Please select your home edition
Edition
Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY TOP

Fredrik Lööf is new OK Dinghy World No. 1

by Robert Deaves 9 Apr 2019 05:57 PDT
Fredrik Lööf © Robert Deaves

Current European champion, Fredrik Löof, from Sweden is the new OK Dinghy World No.1 in the April 2019 release of the World Ranking List. As runner-up in the past two world championships he overtakes Greg Wilcox, from New Zealand, who has led the rankings for the past two years.

Lööf becomes only the seventh sailor to hold the No.1 place in the 14 years of the ranking list and the ninth to accumulate more than 1,000 points. With 1048 points, he also now holds the record as the highest scoring sailor since the list was created.

Thomas Hansson-Mild, from Sweden also moves up one place to second, his highest since March 2017, with Wilcox dropping to third.

This list includes results from Sail Melbourne, the Australian Nationals, the New Zealand nationals, the world championship in New Zealand and the Turangi International open.

With all events down under, it is no surprise to see an increased number of Kiwis and Australians in the top 20. Masters champion, Rod Davis, on account of sailing at the 2018 Europeans in Bandol as well as a good season in New Zealand, moves up to fifth while Luke O'Connell jumps to eighth. Top Australian is Mark Jackson in 14th.

Double world champion Roger Blasse won both Sail Melbourne (ahead of Tim Davies and Jackson) and the Australian Nationals (ahead of Jackson and Brent Williams), but only moves up to 26th after a 19th at the worlds.

Then the fleet moved on to New Zealand with Jan Kurfeld from Germany winning the New Zealand Nationals ahead of Nick Craig, from Britain and Luke O'Connell, from New Zealand. With the worlds the following week, this event was largest southern hemisphere nationals on record with 83 boats taking part.

The 2019 World Championship that followed was the largest ever OK Dinghy event outside Europe, attracting 111 sailors. Dan Slater, from New Zealand, won from Lööf and Josh Armit, from New Zealand.

The final event was the legendary Turangi International open in New Zealand, won this year by O'Connell, from Eric Rone and Steve McDowell.

There are now 540 sailors on the list, having competing in at least one ranking event in the past two years. This is an increase of 30 from the previous release. This is expected to increase further during 2019 with many more sailors buying boats and joining the class.

The next major event, and the next world ranking cycle, starts in May with the traditional Spring Cup in Medemblik.

World Ranking April 2019 (top 20 from 540) Pos Name Nation Sail Points Events

1 Fredrik Lööf SWE 69 1048.21 7
2 Thomas Hansson-Mild SWE 100 1000.68 11
3 Greg Wilcox NZL 582 950.77 17
4 Tomasz Gaj POL 1 928.20 11
5 Rod Davis NZL 592 792.72 8
6 Bo Petersen DEN 1507 767.23 9
7 Jan Kurfeld GER 18 762.47 5
8 Luke O'Connell NZL 578 761.90 7
9 Henrik Kofoed Larsen DEN 1487 745.85 12
10 Ralf Tietje GER 5 742.37 11
11 Luke Gower NZL 573 735.38 7
12 Steve McDowell NZL 579 714.65 6
13 Charlie Cumbley GBR 6 714.59 6
14 Mark Jackson AUS 768 704.25 9
15 Brent Williams AUS 754 690.04 6
16 Andrew Phillips NZL 559 672.97 5
17 Sonke Behrens GER 77 671.58 8
18 Ben Morrison NZL 580 667.49 6
19 Mike Wilde NZL 575 664.04 7
20 Tim Davies AUS 779 656.84 5

Full list can be downloaded here.

Related Articles

Countdown to the OK Nationals at Dabchicks
It's expected that the fleet will enjoy come close and competitive sailing The OK class are just ten days away from their 2025 National Championships, which are this year being hosted by Dabchicks Sailing Club. Posted on 1 Jul
OK Dinghy class at Kieler Woche Overall
Niklas Edler retains the title after strongest winds of the week on the final day Niklas Edler, from Sweden has won the 2025 Kieler Wiche for OK Dinghies after the final two races on Sunday, which brought the strongest winds of the week. Posted on 30 Jun
OK Dinghy Open at Overy Staithe
Two days of contrasting weather challenged the sailors Two days of contrasting weather challenged the eight OK sailors competing for the Overy Staithe SC annual open meeting, which was first held in 1971. Posted on 29 Jun
OK Dinghy class at Kieler Woche Day 3
Niklas Edler extends OK Dinghy lead at Kieler Woche with one day to go. Niklas Eder, from Sweden, extended his lead at Kieler Woche after two more races on Saturday in again, quite windy and shifty offshore winds. Posted on 28 Jun
OK Dinghy class at Kieler Woche Day 2
Niklas Edler maintains narrow lead after four races Sweden's Niklas Edler has maintained his lead in the 49 strong OK Dinghy fleet at Kieler Woche on Friday with a 2,1 in fairly breezy conditions and holds a 2-point lead over Canada's Ben Flower who scored 1,2. Posted on 27 Jun
2025 International Classes Regatta preview
The ICR has earned a stellar reputation as an outstanding lead-up regatta for competitors The Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) is proud to announce that the 2025 International Classes Regatta (ICR)—the Club's premier annual dinghy event—will take place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November 2025. Posted on 27 Jun
OK Dinghy class at Kieler Woche Day 1
Niklas Edler leads the fleet after two races On the first day of Kieler Woche for the OK Dinghy class, Sweden's Niklas Edler began his defence for the OK Dinghy with a solid 2, 1 on the day that started with light winds and which increased through the second race. Posted on 26 Jun
OK Scottish Championship at East Lothian
Attracting sailors from the far corners of the UK On the weekend of 7th & 8th of June, East Lothian YC based out of the beautiful harbour of North Berwick hosted the OK Scottish Championship. The event was also part of the Grand Slam OK circuit and attracted sailors from the far corners of the UK. Posted on 11 Jun
OK class in Daffodil Regatta at Ullswater
Fleets of 12 for part 1 of the Border Trophy A dozen OKs turned up at Ullswater for the annual Daffodil Regatta, this year sponsored by Magic Marine and also being run as part of the SailRacer Summer challenge. It was especially encouraging to see several new faces join the fleet. Posted on 28 Apr
OK Border Trophy Preview
The first half takes place at Ullswater YC's Daffodil Regatta next weekend This coming weekend sees the first half of the OK Border Trophy being sailed at the Ullswater YC Daffodil Regatta. The Border Trophy started in 2023 as an initiative to help grow the fleet in the North of England and Scotland. Posted on 21 Apr
Zhik 2024 DecemberRooster 2025RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER