Day five – Friday 17th February


Second world title for Nick Craig

The brilliant Australian sunshine returned for the final day of the Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship in Belmont, Lake Macquarie but the wind was a bit late turning up. When it finally arrived two hours late, things started to get interesting. Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) won the first race to bring him to within one point of Nick Craig (GBR) for the title. The final race showdown between Lindhardtsen and Craig didn’t materialise as an uncharacteristic error from Lindhardtsen left him chasing the fleet.

The fleet went afloat at 10.00 for a scheduled 11.00 start, drifted around for an hour in no wind and came ashore again. At 13.00 out they went again and this race nine was started in about 10 knots. Lindhardtsen started at the pin and hit the left hand corner before leading into the first mark followed by Jon Fish (GBR), Roger Blasse (AUS) and Craig, who had had a bad started and bailed out to the right side of the course. Lindhardtsen led all the way to win the race. Craig pulled through Fish and Blasse on the final beat to secure second.

After a general recall, race ten got underway in similar conditions. Again Lindhardtsen started at the pin and headed left while Craig started at the committee boat and also headed left. At the top mark Craig had a narrow lead over Fish and Robert Deaves (GBR). Lindhardtsen had trouble finding the windward mark, overstood and rounded about 12th. The ever cool Craig led all the way to win the race and the championship with Greg Wilcox (NZL) moving up to second and Karl Purdie (NZL) to third. This was the first time since the race format was changed to 10 races that the final race had been sailed – and with 40 minutes to spare.

Lindhardtsen credited Craig saying, “Nick sailed fantastically this week. Early on I thought he was having problems with his speed but the last three days he has sailed exceptionally well.” Craig also spoke of Lindhardtsen. “Jorgen is a legend. It’s like racing against a 25 year old sometimes. He’s so fit and focused and really hard to beat. I think what is really awesome is that he went for it 100 per cent every race, sailing extremely hard and was obviously here to win. I really hope he will be back next year in Poland, as I will be.”

For the second year running the bronze medal goes this year to Greg Wilcox, who is also President of the OK Dinghy International Association. His second place in the last race was enough to pull ahead of team mate Karl Pudie who had started the day in third place.

Next year’s OK World Championship will be sailed in the sunny Baltic resort of Leba in Poland.


© Robert Deaves 2006, OK Dinghy International Association
Reproduction in full or in part welcomed with credit to author
Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Day four – Thursday 16th February

Craig takes the lead

In a day of two halves at the Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship in
Belmont, Australia, defending world champion Nick Craig (GBR) took over the lead
with a 2nd place in race seven and consolidated his lead by leading race eight
from start to finish. He goes into the final day with just a two point margin
over Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN), who has a 10 point margin over third placed Karl
Purdie (NZL).

After a 30 minute postponement, race seven started in a 5-6 knot northerly. The
left side proved to be the way to go as everyone on the right side ran out of
pressure. Mike Williams (AUS) led round the first mark after starting midline and
going hard left before coming back in more pressure. He led all the way round the
course to win the race. At the top mark, a number of new faces were to be seen.
Following Williams was Peter Horne (AUS), Dave Hoogenboom (NZL), Richard Furneaux
(AUS) and Bill Tyler (AUS).

Nick Craig (GBR) had taken the right side of the beat and rounded about 16th.
He moved up to 10th by the leeward mark and gradually moved through the fleet
until the final leeward mark when he rounded in third just behind Alistair Deaves
(NZL). Deaves had started the committee boat end totally buried and had played
the left in an attempt to recover. Finding the pressure and the shift he rounded
the first mark about eighth and took a few more places downwind to move up to
second.

The wind increased slightly for the final beat and able to stretch his legs,
Craig reeled in Deaves to take second place. Craig said later, “He should have
eaten more breakfast like I did!”

The wind was up to 10 to 15 knots for race eight. Both Craig and Jorgen
Lindhardtsen (DEN) started near the pin end and while Craig opted to consolidate
and take the first shift across the fleet, Lindhardtsen carried on left and made
just one tack to the windward mark, where he arrived just behind Craig. Peter
Horne continued his good form rounding in 3rd. Craig was clearly in his element
and stretched away to win his first race of the event. Behind him, Andre Blasse
(AUS) had two great reaches to move up to second, but lost them on the final beat
when he overstood the finish in a large left hand shift. Lindhardtsen played the
shifts better to move to second while Russell Wood (NZL) moved up to third.

So the final day comes down to a showdown between Craig and Lindhardtsen, both
of whom have the greatest respect for each other although a generation apart.
Craig said with tongue firmly in cheek, “Obviously tomorrow I will be keeping an
eye on Jorgen, but there are several others still in the game. However Jorgen is
undoubtedly the main danger and is very canny in spite of his lack of
experience!”

Part of the attraction of sailing an OK Dinghy is the ease of entry into the
class and that a competitive boat can be obtained for relatively little outlay
compared with similar boats. The introduction of carbon masts into the class in
2003, led to a spurt of development of rigs and the class is currently looking at
evaluating modern sailcloth to take development a stage further.

In recent years the class has attracted a lot of talented younger sailors,
attracted not only by competitive international fleets but also by the fun social
side of the class. The class has traditionally attracted junior sailors,
especially in Scandinavia and Australasia and developed a reputation as a trainer
for the larger more expensive Finn. Here in Belmont, the top Junior is Tom Burton
(AUS) who is currently lying in 37th place. After scoring a 21st and 8th in the
light wind races of Tuesday, he struggled in the breeze yesterday to place 47th
and 54th. However in the recent Sail Melbourne event, he showed real potential
finishing second overall to the Interdominion Champion Roger Blasse (AUS) after
three race wins. If the winds here on Lake Macquarie had been lighter throughout
it could have been a different story.

On Friday the final two races of the world championship will be sailed and a
new world champion will be crowned.

© Robert Deaves 2006, OK Dinghy International Association
Reproduction in full or in part welcomed with credit to author
Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Day three – Wednesday 15th February

A hard day for some

It will be a quiet night in the bars of Belmont tonight as the OK fleet at the
Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship rests after sailing two gruelling races
in strong winds. Winner of last week’s Interdominion Championship, Roger Blasse
(AUS) took race five while Russell Wood (NZL) dominated race six by leading all
the way round.

Race five started in 15 to 20 knots from the north-east and partial cloud
cover. It was almost a repeat of yesterday except the wind was much stronger. The
left side of the course was favoured all day with Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) first
into the left hand shift on the left side to lead into the windward mark from
Roger Blasse (AUS) and Adrian Mannering (NZL). At the bottom mark the positions
were unchanged, but on the next beat Blasse moved ahead and maintained his lead
to the finish followed by Lindhardtsen. Nick Craig (GBR), who had sailed most of
the course in 4th place, moved up to 3rd on the final beat.

Between races the wind increased further to 25 knots and gusting, with a mass
of white horses coming down the course. Again those at the pin end started and
headed left. Many came back across too early but those who went far enough were
rewarded by a big left-hander into the top mark. Race winner Russell Wood (NZL)
takes up the story. “I started near the pin in the second row, put in a few tacks
to clear my air and then played the shifts up the left hand side before crossing
and leading round the first mark. Apart from Mike Williams (AUS) briefly catching
me up after the reaches, I led throughout and stretched away in the breeze to
win. It was near ideal conditions for me.”

At the top mark Wood led from Williams, Lindhardtsen and Joe Porebski (NZL). At
the gybe mark a large gust caused havoc with many sailors taking a quick swim.
The following beats became an epic of endurance as the wind bombarded the fleet
with shifts and gusts. Behind Wood, Craig moved through the fleet to finish
second on the line from Lindhardtsen.

Overall it couldn’t be closer with Lindhardtsen holding a lead of 4 points over
Karl Purdie (NZL) and 5 points over Craig. Only 5 points separate the next two
sailors, so there is still all to play for tomorrow.

The OK Class has a long tradition of being a training ground for sailors, who
go on to much greater achievements. Probably the most famous recently is Mateusz
Kusznierewicz (POL), who won a Gold and Bronze Olympic medal in the Finn class
and is now regularly seen at the front on the Star fleet. Mateusz never won an OK
Worlds; the closest he got was a 2nd in Napier in 1994, finishing as runner up to
4 times OK World Champion Leith Armit (NZL). He did though win the Europeans that
year. About this time he emerged at a major force within the Finn class and
stunned the sailing world by flying home the day after winning the Finn Gold in
Savannah in 1996 to compete in the OK Dinghy worlds in Sweden.

The OK Dinghy International website has a long list of famous sailors who have
sailed the OK in the past. These include Bjørn Westergard, Stig Westergard, Mike
McIntyre, Tony Mutter, Peter Blake, John Cutler, Chris Dickson, Richard Dodson,
Tom Dodson, Craig Monk, Jochen Schümann, Fredrik Lööf and Guy Lilljegren to name
just a few.

Defending World Champion, Nick Craig is undoubtedly the most successful OK
sailor currently competing within the class. His win at last year’s World
Championship in Denmark was the culmination of many successful years’ racing the
boat and a lot of hard work. Previously, he had come closest to winning in 2004,
but finished as runner up to his friend Jim Hunt (GBR). After the 2004 OK Worlds
both Hunt and Craig moved into Finns, with Craig winning the UK Nationals at the
first attempt, just ahead of Hunt in 2005. Craig is still sailing Finns
competitively and now places this as his main boat for the present.

Meanwhile here in Belmont, the Australian OK class is having a reunion of old
OK sailors, with many previous sailors present today to enjoy the spectacle. Two
more races are scheduled for Thursday, the penultimate day of racing for the
world title.

© Robert Deaves 2006, OK Dinghy International Association
Reproduction in full or in part welcomed with credit to author
Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Day two – Tuesday 14th February

Something strange happened today on Lake Macquarie, Australia for day two of
the Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship. The sun didn’t shine at all and
the winds were substantially lighter than the previous two weeks. Today the lake
also lived up to its reputation in providing shifty and flukey conditions with
large holes over the course area waiting for the unwary. However the conditions
obviously suited Greg Wilcox (NZL) perfectly as he won both races.

Race three of the championship started in 10-12 knots after a general recall
with the first big shift coming from the left. Jan Dietmar Dellas (GER) led from
the left and rounded the top mark first followed by Karl Purdie (NZL) and Greg
Wilcox (NZL). Both the kiwis sailed past Dellas on the first reach with Wilcox
taking the lead from Purdie at the wing mark. Purdie and Wilcox then battled
together with Wilcox finally breaking away on the final beat to take the first
race of the day followed by Purdie, Nick Craig (GBR) and Adrian Mannaering (NZL).

After an hour’s delay because of very shifty winds, the course was moved
slightly and after another general recall followed a similar pattern. The leaders
came from the left again with Jon Fish (GBR) leading round the top mark from Karl
Purdie (NZL). The leading pack of 10 pulled away from the fleet on the reaches
but it all changed on the second beat. While the leaders took the right hand side
of the course, several boats played the left hand side. At the moved windward
mark Wilcox had moved from 10th to 2nd just behind Fish. The lucky prise of the
day went to Andre Blasses after rounding the leeward mark about 20th went hard
left and reached into the windward mark in 4th on a massive shift. Fish held onto
the lead until the final leeward mark.

Wilcox said, “I decided to just sail my own race so looked for the pressure and
played the shifts and it worked.” Wilcox won his second race of the day and now
lies in 2nd place after 4 races. The leader after four races is still Jorgen
Lindhardtsen (DEN) after scoring an 8th and a 7th today. Karl Purdie’s 3rd and
2nd today moves hi up to third overall. The top junior is Tom Burton in 27th
place who scored an impressive 8th in the first race today.

Wilcox summed up the day by saying, “The championship is now wide open. There
are a lot of people still in the game so it should be a very interesting world
championship.”

Speak to many of the sailors here about why they sail an OK Dinghy, and
invariably you’ll get a similar response: community, competitiveness. Current
World Champion Nick Craig (GBR) said, “The OK gives fantastic international
competition with great venues and race management. It is one of the highest
standards in amateur fleets, an excellent boat to sail, very responsive,
fantastic in waves, indestructible in strong winds. It’s also very friendly and
sociable, which you don't get in many classes internationally!” One of the German
competitors Fabian Gronholtz said “We have great competitions on the water and a
lot of fun apart from just sailing. The OK Dinghy sailors are like a big family
all over the world.” Meanwhile, Australian OK competitor Richard Furneaux said “I
like the OK because of the simple fact that it comes down to your own sailing
ability, not gear, not design and not how much cash you spend. The mob you race
against aren't a bad bunch either, if you don't mind the
odd beer.”

The fleet here in Belmont has a surprising range of sailors of all ages and
sizes. The competitors range from 15 to 65 years old, from 60 kg girls to 120 kg
heavyweights and everything in between. Unlike many similar sized boats, its ease
of handling seems to attract a wide range of weights, sizes and sailing styles
and this makes it extremely competitive. The class also attracts the amateur
sailor who appreciates the social side of the sport, and here in Belmont, the
sailors have received a fantastic welcome from both the club and the local
sailors

Racing continues on Wednesday with two more races scheduled.

© Robert Deaves 2006, OK Dinghy International Association
Reproduction in full or in part welcomed with credit to author
Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Day one – Monday 13th February

“A good day in the office”

After the first two races of the Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy World Championship on
Lake Macquarie, NSW, Australia, series leader, Andre Blasse (AUS) described the
day as a “good day in the office”. A third and a first leaves him the joint
overall leader with Jorgen Lindhartdtsen (DEN) who also scored a first and a
third.

The practice race had been sailed on the Sunday with Roger Blasse (AUS) taking
the win. In the evening the championship was opened by the Vice-Mayor of Lake
Macquarie City, Senator Laurie Coglan.

The morning started with very light and shifty winds with the forecast of a
southerly change coming in sometime during the morning. This hit with surprising
suddenness as the wind increased to 30 knots in a matter of minutes, as if a fan
had just been switched on.

When race one started, the wind had moderated to 20 knots with the fleet
getting away cleanly first time. Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) started near the pin,
tacked on the first shift and crossed the entire fleet. He said, “I came right on
a nice shift and it stayed so I just kept on going. I made a few tacks near the
windward mark and rounded first. There was almost no-one down at the pin end so
it was easy to start there.” Following Jorgen round the top mark were Steve
Wilson (AUS), Russell Wood (NZL) and Jesper Petersen (DEN) who had all hit the
right hand corner hard. Lindhartdsen sailed away to an impressive win, with
Petersen moving up to third. Andrew Blasse (AUS) sailed a good last beat to take
third place.

Race two was sailed in slightly less wind, but getting increasingly shifty. The
pin end proved favoured with Jan Dietmar Dellas (GER) port tacking the fleet to
lead comfortably around the windward mark followed by Andre Blasse and
Lindhardtsen. Blasse moved past Dellas on the reaches with Lindhardtsen moving to
second at the leeward mark. In the gradually lightening winds, Blasse extended
his lead to win the race followed by Mark Williams (AUS) and then Lindhardtsen.

Speaking after the race Blasse commented. “It’s a bit different to last year’s
first day when I scored two black flag DSQs! I sailed up the middle of the first
beat, got a few shifts right and battled away with Jorgen. He’s incredibly hard
to beat. He never gives up and tacks on every shift and that makes it really
hard.”

Defending World Champion Nick Craig (GBR) has an average day scoring a 9th and
a 7th. Penalty turns on the start of race two for infringing another boat left
him mid-fleet, but he managed to move up to 7th by the finish. Two more races are
scheduled for Tuesday.

© Robert Deaves 2006, OK Dinghy International Association
Reproduction in full or in part welcomed with credit to author
Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Race 1

1 DEN1348 J Lindhardtsen
2 DEN1340 J Petersen
3 AUS719 A Blasse
4 NZL504 A Mannering
5 NZL521 M Perrow
6 AUS678 R Blasse
7 NZL502 K Purdie
8 NZL526 R Wood
9 GBR2116 N Craig
10 AUS720 M Williams
11 NZL525 S McDowell
12 AUS666 S Wilson
13 NZL522 G Wilcox
14 GBR2118 T Curtis
15 AUS716 P Horne
16 GBR2081 R Deaves
17 NZL472 A Deaves
18 NZL523 J Porebski
19 NZL497 T Pryce
20 AUS722 P Foster

Race 2

1 AUS719 A Blasse
2 AUS720 M Williams
3 DEN1348 J Lindhardtsen
4 AUS678 R Blasse
5 AUS724 R Howard
6 NZL522 G Wilcox
7 GBR2116 N Craig
8 NZL525 S McDowell
9 NZL502 K Purdie
10 NZL472 A Deaves
11 NZL504 A Mannering
12 GER680 J Dellas
13 AUS716 P Horne
14 NZL526 R Wood
15 NZL523 J Porebski
16 GBR2081 R Deaves
17 NZL491 M Bismark
18 DEN1340 J Petersen
19 GER718 P Scheuerl
20 NZL521 M Perrow

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