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Zhik - Made for Water

Record breaking 2024 Tan Lines OK Dinghy World Championship in Brisbane

by Robert Deaves 4 Mar 05:50 GMT 26 February - 2 March 2024

The 2024 Tan Lines OK Dinghy World Championship in Brisbane, Australia, was a fantastic celebration of OK Dinghy sailing in some amazing conditions and run with precision and enthusiasm by both the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron and the Australian OK Dinghy class. It was also the biggest OK Dinghy event ever held in Australia and creates a great legacy for the local and international fleets with many records being broken.

It was also the 60th OK Dinghy World Championship and the sixth world title for Nick Craig, from Britain, breaking his own record that has stood since 2017 and making it three back to back wins for different British sailors after Charlie Cumbley won in 2022 and Henry Wetherell won in 2023. Craig is indisputably the greatest OK Dinghy sailor of all time and has regularly been on the podium for the last quarter century. He won his first three world titles from 2005 to 2007 and then again in 2012 and 2017.

Second placed Andy Davis, also from Britain, is a relative newcomer compared to the rest of the top 10. British champion last year, he seemed to relish the Brisbane conditions, rarely putting a foot wrong. He also makes Craig's sails and the two trained together for this event.

Australia's Roger Blasse is a double world champion and was still in contention going onto the final race, sailing as well and as fast as he has done for a number of years, winning three races along the way largely by his superior downwind speed in a breeze.

It's worth noting that the top four boats - with New Zealand's Steve McDowell in fourth only one point behind Blasse - all counted top 10 places. Nine results in the top 10 - top three in Craig's case - is a remarkable achievement in the calibre of the fleet and the challenging conditions.

Also remarkable, is that every scheduled race was sailed on time in a reliable breeze during the week. The weather was insanely sublime with 30 degrees every day, mostly blue skies, wind from 10-16 knots, a small chop and three different wind directions over the five days. No one can really ask for more. It was an amazing endorsement of the suitability of Brisbane for major events. In his acceptance speech Craig complemented the race officer Louise Davis and the race management team for an impeccable week of racing, in sometimes quite shifty conditions.

In winning his sixth OK Dinghy world title, Nick Craig had also beaten the record for the lowest points score when all races were sailed, previously held by Thomas Hansson-Mild from 2009. Craig won five out of the ten races and while it looks good on paper, he had to make quite a few comebacks from deep first marks to put together an unbeatable scoreline.

"It's fantastic to win again. I could not be happier, but I knew it would be tough here. It's always hard coming out of the British winter and coming to a championship. The fleet is really good but thankfully I rode my luck this week. There were four times I came into the windward mark outside the top 20, three of those the last shift went my way but one of them it didn't and that's when I got my 20th, so if that had happened one more time, I'd have been out of it."

Craig started the week with three race wins, and only once slipped up with the 20th, which put the pressure on going into the final day.

"Going into the last day I felt a bit vulnerable with the 20th. Both Taxi [Andy Davis] and Roger had better shorelines than me going into the day so I'm relieved and happy. In the last race the breeze came up, which I was so happy about as I needed a ninth at worst and when the breeze is up, I have a bit more speed. In the light stuff there are lots of quick people. So, I was really happy with that, and it was a lot of fun."

On coming to Australia, "What a place. We were treated in the last race to Force 3-4, big waves, 30 degrees, just stunning conditions. It's such a great facility here, a huge club, really well run and we felt really well looked after. Hopefully I'll be back here in a couple years for the Finn Gold Cup."

Top 10 equipment

Both Craig and Davis used identical gear with Ovington hulls, HD sails and Ceilidh masts. It was unusual for a southern-hemisphere worlds that most of the leading gear used was made in Europe. There were five Synergy hulls in the top 10, four Ovington and an older Australian Delfs, plus seven of the sail and mast inventories were manufactured in Europe. But, as usual, through the fleet there was an incredibly diverse range of equipment manufacturers and builders.

A final word of thanks to the organisers, the amazing sponsors, especially Tan Lines (probably half the fleet went home with a bottle of Tan Lines gin) and the club. It was a huge effort both on the water and on the shore, with shore-based activities every day, free beer, prizes, dinners and more extra benefits for the sailors than anyone had the right to expect.

However, it all worked seamlessly with the support of the club staff and volunteers, the enthusiasm of the Australian fleet and the tireless work of Emma Hutcheson, who did an awesome job pulling everything together. It is no easy job keeping 112 OK sailors under control.

The OK Dinghy class continues to grow and attract the best sailors. While this championship did have less Europeans than usual, the class is already looking forward to the European championship in Palma in October, and next year's world championship on Garda, in September. During the week in Brisbane, the 2026 world championship was also confirmed for Denmark, which has the largest OK Dinghy fleet in the world. Bigger and better championships would appear to be about as certain as night following day in the coming years.

Overall Results:

PosBow NoSail NoHelmBoat NameClubQ1Q2Q3Q4Q5Q6F1F2F3F4Pts
Gold Fleet
1st19GBR 2261Nick Craig'‑ 111231‑2013215
2nd30GBR 11Andy DavisHD Sails 213226155‑1727
3rd46AUS 1Roger BlasseTBABRYC1054113241(RET)31
4th49NZL 11Steve McDowellSchismWBBC261375‑2534132
5th94AUS 15David ClarkStaccatoCYCA537101210‑14210362
6th108AUS 825Mike WilliamsElmo’s FireIHYC524661111‑24161374
7th35GBR 44Chris TurnerMerakiLRSC1SOP9947‑27236577
8th15AUS 8Mark JacksonGlory DaysBRYC6212192163‑3121586
9th26SWE 73Patric MureSWE73 (UFD)673102172113887
10th16NZL 15Greg WilcoxTurtle Sails 141556159417‑211095
11th43AUS 10Tim DaviesRhythm StickWASC22912SOP104‑35129995
12th37DEN 61Henrik Kofoed‑LarsenJ diller MYMCASC3(BFD)819113137152099
13th20NZL 60Gordon SimsDelinquentWBC121284524‑391018699
14th8DEN 22ask askholmSington 151168810514‑222299
15th73AUS 791Mark Skelton791SLMASC4710111281516‑2718101
16th9DEN 6Johan BjoerlingSara (UFD)SOP105127192531106
17th28NZL 592Rod DavisDeviceWBC63613615‑28151924107
18th12SWE 58Tomas FranzénVaadåådååWYC19141110456‑262414107
19th47AUS 828Brett WhitbreadNo Stingrays 12(BFD)154131799821108
20th104AUS 5Brent WilliamsGrumpy 1311351471228‑3423116
21st29NZL 4Mark PerrowRecidivist 2214218832‑39725119
22nd93NZL 17Paul RhodesSolitary ConfinementWBBC3149715633‑34114120
23rd68GER 77Sönke BehrensBleibmallogga 14‑31141513418202012130
24th74AUS 833Scott OlsenSlingshotFSCSOP813159133413‑3716131
25th31NZL 620Sean ClearySean ClearyWBC810(DSQ)93130322819140
26th95NZL 584greg salthouseSunset SamWBC271612211111221812‑28150
27th25AUS 9Andre BlasseNeinBRYC297118512‑5140367155
28th96AUS 800Steve GuntherNo Name 2910526913313014‑33167
29th4AUS 752Ben SharpLily 308151316144035‑4211182
30th75AUS 811David MeehanBaselineFSC171522202019291131‑35184
31st17NZL 623Marc GriseDog Box 2091914141226‑493241187
32nd86AUS 735Matt JohnsonThink PositiveBRYC11231822221616‑552639193
33rd22GER 5Ralf Tietje. 41817122822‑41272938195
34th41AUS 793Mark RutherfurdSplinterDSC112113163029388‑4430196
35th80SWE 63Jonas Langner'‑WYC101914257923‑515045202
36th51AUS 826Peter LynchSpookWASC152730233319192523‑52214
37th69AUS 805Lachlan HornsbyEmuLMYC33282311182145638‑48223
38th39AUS 694Gary McLennansmOKinBRYC33526271915845‑5646224
39th117GER 81Jan‑Dietmar DellasLe Rêveur III 132024202020‑56295136233
40th13AUS 823Steve WilsonKnot SpecifiedBRYC201717162127‑46443932233
41st44GBR 999Simon DavisZymWSC2319203117(DNF)102246DNC245
42nd27NZL 55Simon ProbertShow Pony 16272124172837‑503344247
43rd78AUS 790Jonathan WardBank Robber 252021253323(SOP)414127256
44th110AUS 798Folkert JanssenHoly GuacamoleBRYC28252221252342‑483543264
45th34AUS 771Claus EjlertsenOK WAKARQYS45223118263150‑561726266
46th45AUS 4Peter RobinsonSmokin' HotDSC916362238374833‑5229268
47th18AUS 708Kelvin HoldtGreen Eggs and HamRQYS251724383226243647‑50269
48th32AUS 827Duncan LockTruck Stop 382420313214‑53463037272
49th79AUS 754Peter RoyleRun Forrest Run 391828173630‑47374034279
50th109GER 8Ron FoestAgathe B. 1826431435213638‑5553284
51st105AUS 815Andrew NorthcottUTHRQYS161326302126495353(DNC)287
52nd90AUS 776Grant WakefieldSpace MonkeyDSC7233444243421‑545449290
53rd40DEN 25Søren SigurdssonQueen Mary 212935232817‑55434551292
54th58AUS 734Rhys LlewellynCracked PeckerDSC30221927254443‑474340293
55th83AUS 773David KetteridgeThe Vid aka Joan’s SuperASC242416323133‑52424847297
56th116DEN 1407Malte PedersenGreenpeace 233628122333‑54524942298
Silver Fleet
1st59AUS 7Glenn WilliamsRum RunnerASC42(BFD)4317191855102161
2nd99NZL 561Brett DanielBlueWBC(UFD)42934244641196167
3rd88NZL 611Oscar PaulichWaterrat (UFD)29SOPDNF18SOPSOP213172
4th102NZ 568Dean ColemanGrey Matter 18‑3231292631SOP3511178
5th100AUS 810Jay HarrisonRUVA12SC33372533‑4120109310180
6th11AUS 813Steven ShaleMinervaRQYS21(BFD)383423252012212187
7th65AUS 725Jordan BarneyJoan's RespiteRQYS31‑33322822222411157192
8th24AUS 763Chris Mason.DBYC26‑3730282928192685199
9th103NZL 564Sefton PowrieFossil 2WBC728‑403827327172423203
10th77AUS 830Rhyss EdwardsOK GooogleFSC172534‑4539351615722210
11th114AUS 744Michael HorvathMax PowerIHYC45431818371827(DNF)61213
12th118AUS 740Andrew BakerKalinda IVSYC34322740‑4425662224216
13th33AUS 772Simon PaulOllieRQYS35‑36333636243102517219
14th66AUS 780David HaseldineOKasionallyDSC24‑44393039361319SOP13227
15th23AUS 6Bob BuchananBundyPCSC3931252934‑402621925239
16th76AUS 781Andrew ThyrdLionDSC‑47424136273021241118250
17th56AUS 818Jim DwyerTokyo Drift ‑484548352935881233253
18th89AUS 14Christopher VisickMonkey TrunksBRYC(UFD)26353247341823319255
19th61AUS 785Anthony GalanteBellaFSC(UFD)BFD372416411UFD204257
20th5NZL 604Tony BierreBuzzWBC34433837‑44363143015268
21st55AUS 822Don WilliamstheboatwithnonameBRYC32414126502929(UFD)416268
22nd57AUS 787Sean HomanFineASC4138‑523737422871821269
23rd14NZL 7Phil CovenyNZL 7WBC26‑514241474122161620271
24th21AUS 47Brendon GreenYIPPIEE KI‑YAYFSC4213233331439(UFD)27DNC277
25th115AUS 792Steven HumphrisHoudiniRQYS323032494045122017(BFD)277
26th85AUS 112Jonah ParryFootrock Flats (Jnr) 3835‑5445435111182331295
27th52AUS 33Jamie BennettPrestige WorldwideIHYC434040‑49384238312914315
28th36NZL 560tim mcdowell560WBC46‑4944394832SOP29398316
29th71AUS 762Anthony JohnstonRustyDSC3739394242‑4437252137319
30th81AUS 797Peter WallaceNatural Selection IIISLMASC19SOP273934383327(DNC)DNC321
31st42NZL 600Brendan SneddonCharbeauWBC4946(DNC)DNC304332142627325
32nd38AUS 764Wayne GreenwoodTan LinesRQYS(UFD)304943413925353530327
33rd91DEN 1481Nils TrolandRAL5012 SOP3437414538SOP30(DNF)DNC332
34th62AUS 702Jackson BlackFat Dog (Jnr)RQYS2840504648‑5345133628334
35th7NED 690Sybren Hornstra'‑ 47(BFD)4744464617223236337
36th70AUS 748Pam JohnstonPocket RocketDSC48384847‑494715333434344
37th111AUS 13Ashley ParkinsonEternal BlueBRYC3734‑5648434846392826349
38th63AUS 703Nelson MorseValkyrie (Jnr)RQYS43‑484240454736323835358
39th53AUS 546Kevin KnottTequilaASC40SOP4951403735(DNF)4032364
40th67AUS 3Grant DurranCatalina Wine MixerRGYC36(BFD)334335393928UFDDNC365
41st84AUS 2Rob McMillanNB SailsportsRQYS8216(DNS)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC366
42nd101NZL 574Philip RzepeckyKotuku 40SOP4435494041(UFD)33DNC372
43rd64AUS 750Blake RussellAjaxDSC514236464245(DNC)DNC3719374
44th54AUS 715Luke CromieThink BigBRYC46‑524547465034374529379
45th50AUS 759Rik ThompsonShades of GrayRQYS41454550‑5150423441.540388.5
46th107GER 809jessica finkeZart am Limit 36‑53464852SOP43364339392
47th106AUS 761paul richardsRacing in the Street 49504642514947(UFD)14DNS404
48th113NZL 475Graham Anthony LambertRough RedRNZYS44415053‑545148424441414
49th48AUS 693fraser spencerPale RiderRQYS44(BFD)535050544038UFD38423
50th82AUS 732Tim AlewoodBarelyDSC504451SOP5349444141.5(DNC)426.5
51st87AUS 737Richard FurneauxDiogenesIHYC27(BFD)47DNFDNCDNCOCS40DNCDNC456
52nd112AUS 753Bruce SchofieldAUS 753WASC50(BFD)51515252DNCDNCDNCDNC480
53rd60AUS 760Steven WyattVoodoo ChildDSC(DNF)545554DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC503
54th2AUS 808Mark PhillipsCosmos FactoryDSC(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC514
54th98AUS 779Brett MorrisSlakeWSC(DNC)DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC514

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