505s in Freo

Class president Ali Meller looks back at the 2002 Grolsch International 505 World Championship

The 505 class chose to go to Fremantle, Western Australia for the 2002 World Championship expecting the Fremantle Doctor to deliver a windy series.

While the Fremantle Doctor was a no-show except for the first race of each of the pre-worlds and worlds series, conditions were still very good with all worlds races but one in trapezing conditions, and most in planing upwind and wire-running downwind conditions.

Wind ranged from fairly steady westerlies, to very shifty and puff easterlies. The shallow water over much of the racing area meant that the fleet dealt with a short steep chop rather than long ocean swells. The sailing area and the adjacent beaches were gorgeous.

This was the first 505 world championship held with the new long luff spinnaker which is hoisted higher on the mast. The result of the change to the long luff spinnaker and a 505 worlds course that emphasizes downwind legs more, is that 505 racing has become more skiff-like, with teams going down the runs at hot angles with the crew on the wire and the pole on the forestay, searching for puffs, and gybing on the shifts. However knowing when to wire run and when to sail low or even dead downwind was key in conditions that frequently crossed the windspeed-and-wave boundary that favoured one over the other.

The Australian Nationals/pre-worlds and World Championship fleets were impressive in numbers and in depth, with 102 teams being scored in the Australian Nationals/pre-worlds and 98 scored in the World Championship. Apart from a number of top 505 sailors who -- choosing to not sail other classes -- are virtually unknown outside of 505s, there were a number of well-known top competitors including:

- Past 505 World Champion, 49er silver medallist, and World Champion in other classes, Ian Barker, racing with Dan Cripps
- Two time 505 World Champion, two time Australian 18 Grand Prix champion, and three time 49er World Champion, Chris Nicholson, racing with his brother, who also crewed for the two 505 World Championships
- Multiple-time Fireball world champion and world champion in other classes (but not 505s as yet) and multi-time 505 UK National Champion Ian Pinnell, racing again with Steve Hunt
- Past 505 World Champions Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin, who are also two of the three man team that won the Australian 18 footer Worlds -- the JJ Giltinan
- Well known naval architect, AC boat designer, and 18 footer champion Iain Murray, crewing for his wife Alex Murray
- Multiple class Australian champion, Peter Chappell
- Past Etchells North American Champion, Dan Thompson
- Past Laser II champion, Andy Beeckman

The Australian fleet was strong, with a number of top sailors in other Australian classes such as the Sharpie joining an already strong Australian contingent.

But this was not just a fleet for rockstars. There were mixed teams, couples, and an impressive number of good junior sailors, recruited into 505s by the Western Australian 505 fleet. And of course a number of good competent sailors committed to racing the 505 class for life, even if they were not going to threaten at a world championships.

Early discussions as to which team might be a favourite typically resulted in a long list of teams that could win the event, or at least finish well. Indeed three different teams led the World Championships during the seven day series, four if you include the four day Australian Nationals/pre-worlds.

The top teams were an interesting contrast in styles, with three members of the ultra-organized, ultra-practiced, ultra-tuned, Long Beach USA "Team Tuesday" group finishing in the top six, Krister Bergstrom/Thomas Moss of Sweden, who practice by themselves without a fleet finishing third, and the very talented - and sailing-every-day-but-not-in-505s - Chris Nicholson jumping back into a 505 and demonstrating that he had not forgotten how to race a 505 by winning the event. Another very good and practiced sailor without recent 505 time was Ian Barker. Barker/Cripps started with 7,1,2 finishes, but were unable to finish in the top four after that, falling to fifth overall.

The event came down to the last race, with four teams mathematically able to win it all, three of them with good chances. The apparent winner of the event even changed during the final race, as initially five time 505 World Champion Krister Bergstrom and Thomas Moss were in Championship winning position early in the race, only to see first the Nicholsons and then Hamlin/Martin pass them, dropping Bergstrom/Moss back to third overall.

In retrospect Bergstrom agreed that his flat sails and small high aspect ratio centerboard and rudder had been too optimized for big breeze and flatter water conditions, leaving him very slightly off-the-pace in the medium air chop faced by the fleet on most days including the last. Bergstrom/Moss were the most consistent, and had the lowest scores counting all races, but were unable to finish in the top three places in any worlds races.

The Nicholson brothers used a new carbon pre-preg Australian Van Munster 505, but used a mast and foils similar to what other top teams were using. They are a little lighter than most of the other top teams, but this did not appear to hurt their upwind speed, despite the heavy chop which is normally thought to favour heavier taller crews.

Despite some masts broken on the first day of the pre-worlds by capsizing in shallow water, or putting the bow into a wave as the kite filled, competitors were very happy with the adoption of the long luff spinnaker. Though some in the fleet were experimenting with upper spreaders and upper shrouds to support the mast tip, which is now subjected to greater loads, none of the top ten teams used these. However many of the top teams had switched from the Proctor D to the Proctor Cumulus over the past few years.

Once the racing was over and everyone back on shore, the 505s were quickly packed into twelve forty-foot containers to be shipped home. The packing was completed before the prize presentation dinner and party, where most competitors partied with their friends into the early hours of the next morning.

With only seven months until the next 505 world championship in Malmo Sweden, many competitors are eager to practice, tweak tuning, centerboards and sailshapes, applying what they learned in Fremantle, in the hope and expectation that they will do better at the Malmo Worlds.