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MARSEILLE, France — The biggest and most diverse fleet of the Olympic sailing events, the men's and women's one-person dinghy, hit the water Thursday in sweltering Marseille. Among the dozens of competitors are many from the "Emerging Nations Program," a development initiative represented by countries like El Salvador and India. The small white-sailed boats, formerly known as lasers and now called ILCA 6 for women and ILCA 7 for men, go slower, sail deeper into the water and have a less spectacular design than many other vessels in the Olympic marina. But to the sailors who race them, they're the purest and most accessible form of the sport.
