got a first start time of 1400. A hike up Mount Acropolis first thing in the morning then. Maybe we'll have a cooling zephir on the way...