OK Dinghy World Championship Day three
Kiwis dominate and Purdie extends lead
Yesterday’s tough physical conditions were today replaced by tough mental conditions as the fleet at the OK Dinghy World Championship in Warnemünde, Germany contended with large and frequent wind shifts caused by the unstable offshore wind. However regatta leader Karl Purdie (NZL) extended his lead with a third and second, while both race wins went to his Kiwi team mates Alistair Deaves (NZL) and Matthew Steven (NZL).
After waiting around for 100 minutes for a stable wind to develop, the race committee set a course in a very shifty offshore breeze of 8-10 knots. Starting mid-line Alistair Deaves (NZL) was first into a massive left hand shift that brought him to the first mark with a nice lead followed by Jørgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) and Andre Blasse (AUS). Deaves extended his lead over the next legs to take his first ever race win at a OK Dinghy World Championship. Behind him, Blasse dropped to fifth on the downwind, only to recover to second on the final beat. Luke O’Connell (NZL) spent most of the race in third place, but lost his advantage to regatta leader Karl Purdie (NZL) on the final upwind leg. Deaves commented, "Our boats and rigs are ideally suited to these sort of conditions, and that allows us to pop out at the starts and gives us the freedom to tack on the shifts in clear air, without worrying about the other boats."
And today there were certainly a lot of shifts. Conditions didn’t improve much for race six of the championship, although the wind did increase slightly to 12-14 knots. Again the race was characterised by a large left shift soon after the start. Mark Perrow (NZL) was first to tack away from the biased line, and headed right to round the first mark in the lead. Behind him, Kiwi junior, Matthew Steven (NZL) and Deaves were in close pursuit. By the second windward mark, Steven was in the lead, followed by Purdie and Christian Olesen (DEN), although on the final lap, Olesen lost this to Thomas Hansson-Mild (SWE), posting his best result of the series so far.
After six races, the series seems like Purdie’s to lose. So far he has not placed lower than third and holds a 12 point lead over Blasse and 14 points over defending champion Nick Craig (GBR). Today Craig had an indifferent day, posting an 11th and an 8th.
Lighter winds are again forecast for Thursday, when two more races are scheduled for 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 Petrausch