Nick Craig closes in on record breaking fifth OK Dinghy world crown

by Robert Deaves, OKDIA 31 May 2017 07:55 BST 24-31 May 2017

Nadine Tietje on day 4 of the 2017 OK Dinghy Worlds © Alastair Deaves

Juliane Hofmann on day 4 of the 2017 OK Dinghy Worlds © Alastair Deaves

Barbados conditions seems to suit Britain's Nick Craig as he notched up two more race wins on the penultimate day of the 2017 OK Dinghy World Championship. He has now won six of the eight races sailed and leads the fleet by 13 points with just two races to sail and any place inside the top 12 on Wednesday will give him a record breaking fifth OK Dinghy World title.

Another former, and double, world champion, Jim Hunt, also from Britain, is in clear second place after picking up a fifth and a second on Tuesday. He sits 18 points clear of third placed Luke O'Connell, from New Zealand.

New Zealand has the largest number of sailors inside the top ten with five sailors capable of picking up a medal on Wednesday. They came to Barbados with high hopes of success.

Great conditions on the fourth day of racing in Barbados welcomed the fleet of 79 sailors to Carlisle Bay. The wind was more northerly with 15-20 knots of offshore wind. The first start was abandoned after a huge wind shift, and then after a general recall Race 7 started under black flag. Favouring the left once again, Craig led the fleet into the top mark from New Zealand's Mark Perrow and Denmark's Henrik Kofoed-Larsen. Craig extended for another huge win while Perrow clung onto second and Luke O'Connell, also from New Zealand, took third.

Luke O'Connell on day 4 of the 2017 OK Dinghy Worlds - photo © Alastair Deaves

The second race of the day started with a long delay while the course was reset but a 40-degree shift out of the start meant that some sailors could lay the mark in one tack. New Zealand's Steve McDowell judged it perfectly from Germany's Sonke Behrens tacking near the boat end to lift up to the mark while those on the left sailed more distance.

Hunt and Craig were not far behind and soon were up to first and second. The windward mark was reset for the fishy second beat, causing the fleet to sail almost into the fishing harbour before tacking. On the last beat Jim Hunt was heard ordering a rum punch on the beach before pointing towards the finish line, but Craig had it under control for his sixth win of the week. Roger Blasse, from Australia, in third, punched out right to try and get some leverage but just lost ground.

Even though he won the famous Tiki for the top Kiwi boat McDowell, who finished fourth in Race 8, remains in fifth overall, just seven points from a medal. He said, "It was a pretty nice day out there. A few big shifts but the course was a bit clearer. It was rum punch sailing."

Left has been the favourite direction most of the week, but in Race 8, Behrens went right, even though he was really going left. "It was a nice race. Steve McDowell and I were very lucky to get the right direction to the first mark. We fortunately got a big gap on the reaches. It was nice racing."

Racing on day 4 of the 2017 OK Dinghy Worlds - photo © Robert Deaves

Each upwind has been characterised by pressure from the land that lifts those on port into the top mark. Often it has been a case of overstanding the top mark to get into the bigger pressure and then using that pressure to free off, faster, into the top mark. Either way Craig has it down to a tee and is putting on a master class of sailing in challenging conditions for the fleet.

Four OK Dinghy world title have been won by just three sailors: Leith Armit of New Zealand, Bo-Staffan Andersson of Sweden and Craig. A fifth world title for Craig would rewrite the record books. It would take a significant upset to deny Craig his fifth world title in his favourite class.

The 2017 OK Dinghy World Championship concludes on Wednesday with two more races scheduled at 12.30.

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The event website is 2017.okworlds.org

Results after Day 4: (eight races, 1 discard)

Pos	Sail No	Helm	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	GBR 2195	NICK CRAIG	1	1	1	2	‑3	1	1	1	8
2	GBR 11	JIM HUNT	2	3	4	‑5	1	4	5	2	21
3	NZL 546	LUKE O'CONNELL	3	2	2	4	(bfd)	17	3	8	39
4	NZL 517	PAUL RHODES	5	9	5	6	6	3	‑14	7	41
5	NZL 545	STEVE McDOWELL	4	16	8	‑17	4	6	4	4	46
6	NZL 551	MARK PERROW	20	4	7	3	2	(dsq)	2	14	52
7	AUS 749	ROGER BLASSE	10	15	3	7	5	9	‑22	3	52
8	GBR 2191	CHRIS TURNER	6	8	‑25	8	8	8	9	9	56
9	NZL 566	GREG WILCOX	9	10	‑20	10	11	10	6	16	72
10	DEN 3	JORGEN SVENDSEN	19	14	14	1	‑23	5	8	12	73
11	POL 14	PAWEL PAWLACZYK	‑24	5	17	18	10	13	10	19	92
12	DEN 1402	BO TEGLERS NIELSEN	16	17	10	13	‑26	16	19	10	101
13	AUS 768	MARK JACKSON	27	7	6	11	9	11	(dns)	32	103
14	POL 1	TOMASZ GAJ	8	6	28	22	7	23	11	‑29	105
15	DEN 1397	HENRIK KOFOED ‑ LARSEN	28	‑34	11	9	15	15	12	22	112
16	NZL 498	JONO CLOUGH	17	20	12	14	12	19	20	‑26	114
17	GER 778	SOENKE BEHRENS	15	13	34	15	19	‑40	15	5	116
18	NZL 567	CHRIS FENWICK	18	‑31	13	23	14	22	7	21	118
19	GER 772	OLIVER GRONHOLZ	(ret)	12	26	16	22	7	21	15	119
20	AUS 754	BRENT WILLIAMS	11	18	21	20	33	2	16	‑46	121
21	GER 803	MARTIN v.ZIMMERMANN	7	11	15	33	(dnf)	12	26	17	121
22	GER 5	RALF TIETJE	21	21	‑33	12	17	31	17	25	144
23	NZL 523	JOE POREBSKI	14	24	24	(dsq)	27	27	23	6	145
24	GBR 10	ROBERT DEAVES	12	29	19	21	21	‑37	32	13	147
25	DEN 22	ASK ASKHOLM	25	23	23	19	‑30	26	25	11	152
26	AUS 750	PETER ROBINSON	‑43	37	9	26	20	20	13	35	160
27	NZL 575	MICHAEL HOLDEN WILDE	33	28	‑44	29	16	18	33	28	185
28	NZL 536	ERIC RONE	13	22	36	36	25	29	‑38	33	194
29	AUS 719	GLENN WILLIAMS	37	26	22	‑43	40	14	35	23	197
30	NZL 531	ADRIAN COULTHARD	29	30	32	40	13	25	‑43	30	199
31	GER 775	JOERG RADEMACHER	22	25	‑40	27	35	32	24	37	202
32	GBR 13	ALEX SCOLES	26	19	29	30	(bfd)	24	34	54	216
33	NZL 571	ROB HENGST	34	36	30	‑45	28	44	29	18	219
34	GER 7	ANDREAS PICH	35	‑41	35	31	31	35	39	24	230
35	GBR 2163	GAVIN WALDRON	‑52	44	16	41	18	38	36	43	236
36	NZL 565	SIMON PROBERT	39	48	31	32	39	28	‑59	27	244
37	GER 75	DIRK DAME	45	38	39	42	‑51	33	27	31	255
38	DEN 1335	MOGENS JOHANSEN	40	39	18	34	34	(dnf)	41	51	257
39	NZL 563	DAVID HOOGENBOOM	‑50	32	50	24	36	39	45	36	262
40	DEN 1481	NILS TROLAND	41	45	‑59	37	42	30	18	50	263
41	DEN 1442	PETER HEIDE‑JORGENSEN	36	42	27	28	43	43	46	‑56	265
42	SWE 2791	LENNART HANSSON	38	43	41	(ret)	29	46	31	41	269
43	POL 19	GRZEGORG SALAMON	32	33	(dnf)	ret	44	21	30	48	289
44	GER 11	RAINER POSPIECH	23	40	47	55	38	45	‑56	49	297
45	GER 6	FABIAN GRONHOLZ	‑60	35	48	49	46	36	44	40	298
46	GBR 2176	KEITH BYERS	30	27	55	51	37	53	48	‑57	301
47	NZL 568	DEAN NEIL COLEMAN	‑57	53	43	25	49	41	52	47	310
48	DEN 1407	MALTE PEDERSEN	42	51	57	‑68	24	47	58	42	321
49	GER 8	RONALD FOEST	47	(ret)	63	35	56	42	40	38	325
50	DEN 1399	CHRISTOPHER JOE SCHUBERT	(dsq)	46	46	44	45	34	47	67	329
51	NZL 564	SEFTON POWRIE	59	52	56	39	(dnf)	dns	37	20	344
52	GER 731	THOMAS GLAS	44	49	37	48	(dnf)	dns	51	39	349
53	GER 757	FALK HAGEMANN	51	55	42	38	54	51	‑64	60	351
54	GER 22	DIRK GERICKE	48	59	45	47	50	50	53	‑64	352
55	AUS 736	GRANT WAKEFIELD	61	57	51	54	32	(dnf)	54	55	364
56	GER 12	STEFAN RASSAU	53	(dnf)	dnf	52	41	52	28	61	370
57	GER 767	JULIANE HOFMANN	54	47	58	56	53	49	55	‑63	372
58	AUS 688	DAVID HASELDINE	55	‑58	53	46	58	55	50	58	375
59	AUS 725	DAVID KETTERIDGE	58	64	38	50	(dns)	dns	49	45	385
60	NZL 569	PHIL COVENY	31	63	(dnf)	59	52	57	57	70	389
61	NZL 574	PHILIP RZEPECKY	46	50	(dsq)	53	dnf	dns	42	44	397
62	AUS 767	GLENN YATES	49	61	(dnf)	63	47	54	60	69	403
63	GER 777	NADINE TIETJE	62	54	60	60	48	(dnf)	65	53	403
64	GER 678	HEINZ RIDDER	64	‑70	64	62	57	48	62	65	422
65	POL 40	ROBERT SWIECKI	69	60	52	64	(dnf)	58	66	66	435
66	FRA 1833	FABIEN CAPEILLERES	56	56	49	(dnf)	dns	dns	63	52	438
67	AUS 766	ROBERT BUCHANAN	66	69	60	60	(dns)	dns	70	34	441
68	DEN 1458	SOREN SIGURDSSON	72	65	(dnf)	67	55	56	67	68	450
69	SWE 55	ULF SAHLE	63	62	62	57	(dns)	dns	61	74	460
70	AUS 738	KEVIN KNOTT	68	67	65	58	(dns)	dns	69	59	467
71	AUS 706	ERIK THOMPSON	65	68	54	66	(dnf)	dnf	68	73	475
72	GER 697	JOERG POSNY	70	66	(dnf)	65	ret	dns	72	62	497
73	GBR 2116	TIM O'LEARY	75	74	(dnf)	69	59	dns	71	71	500
74	AUS 716	DAVID SWALES	67	72	(dnf)	70	ret	dns	74	72	517
75	GER 788	JESSICA FINKE	73	75	(dnf)	dns	dns	dns	73	75	539
76	GER 539	ULRICH BORCHERS	76	76	(dnf)	71	dns	dns	75	dns	541
77	NZL 550	TONY BIERRE	71	71	(dnf)	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	547
78	GBR 2058	MARY REDDYHOFF	74	73	(dnf)	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	552
79	GBR 2159	RUSSELL WARD	(dns)	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	567
79	BAR 1	Charlie Gloomeau	(dns)	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	dns	567