OK Dinghy World Championship Day 2
Dogs off chains
With winds strong enough to blow dogs off chains, sore legs and weary arms were the order of the day on day two of the Bombardier OK Dinghy World Championships in Warnemünde, Germany. Karl Purdie (NZL) maintained his overnight lead with two second places, while defending world champion Nick Craig (GBR) posed his first serious challenge with a 3, 1 scoreline. The first race went to Purdie’s team mate Steve McDowell (NZL).
Race one got underway on time in 15-20 knots of easterly wind and a large sea starting to build. Steve McDowell (NZL) started at the committee boat and crossed to the left to lead round the top mark. Those on the right initially suffered from a more backed wind, although a late left shift brought them back into contention. McDowell showed excellent boat handling skills to extend on the fleet and win by a useful margin. Overnight leader Karl Purdie (NZL) was one of those on the left at the start and had to catch up from 6th at the top mark. Making ground on each leg, he crossed the finish line in second place, just ahead of Nick Craig (GBR).
The second race started in stronger wind conditions which were close to limits set under class rules. This was reflected in only about 60 boats out of the 91 entries managing to finish the race. This time it was Craig who started close to the committee boat end and sailed across to the left before tacking for the windward mark. Many of those boat beneath him overstood the mark, which was quite hard to spot in the large and often rolling waves. Craig led round the mark and was never headed, though Purdie did threaten him a few times on the upwind legs. Purdie recovered to second place again, just yards ahead of Andre Blasse (AUS) in third. The downwind legs proved especially challenging in winds up to 30 knots, and while some sailors excelled at it, others just survived.
So, overnight Purdie maintains his 8 point advantage on Craig, while Blasse moves up to third after posting a 3, 4. Craig clearly enjoyed the extreme conditions and said, "We had wind, waves and sun. It doesn’t get any better than this and not many classes would have held racing in those conditions. Although I didn’t close any points on Karl today, I have kept the pressure on."
Purdie said, "It was a tough day with awesome reaches and a bit of a washing machine upwind." Although he ended up with two second places, he admitted to making mistakes. "In the first race, I started at the wrong end and in the second I overstood the windward mark. So I had to play catch up in both races. For both Steve and Nick, the offwind legs were made easier because of their leads, sailing in clear water and extending on the rest of the fleet. But for sure today everyone was overpowered, which meant we were all very equal in terms of boat speed and it was boat handling that made the difference."
Many of the sailors here welcomed the news that the next days should bring lighter winds, but that remains to be seen. Two more races are scheduled for Thursday at 11.00.
About the event
The Bombardier 2008 OK Dinghy World Championship is being sailed as part of Warnemünder Woche, in Warnemunde, Germany from 8-12 July. There are 91 sailors from seven nations competing for the title.
© Robert Deaves, OKDIA Publicity
Photos: Norbert Pertrausch
