Toshiba 2006 OK Dinghy Worlds - Go Kiwi!

by Robert Deaves on 14 Feb 2006 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.

Class website: www.okdia.org
Event website: www.okworlds2006.sydney.net

Results after 4 races

1 DEN1348 J Lindhardtsen 19.0 8.0 7.0 3.0 1.0
2 NZL522 G Wilcox 21.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 13.0
3 NZL502 K Purdie 21.0 3.0 2.0 9.0 7.0
4 GBR2116 N Craig 250 60 3.0 ! 7.0 9.0
5 AUS678 R Blasse 270 5.0 12.0 4.0 6.0
6 NZL504 A Mannering 35.0 16.0 4.0 11.0 4.0
7 NZL525 S McDowell 45.0 11.0 15.0 8.0 11.0
8 NZL526 R Wood 48.0 4.0 22.0 14.0 8.0
9 AUS719 A Blasse 53.0 10.0 39.0 1.0 3.0
10 AUS720 M Williams 55.0 15.0 28.0 2.0 10.0
11 AUS724 R Howard 57.0 9.0 21.0 5.0 22.0
12 AUS716 P Horne 59.0 14.0 17.0 13.0 15.0
13 NZL521 M Perrow 63.0 2.0 36.0 20.0 5.0
14 GBR2081 R Deaves 63.0 17.0 14.0 16.0 16.0
15 NZL472 A Deaves 64.0 18.0 19.0 10.0 17.0
16 AUS718 P Burton 65.0 12.0 6.0 23.0 24.0
17 GBR2110 J Fish 67.0 7.0 5.0 32.0 23.0
18 NZL523 J Porebski 79.0 20.0 26.0 15.0 18.0
19 DEN1340 J Petersen 84.0 13.0 51.0 18.0 2.0
20 AUS722 P Foster 86.0 30.0 11.0 25.0 20.0
21 GBR2118 T Curtis 111.0 29.0 46.0 22.0 14.0
22 NZL491 M Bismark 111.0 39.0 34.0 17.0 21.0
23 NZL518 G Pedersen 112.0 33.0 10.0 40.0 29.0
24 AUS713 P Lynch 113.0 19.0 25.0 35.0 34.0
25 NZL497 T Pryce 114.0 40.0 31.0 24.0 19.0
26 AUS703 M McQueen 119.0 35.0 18.0 34.0 32.0
27 AUS610 T Burton 123.0 21.0 8.0 49.0 45.0
28 NZL481 D Hoogenboom 123.0 45.0 24.0 28.0 26.0
29 GER680 J Dellas 124.0 23.0 9.0 12.0 80.0F
30 NZL500 P Rzepecky 126.0 25.0 41.0 29.0 31.0
31 GER718 P Scheuerl 128.0 32.0 42.0 19.0 35.0
32 AUS681 M Gleeson 135.0 56.0 23.0 26.0 30.0
33 SWE99 H Elkjaer 142.0 47.0 49.0 21.0 25.0
34 GBR2084 J Meadowcroft 148.0 27.0 58.0 30.0 33.0
35 AUS628 B Ashton 148.0 28.0 29.0 41.0 50.0
36 AUS676 T Davies 150.5 37.0 16.0 70.5 27.0
37 GBR2108 N Goodhead 159.0 22.0 37.0 53.0 47.0
38 AUS711 N Gray 159.0 49.0 30.0 42.0 38.0
39 AUS672 D Ketteridge 159.0 36.0 35.0 36.0 52.0
40 AUS704 B Chapman 161.0 24.0 65.0 33.0 39.0
41 GBR2117 A Scoles 162.0 46.0 20.0 56.0 40.0
42 GBR2100 D Ager 173.0 61.0 33.0 43.0 36.0
43 AUS666 S Wilson 176.0 78.0F 59.0 27.0 12.0
44 AUS708 C Visick 177.0 43.0 38.0 52.0 44.0
45 AUS668 P Wallace 182.0 58.0 45.0 37.0 42.0
46 AUS693 E O'Donnell 182.0 44.0 48.0 47.0 43.0
47 AUS721 J Barr 185.0 31.0 64.0 44.0 46.0
! 48 AUS694 R Furneaux 190.0 51.0 43.0 48.0 48.0
49 NZL498 D Hunt 191.0 48.0 47.0 45.0 51.0
50 GER632 F Gronholz 192.0 55.0 27.0 57.0 53.0
51 AUS641 B Holly 195.0 59.0 68.0 31.0 37.0
52 SWE2757 T Svenesson 195.0 66.0 50.0 38.0 41.0
53 SWE2759 P Olssen 198.0 53.0 78.0O 39.0 28.0
54 AUS696 J McAllister 199.026.0
13.0 80.0C 80.0C
55 GBR2007 A Rich 204.0 57.0 32.0 55.0 60.0
56 AUS709 P Yates 205.0 38.0 61.0 51.0 55.0
57 GER695 D Gericke 206.0! 34.0 53.0 63.0 56.0
58 SWE2756 P Jaensson 207.0 41.0 40.0 46.0 80.0C
59 AUS692 B Tyler 212.0 42.0 62.0 54.0 54.0
60 AUS689 G Yates 216.0 60.0 57.0 50.0 49.0
61 POL189 D Kras 224.0 65.0 44.0 58.0 57.0
62 GER699 J Hoffman 241.0 62.0 55.0 61.0 63.0
63 AUS646 M Walker 247.0 52.0 60.0 66.0 69.0
64 AUS655 D Coleman 247.0 63.0 66.0 59.0 59.0
65 NZL493
! G Lambert 250.0 67.0 54.0 64.0 65.0
66 AUS636 A Stiel 254.0 69.0 63.0 60.0 62.0
67 AUS695 J Hogan 261.0 68.0 67.0 68.0 58.0
68 AUS715 T Pearce 262.0 50.0 52.0 80.0C 80.0C
69 AUS660 D O'Donnell 266.0 64.0 56.0 80.0C 66.0
70 AUS680 C McQueen 269.0 73.0 70.0 62.0 64.0
71 AUS663 A Maclean 270.0 72.0 72.0 65.0 61.0
72 AUS612 D Parker 279.0 71.0 73.0 67.0 68.0
73 AUS698 G Gillespie 283.0 54.0 69.0 80.0C 80.0C
74 AUS619 E Kennedy 293.5 75.0 78.0F 70.5 70.0
75 A