International OK Worlds at Kalmar, Sweden

International OK Worlds at Kalmar, Sweden - Day 2

by Mary Reddyhoff, OKDIA 28 Jul 2009 07:57 BST 23-30 July 2009

Racing on day two of the OK worlds at Kalmar, Sweden © Marcus Wilhelmsson

In sunshine and a light breeze race 3 of the OK Dinghy World Championship in Kalmar, Sweden started promptly at 11:05. However dark clouds soon appeared, with the wind increasing and backing, necessitating the windward mark to be moved 30 degrees to port for the second beat. The short choppy waves also became more pronounced. Thomas Hansson-Mild (SWE), Jorgen Lindhardtsen (DEN) and Karl Purdie (NZL) chose the pin end to start.

Those that hit the left corner came out well ahead of those on the starboard side of the course, for example Gavin Waldron (GBR) tacked round the windward mark in 15th place, well ahead of many of the front runners. Purdie built an impressive lead on the two reaches, with Hansson-Mild and Lindhardtsen close behind. These three held their positions up the next beat, but Hansson-Mild was impressive on the downwind leg and overtook Purdie, with a boat length separating each at the leeward mark.

Hansson-Mild and Lindhardtsen remained on the port side of the course, with Purdie tacking to the starboard side. At the finish, it was Purdie who got the gun.

The breeze had freshened for the start of the fourth race, with some roguish one metre waves appearing to catch the unwary OK Dinghy sailor. Once again the fleet got away at the first attempt, with individual recalls for a couple of sailors. Whereas port paid on the first beat of race 3, it was the sailors on the starboard side who benefitted in race 4. Hansson-Mild was first to the windward mark, with Lindhardtsen, Purdie and Nick Craig (GBR) close behind. There was little place changing to the finish, by which time Hansson-Mild had built a substantial lead on his competitors. The fresh breeze and waves provided optimal conditions for superb surfing conditions for all the competitors who came off the water exhilarated by the day's racing.

Day 2 reflections

Thomas Hansson-Mild commented that he grew up in an OK Dinghy, so he is pleased with his performance to date (two firsts and currently lying second overall) - but there are still six races to go. Living in Umea, 1,100 km and a two day drive north of Kalmar, Thomas explained how he is able to train when so far from the other OK Dinghies. "I do a lot of cross-country skiing in winter as I have to wait for the ice breakers to clear the sea before I can start sailing again, probably a month after most have started to sail. There are plenty of icebergs to dodge, but I just get used to it! I am very fortunate that there is a very narrow stretch of water between Sweden and Finland at Umea. Here there are always big waves created by wind or current so I can practise my reaching and downwind techniques. I am able to increase my lead on Purdie on these legs. Fortunately Anders Widding has been an excellent training partner this year so I can also practise beating, though Purdie slowly reels me in on the beat. I have copied Peter Milne who used a four purchase mainsheet in 1999, to overcome my tennis elbow, it still, however gives me enough control for downwind sailing. We are fortunate to have a coach and a support boat this year, which has improved the confidence of the Swedish sailors, knowing there is spare equipment available should we need it."

Results after Day 2:

Pos	Helm	SailNo	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1	Karl Purdie	NZL 531	Worser Bay Boating Club	4	1	1	2	8
2	Thomas Hansson-Mild	SWE 100	Umeå Segelsällskap	1	5	2	1	9
3	Jørgen Lindhardtsen	DEN 1364	Hvidovre Sejlklub	2	3	3	3	11
4	Andre Blasse	AUS 729	Black Rock Yacht Club	7	2	4	5	18
5	Nick Craig	GBR 2134	Frensham Pond	6	4	12	4	26
6	Greg Wilcox	NZL 522	BSC	9	6	5	6	26
7	Terry Curtis	GBR 2118	Upper Thames	3	7	8	9	27
8	Pawel Pawlaczyk	POL 14		5	8	15	10	38
9	Gunter Arndt	GER 672	FYC	13	17	6	8	44
10	Bo-Staffan Andersson	SWE 2784	Karlshamns SS	14	10	17	14	55
11	Christian Olesen	DEN 1340	Kalundborg sejlklub	12	16	21	7	56
12	Martin Zimmermann	GER 693	SCOe	17	15	13	12	57
13	Antoni Pawlowski	POL 31		26	9	14	11	60
14	Mogens Johansen	DEN 1335	Solrød Strand	8	23	9	22	62
15	Jan-Erik Nystedt	SWE 66	VSS	22	14	11	16	63
16	Ralf Tietje	GER 750	Segler-Verein Grossenheidorn	10	26	20	21	77
17	Håkan Törnqvist	SWE 2786	SS Kaparen	20	18	16	29	83
18	Ingo Stelzer	GER 755	BSV	19	13	18	35	85
19	Christian Hedlund	DEN 1375	Hellerup Sejlklub	15	22	24	25	86
20	Tomasz Gaj	POL 1		16	31	25	17	89
21	Soenke Behrens	GER 690	SCOe	18	21	33	23	95
22	Bartosz Rakocy	POL 19		DPI	DPI	7	31	103
23	Troels Lykke	DEN 13	Vallensbæk Sejlklub	31	30	26	19	106
24	Hans Elkjaer	SWE 99	Varbergs SS	21	38	30	18	107
25	Jan-Erik Engholm	SWE 2782	Getskärs SS	32	29	23	26	110
26	Jörg Rademàcher	GER 730	SCST	33	27	27	24	111
27	Arne Lindermann	GER 740	PSCW	23	11	35	44	113
28	Oliver Gronholz	GER 717	SSC	11	BFD	10	13	114
29	Jørgen Holm Nielsen	DEN 1377	Kaløvig Bådelaug	25	35	28	28	116
30	Claes Ahlström	SWE 2780	Getskärs SS	37	12	38	30	117
31	Per Jaensson	SWE 222	SKK	41	24	19	41	125
32	Ulf Dagerbrant	SWE 2741	Umeå Segelsällskap	39	32	22	32	125
33	Bengt Strömberg	SWE 11	StSS	40	37	29	20	126
34	Olle Albrektsson	SWE 2787	VASS	29	39	32	27	127
35	Darek Kras	POL 5		35	20	42	40	137
36	Ingemar Jansson	SWE 2772	SS Kaparen	43	25	36	39	143
37	Jonas Lindahl	SWE 64	Nättraby Båtklubb	30	33	54	33	150
38	Gavin Waldron	GBR 2085	South Staffs	38	46	31	36	151
39	Bo Teglers	DEN 1369	Hellerup Sejlklub	24	BFD	34	15	153
40	Jonas Andersson	SWE 2770	NYSS	45	28	44	37	154
41	Peter Stephan	GER 665	SCST	47	34	40	38	159
42	Jesper Strandberg	DEN 1370	Bramsnæs Sejlklub	36	36	41	50	163
43	Ralf Mackmann	GER 711	SCH	27	66	48	34	175
44	Jörg Sylvester	GER 726	SSC	44	42	45	49	180
45	Dirk Dame	GER 688	SVM	52	40	49	43	184
46	Mårten Bernesand	SWE 511	SKK	51	43	47	45	186
47	Dirk Gericke	GER 735		48	51	46	47	192
48	Karl-Johan Östh	SWE 2740	Karlskrona SS	55	45	50	46	196
49	Rainer Pospiech	GER 745	YCBG	57	41	51	48	197
50	Rasmus Cavling Clausen	DEN 1301	Sejlklubben Esrum Sø	54	48	43	52	197
51	Radoslaw Drozdzik	POL 44		DPI	DPI	56	42	201
52	Malte Pedersen	DEN 1265	Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub	65	44	55	55	219
53	Christian Heinze	GER 607	SCV	53	53	37	DNF	223
54	Christian Huß	GER 714	SCF	64	56	53	54	227
55	Anders Widding	SWE 2739	Umeå Segelsällskap	58	58	52	62	230
56	Katharina Huß	GER 606	SCF	59	61	57	53	230
57	Julian Bishop	NZL 516	Worser Bay Boating Club	60	54	58	58	230
58	Sam Jedig	DEN 1329	Bramsnæs Sejlklub	49	59	64	61	233
59	Jonathan O\'Donell	AUS 685	Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club	46	52	DNC	56	234
60	Richard Burton	GBR 1774	West Oxford	56	BFD	39	60	235
61	Glenn Yates	AUS 724	Wangi Sailing Club	50	55	DNC	51	236
62	Jens Makholm	NOR 467	Hellerup Sejlklub	28	50	DNC	DNF	238
63	Heinz Ridder	GER 651	SVP	63	57	62	57	239
64	Bengt Larsson	SWE 2672	SS Kaparen	71	47	59	63	240
65	Arne Malm	SWE 2591	TBS	62	63	63	65	253
66	CHENUIL Mathieu	FRA 723	CYVIA	66	68	61	59	254
67	Simon Polteg	SWE 2756	SKK	DPI	DPI	60	67	260
68	Magnus Bager	SWE 2217	SS Svearna	67	64	67	64	262
69	Gautier ARIBAUD	FRA 2000	SNF Sports Nautiques de la Frette	69	67	68	66	270
70	Peter Aebeloe	SWE 2738	SS Kaparen	70	60	65	DNS	275
71	Gunnar Goronzi	GER 487	SCST	68	65	66	DNS	279
72	Peter Lynch	AUS 726	Wangi RSL Sailing Club	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
73	Marek Jarocki	POL 16		DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
74	Piotr Przewozny	POL 424		DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
75	Karsten Hitz	GER 744	SSC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
76	Bertil Eliasson	SWE 111	SSKA Segelsällskapet Kaparen	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
77	Jan Larsen	DEN 1324	Hvidovre Sejlklub	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
78	Svend Erik Molbech	DEN 1366	Skovshovede Sejlklub	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320
79	Stefan Myrälf	DEN 1333	Hellerup Sejlklub	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	320