Unusually light

Day two of the OK World Championships saw light and shifty winds

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 tenth to second just behind Fish. The lucky prize of the day went to Andre Blasses after rounding the leeward mark about 20th went hard left and reached into the windward mark in fourth 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 second place after four races. The leader after four races is still Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) after scoring an eighth and a seventh today. Karl Purdie’s third and second today moves him up to third overall. The top junior is Tom Burton in 27th place who scored an impressive eighth 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.

Results:

Pos	Sail Number	Helm	R1	R2	R2	R3	Tot
1	DEN1348	J Lindhardtsen	8	7	3	1	19
2	NZL522	G Wilcox	1	1	6	13	21
3	NZL502	K Purdie	3	2	9	7	21
4	GBR2116	N Craig	60	3	7	9	250
5	AUS678	R Blasse	5	12	4	6	270
6	NZL504	A Mannering	16	4	11	4	35
7	NZL525	S McDowell	11	15	8	11	45
8	NZL526	R Wood	4	22	14	8	48
9	AUS719	A Blasse	10	39	1	3	53
10	AUS720	M Williams	15	28	2	10	55
11	AUS724	R Howard	9	21	5	22	57
12	AUS716	P Horne	14	17	13	15	59
13	NZL521	M Perrow	2	36	20	5	63
14	GBR2081	R Deaves	17	14	16	16	63
15	NZL472	A Deaves	18	19	10	17	64
16	AUS718	P Burton	12	6	23	24	65
17	GBR2110	J Fish	7	5	32	23	67
18	NZL523	J Porebski	20	26	15	18	79
19	DEN1340	J Petersen	13	51	18	2	84
20	AUS722	P Foster	30	11	25	20	86
21	GBR2118	T Curtis	29	46	22	14	111
22	NZL491	M Bismark	39	34	17	21	111
23	NZL518	G Pedersen	33	10	40	29	112
24	AUS713	P Lynch	19	25	35	34	113
25	NZL497	T Pryce	40	31	24	19	114
26	AUS703	M McQueen	35	18	34	32	119
27	AUS610	T Burton	21	8	49	45	123
28	NZL481	D Hoogenboom	45	24	28	26	123
29	GER680	J Dellas	23	9	12	80.0F	124
30	NZL500	P Rzepecky	25	41	29	31	126
31	GER718	P Scheuerl	32	42	19	35	128
32	AUS681	M Gleeson	56	23	26	30	135
33	SWE99	H Elkjaer	47	49	21	25	142
34	GBR2084	J Meadowcroft	27	58	30	33	148
35	AUS628	B Ashton	28	29	41	50	148
36	AUS676	T Davies	37	16	70.5	27	150.5
37	GBR2108	N Goodhead	22	37	53	47	159
38	AUS711	N Gray	49	30	42	38	159
39	AUS672	D Ketteridge	36	35	36	52	159
40	AUS704	B Chapman	24	65	33	39	161
41	GBR2117	A Scoles	46	20	56	40	162
42	GBR2100	D Ager	61	33	43	36	173
43	AUS666	S Wilson	78.0F	59	27	12	176
44	AUS708	C Visick	43	38	52	44	177
45	AUS668	P Wallace	58	45	37	42	182
46	AUS693	E O'Donnell	44	48	47	43	182
47	AUS721	J Barr	31	64	44	46	185
48	AUS694	R Furneaux	51	43	48	48	190
49	NZL498	D Hunt	48	47	45	51	191
50	GER632	F Gronholz	55	27	57	53	192
51	AUS641	B Holly	59	68	31	37	195
52	SWE2757	T Svenesson	66	50	38	41	195
53	SWE2759	P Olssen	53	78.0O	39	28	198
54	AUS696	J McAllister	26	13	80.0C	80.0C	199
55	GBR2007	A Rich	57	32	55	60	204
56	AUS709	P Yates	38	61	51	55	205
57	GER695	D Gericke	34	53	63	56	206
58	SWE2756	P Jaensson	41	40	46	80.0C	207
59	AUS692	B Tyler	42	62	54	54	212
60	AUS689	G Yates	60	57	50	49	216
61	POL189	D Kras	65	44	58	57	224
62	GER699	J Hoffman	62	55	61	63	241
63	AUS646	M Walker	52	60	66	69	247
64	AUS655	D Coleman	63	66	59	59	247
65	NZL493	G Lambert	67	54	64	65	250
66	AUS636	A Stiel	69	63	60	62	254
67	AUS695	J Hogan	68	67	68	58	261
68	AUS715	T Pearce	50	52	80.0C	80.0C	262
69	AUS660	D O'Donnell	64	56	80.0C	66	266
70	AUS680	C McQueen	73	70	62	64	269
71	AUS663	A Maclean	72	72	65	61	270
72	AUS612	D Parker	71	73	67	68	279
73	AUS698	G Gillespie	54	69	80.0C	80.0C	283
74	AUS619	E Kennedy	75	78.0F	70.5	70	293.5
75	AUS687	E Furneaux	74	71	69	80.0C	294
76	AUS685	D Smith	78.0C	78.0F	80.0C	67	303
77	GBR2048	R Thorne	70	74	80.0C		304