OK Dinghy World Championships - Paradise in Pattaya on day 1

by Robert Deaves on 1 Apr 2013 At the Singha OK Dinghy World Championships, taking place in Pattaya, Thailand, the 70 sailors were greeted by another day of perfect conditions. The first two races were staged in a 12-18 knot hot breeze with race wins going to defending champion Andre Budzien (GER) and Roger Blasse (AUS).

The breeze built during the day to end with a leg stretching 18 knots by the finish of the second race. Tonight Royal Varuna Yacht Club is full of very tired by satisfied sailors as they enjoy the spectacular view over the Gulf of Thailand and the free refreshments provided by Singha.

Race one got under way under the new 'U' flag with three boats pulled out on the restart. Paul Rhodes (NZL) rounded the top mark first from the left from a group consisting of Andre Budzien, Roger Blasse and Nick Craig (GBR). Rhodes overlaid the second top mark after overestimating the tide and let Budzien through. The laylines were hard to call with big courses and the left paying well. The German dominated the rest of the race with Craig pulling up behind Blasse at the finish. Both thought Craig had done enough, but Blasse took third.

Practice race winner Blasse took the early lead in race two and with a change of tide the course turned into a one way track with the left very clearly favoured. He was closely followed round the top mark by Mike Williams (AUS) and Jonathan Fish (GBR) as the wind increased to 15-16 knots and the upwind legs became hard work for some. Blasse pulled away downwind to lead throughout the race with Williams, Craig and Rhodes in close pursuit, though they finished in that order.

Craig said,'It was another day in paradise. We had simply perfect conditions though the beats were very long. Controlling he left was the key to the racing, and by the end it was a bit one track, but as the week goes on that will change as the time of the tides gets later.'

Blasse commented, 'It was fantastic sailing but you had to turn left at the bottom mark. The lumpy conditions and the tide makes it hard to assess your boat speed but it looks like it's going to be a tough week ahead.'

Two more race are scheduled for Monday at 13.00 before the fleet enjoys a lay day on Tuesday to sample the delights of Pattaya.

No	Sailno	Name	Scores	1	2
1	AUS 749	Roger Blasse	4.0	3	1
2	NZL 517	Paul Rhodes	6.0	2	4
3	GBR 2150	Nick Craig	7.0	4	3
4	GER 782	Andre Budzien	8.0	1	7
5	DEN 1411	Jorgen Svendsen	11.0	6	5
6	AUS 730	Michael Williams	12.0	10	2
7	DEN 1409	Stefan Myralf	14.0	5	9
8	AUS 735	Mark Jackson	17.0	11	6
9	AUS 754	Brent Williams	18.0	7	11
10	NZL 544	Greg Wilcox	23.0	8	15
11	DEN 1364	Jorgen Lindhardtsen	24.0	14	10
12	DEN 1421	Bo Petersen	25.0	9	16
13	GBR 2118	Terry Curtis	26.0	12	14
14	GER 693	Martin von Zimmermann	28.0	16	12
15	AUS 734	Edward O’Donnell	35.0	13	22

http://varuna.org/day-one-overall/" target="_blank">Full results Event website