OK Dinghy Interdominions - Rookie Dan Slater on win at Manly

by Robert Deaves and Bob Smith on 19 Apr 2016 Dan Slater of Murrays Bay Sailing Club won the 2016 OK Dinghy Interdominions after a very dominant first half of the eight race series, and despite being seriously challenged by Worser Bay’s Luke O’Connell on the four-race final day epic, in which O’Connell won two races and took the series to a final race showdown.

The pressure was very much on Slater in the final race, having had an OCS the day before he could not afford any mistakes, while O’Connell had had no bad races and there was speculation that he might go for an attack. That wasn’t to be, however, and O’Connell had a poor start, enabling Slater to sail a conservative race, just doing enough to remain a few places ahead of O’Connell and take out the series ahead of the 32 other competitors.

There was also a great battle for third between Wakatere BC’s Ben Morrison and Mark Jackson of Melbourne, Australia – Morrison looked to have the podium spot sewn up going into the final race, until Jackson stormed into the lead down the reaches and held on to take the race win, draw level on points with Morrison and take third on countback.

In the team event, New Zealand totally dominated, a great result for the Kiwis which resulted in well-deserved celebrations after the well-attended prizegiving.

Dan Slater interview

Bob Smith interviewed Dan Slater, after the recent 2016 OK Interdominions Championships at Manly, 30 minutes north of Auckland. It was Slater's first regatta in the class, in which he sailed in a new boat.

BS: Dan, well done on your victory in the 2016 OK Interdoms at Easter. How did you enjoy the regatta?

Slater: Thank you. It was really good fun and great we had such a good turn out. I think a special mention has to be made to the Australians who made the effort to come to NZ and really lifted the level at the front end of the fleet.

BS: How did you prepare for the regatta? All the forecasts were for light air, and that’s what happened – did you take that into account in your approach?

Slater: The OK sailing for me is about having some fun and racing again on my own and challenging myself. I knew I was quite quick in the light air from the regatta earlier this year, so I was confident in my speed which lead to confident decisions on the water. But there are some very good sailors who are a lot lighter than me who I thought would be very hard to beat such as Luke [O’Connell].

BS: Having sailed at three Olympic Games, including twice in the Finn, you obviously know what the top level looks like. How did you find the standard of racing at the OK Interdoms?

Slater: The OK fleet is a very good standard and high for a amateur class, as good as Laser Masters and others, but you cannot compare to Olympic class fleets where the sailors sail six days a week and do 10 fitness sessions a week, as well as have a full time coach.

BS: It seemed as though more than a few competitors were found out by the light airs at Easter, as most NZ and AUS sailors usually sail in more breeze. Did you notice any common errors among the fleet, in dealing with the light conditions?

Slater: I think for a lot of sailors they struggle to get comfortable in the boat as its a small cockpit that is aft in the boat so to stay forward is not easy both up and downwind. I think for that reason when the forecast is like it was you need to take off the hiking pants and be able to move easier. In some cases boots as well as they restrict your movement. (They are also an extra few kilos)

There are lots of different sails and masts and they all have their ideal range, but lots to be learnt in this area for us all and I think that’s another topic.

From a tactical point from the guys I spoke with after races and they all talked about their compass numbers. I think in those conditions you need to be looking around and out of the boat. The wind for example on day one continued to shift slowly left all day so compass numbers were always lifting on port tack and that sent lots of guys to the right side of the course. But the big picture of the day was a persistent shift left.

BS: What’s next for you in the OK? Do you plan to attend this year’s OK Worlds in France, or the 2017 OK Worlds in Barbados?

Slater: As far as regattas I haven’t really thought to hard about it but I will not be in France. I like the idea of Barbados but will wait and see how the next year goes. For now I’m enjoying sailing again and lucky the NZ local scene is strong and its a credit to the class members over the last 10 years who have made it what it is.