International OK Dinghy history into print

by Robert Deaves on 11 Jun 2008
The International OK Dinghy Class has consigned its class history to print in a magnificent illustrated book, just released, titled 'Completely OK – the history, techniques and sailors of the OK Dinghy'.

The class celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007 and this book was brought out as part of those celebrations to encapsulate a class that has had a major impact on generations of sailors for the past half century in upwards of 40 nations across the world. It was published on May 1 2008.

Vast in scope, ‘Completely OK’ has been written and edited by long term OK Dinghy sailor Robert Deaves. It is 208 pages in length, A4 format and includes more than 150,000 words, 1,100 photographs and diagrams, 3,500 results and more OK Dinghy lore than has ever been collected together in one place before. It is a must for all those who have ever sailed an OK Dinghy.

Authors include past world champions Karsten Hitz, Thomas Jungblut, Svend Jacobsen, Roger Blasse, Nick Craig, Bo-Staffan Andersson and Jørgen Lindhardtsen and other personalities such as Dick Batt, Sten Waldö, Paul Elvström, Don O'Donnell, Jonty Sherwill, Richard Creagh-Osborne, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Hans Peter Hylander, Ralph Roberts, Peter Montgomery, Harold Bennett and many, many more.

The OK Dinghy was designed by Knud Olsen of Denmark in 1956/7 mainly from the inspiration of Danish Pirat sailor Axel Damgaard Olsen, the man who introduced the Optimist dinghy into Europe from the States.

What followed was nothing short of a sailing revolution as the easy to build-at-home, simple to sail, yet hard to master singlehanded OK Dinghy filled a niche, first across Scandinavia, then Europe and then the Antipodes for a fast, lightweight planing dinghy.

At its peak, the OK Dinghy was one of the most populous adult and youth singlehanded dinghies being raced in the world.

This long history has left an ongoing legacy to sailors worldwide and this new book brings the birth of the class, its development and its main protagonists to life in a unique way. The books covers an in depth history of the class from its earliest days, its technical growth, the development of the class rules, and a complete record of all the major championships.

It then goes on to describe techniques for building, tuning and sailing the boat before ending with a collection of stories and interviews from sailors from the past and present in a fascinating exposé of what makes the OK Dinghy such a popular class to sail and why it evokes such devotion from so many sailors across the world.

Ordering information

Online ordering is available at www.okdia.org/completelyok.php

Copies are available through many of the OK Dinghy national associations and through OKDIA.

ISBN: 978-0-9559001-0-5
Price: [GBP] £20

Postage & packing:
All UK addresses (£3)
Western Europe & USA (£4)
Eastern Europe/New Zealand/Australia (£5),
Central and South America, Middle & Far East, Africa (£6)
Discounts are available for bulk purchases. Trade terms available.

Orders should be placed with the main stockist:
Robert Deaves
124 Heatherhayes
Ipswich
IP2 9SG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 7932 047046
Email: robertdeaves@yahoo.co.uk