OK Dinghy World Championship 2024 at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Brisbane

OK Dinghy World Championship 2024 at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Brisbane - Day 4

by Robert Deaves 1 Mar 13:52 UTC 26 February - 2 March 2024

Nick Craig and Andy Davis traded race wins on the penultimate day at the 2024 Tan Lines OK Dinghy World Championship, hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, in Brisbane, Australia. They top the leader board, separated by just six points, with Australia's Roger Blasse - who had the joint best day with Davis - another four points behind. Just two races remain on Saturday.

For the first time this week the wind had set in from the north-east and brought quite shifty conditions with wind from 8-12 knots as the fleet resumed racing after the lay day in gold and silver groups. While many sailors scored some deep results, the top five overall remained unchanged.

Nick Craig, GBR on day 4 of the 2024 OK Dinghy World Championship Brisbane - photo © Robert Deaves / www.robertdeaves.uk

The first upwind of race 7 provided quite a challenge in a quite light and shifty breeze. Both Craig and Davis started near each other mid-line but Davis then kept more to the middle while Craig went further right. Davis rounded first from Simon Davis and Australia's Matt Johnson. Craig rounded deep. Andy Davis then extended on every leg for a huge win from Australia's Roger Blasse and Mark Jackson. Craig crossed in 20th.

The wind started to strengthen for race 8 and would top out at 12-14 knots by the end. This time the left side paid with Australia's Lachlan Hornsby rounding first from David Meehan and New Zealand's Gordon Sims. Craig rounded from the right in fourth after a huge shift came in at the right time and gradually worked his way through the fleet to take the lead on the final run and win his fifth race from eight starts. Last week's Australian champion, David Clark crossed second with New Zealand's Steve McDowell in third. Andy Davis crossed in fifth to maintain second place and keep the pressure on Craig.

Australia's Mark Jackson, and also the President of OKDIA, reflected on a successful event, "The event has been fantastic with all races in so far with one day to go. The weather has been brilliant. It's been hot, sunny and we've had great breeze every day and the competition has been really tough. We're having a lot of fun."

On his own performance, "I have had a lot of ups and downs. The first race each day I have a good one and the second I fall back to about mid fleet. It was much the same again today with a third and about a 30th. It's a typical pattern for me."

Mark Jackson, AUS on day 4 of the 2024 OK Dinghy World Championship Brisbane - photo © Robert Deaves / www.robertdeaves.uk

A home worlds has given the fleet in Australian a boost. He continued "The Australian fleet is really booming at the moment. We have boats in every state. We have a new fleet in Perth and a decent fleet here in Queensland and we got over 70 boats to our Australian championship and here for the worlds, so the class is really growing and going well here in Australia."

Tomas Franzén from Sweden is in 17th, "We have had a wonderful time here so far. We haven't been sailing since October, so we were a little bit rusty, but our boats finally arrived in time for the worlds and now I feel we're getting better and better."

Tomas Franzen, SWE on day 4 of the 2024 OK Dinghy World Championship Brisbane - photo © Robert Deaves / www.robertdeaves.uk

On the venue, "This is a fantastic place to go sailing. Over 30 degrees, and even if you get splashed it's like sailing in the shower. There is great camaraderie in the fleet and a lot of really great sailors, so I am enjoying it.

"Today was really shifty with the puffs coming from right, then left and it was really crazy for a while, but I'm happy anyway."

Race 8 on day 4 of the 2024 OK Dinghy World Championship Brisbane - photo © Robert Deaves / www.robertdeaves.uk

The top of the fleet remains tight going into the final day. It would be a brave man to bet against Craig winning his sixth OK Dinghy world title, but with a 20th on the board, and with the way Davis and Blasse are sailing, he cannot afford another slip up. Davis is sailing exceptionally well and while he won the British championship last year, he is a relative newcomer to the class. Meanwhile Blasse is a double world champion and is within striking distance. It is a long way from over.

So just two races remain on Saturday to decide the 2024 Tan Lines OK Dinghy World Champion. Who will it be?

Results after Day 4:

Pos	Bow No	Sail No	Helm	Boat Name	Club	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	F1	F2	Pts
Gold Fleet
1st	19	GBR 2261	Nick Craig	'‑		1	1	1	2	3	1	‑20	1	10
2nd	30	GBR 11	Andy Davis	HD Sails		2	1	3	2	2	‑6	1	5	16
3rd	46	AUS 1	Roger Blasse	TBA	BRYC	‑10	5	4	1	1	3	2	4	20
4th	49	NZL 11	Steve McDowell	Schism	WBBC	2	6	1	3	7	5	‑25	3	27
5th	108	AUS 825	Mike Williams	Elmo’s Fire	IHYC	5	2	4	6	6	11	11	‑24	45
6th	94	AUS 15	David Clark	Staccato	CYCA	5	3	7	10	12	10	‑14	2	49
7th	9	DEN 6	Johan Bjoerling	Sara		(UFD)	SOP	10	5	1	2	7	19	50
8th	8	DEN 22	ask askholm	Sington		‑15	11	6	8	8	10	5	14	62
9th	37	DEN 61	Henrik Kofoed‑Larsen	J diller M	YMCASC	3	(BFD)	8	19	11	3	13	7	64
10th	28	NZL 592	Rod Davis	Device	WBC	6	3	6	13	6	15	‑28	15	64
11th	104	AUS 5	Brent Williams	Grumpy		13	11	3	5	14	7	12	‑28	65
12th	35	GBR 44	Chris Turner	Meraki	LRSC	1	SOP	9	9	4	7	‑27	23	66
13th	26	SWE 73	Patric Mure	SWE73		(UFD)	6	7	3	10	2	17	21	66
14th	73	AUS 791	Mark Skelton	791	SLMASC	4	7	10	11	12	8	15	‑16	67
15th	16	NZL 15	Greg Wilcox	Turtle Sails		14	15	5	6	15	9	4	‑17	68
16th	15	AUS 8	Mark Jackson	Glory Days	BRYC	6	21	2	19	2	16	3	‑31	69
17th	12	SWE 58	Tomas Franzén	Vaadåådåå	WYC	19	14	11	10	4	5	6	‑26	69
18th	20	NZL 60	Gordon Sims	Delinquent	WBC	12	12	8	4	5	24	‑39	10	75
19th	43	AUS 10	Tim Davies	Rhythm Stick	WASC	22	9	12	SOP	10	4	‑35	12	77
20th	47	AUS 828	Brett Whitbread	No Stingrays		12	(BFD)	15	4	13	17	9	9	79
21st	74	AUS 833	Scott Olsen	Slingshot	FSC	SOP	8	13	15	9	13	‑34	13	81
22nd	29	NZL 4	Mark Perrow	Recidivist		22	14	2	1	8	8	32	‑39	87
23rd	31	NZL 620	Sean Cleary	Sean Cleary	WBC	8	10	(DSQ)	9	3	1	30	32	93
24th	68	GER 77	Sönke Behrens	Bleibmallogga		14	‑31	14	15	13	4	18	20	98
25th	93	NZL 17	Paul Rhodes	Solitary Confinement	WBBC	31	4	9	7	15	6	33	‑34	105
26th	80	SWE 63	Jonas Langner	'‑	WYC	10	19	14	25	7	9	23	‑51	107
27th	95	NZL 584	greg salthouse	Sunset Sam	WBC	‑27	16	12	21	11	11	22	18	111
28th	25	AUS 9	Andre Blasse	Nein	BRYC	29	7	11	8	5	12	‑51	40	112
29th	17	NZL 623	Marc Grise	Dog Box		20	9	19	14	14	12	26	‑49	114
30th	96	AUS 800	Steve Gunther	No Name		29	10	5	26	9	13	‑31	30	122
31st	75	AUS 811	David Meehan	Baseline	FSC	17	15	22	20	20	19	‑29	11	124
32nd	22	GER 5	Ralf Tietje	.		4	18	17	12	28	22	‑41	27	128
33rd	41	AUS 793	Mark Rutherfurd	Splinter	DSC	11	21	13	16	30	29	‑38	8	128
34th	86	AUS 735	Matt Johnson	Think Positive	BRYC	11	23	18	22	22	16	16	‑55	128
35th	4	AUS 752	Ben Sharp	Lily		30	8	15	13	16	14	‑40	35	131
36th	39	AUS 694	Gary McLennan	smOKin	BRYC	3	35	26	27	19	15	8	‑45	133
37th	69	AUS 805	Lachlan Hornsby	Emu	LMYC	33	28	23	11	18	21	‑45	6	140
38th	44	GBR 999	Simon Davis	Zym	WSC	23	19	20	31	17	(DNF)	10	22	142
39th	117	GER 81	Jan‑Dietmar Dellas	Le Rêveur III		13	20	24	20	20	20	‑56	29	146
40th	51	AUS 826	Peter Lynch	Spook	WASC	15	27	30	23	‑33	19	19	25	158
41st	13	AUS 823	Steve Wilson	Knot Specified	BRYC	20	17	17	16	21	27	‑46	44	162
42nd	27	NZL 55	Simon Probert	Show Pony		16	27	21	24	17	28	37	‑50	170
43rd	105	AUS 815	Andrew Northcott	UTH	RQYS	16	13	26	30	21	26	49	‑53	181
44th	18	AUS 708	Kelvin Holdt	Green Eggs and Ham	RQYS	25	17	24	‑38	32	26	24	36	184
45th	110	AUS 798	Folkert Janssen	Holy Guacamole	BRYC	28	25	22	21	25	23	42	‑48	186
46th	90	AUS 776	Grant Wakefield	Space Monkey	DSC	7	23	34	44	24	34	21	‑54	187
47th	109	GER 8	Ron Foest	Agathe B.		18	26	‑43	14	35	21	36	38	188
48th	78	AUS 790	Jonathan Ward	Bank Robber		25	20	21	25	33	23	(SOP)	41	188
49th	45	AUS 4	Peter Robinson	Smokin' Hot	DSC	9	16	36	22	38	37	‑48	33	191
50th	40	DEN 25	Søren Sigurdsson	Queen Mary		21	29	35	23	28	17	‑55	43	196
51st	83	AUS 773	David Ketteridge	The Vid aka Joanâ€™s Super	ASC	24	24	16	32	31	33	‑52	42	202
52nd	32	AUS 827	Duncan Lock	Truck Stop		38	24	20	31	32	14	‑53	46	205
53rd	79	AUS 754	Peter Royle	Run Forrest Run		39	18	28	17	36	30	‑47	37	205
54th	116	DEN 1407	Malte Pedersen	Greenpeace		23	36	28	12	23	33	‑54	52	207
55th	58	AUS 734	Rhys Llewellyn	Cracked Pecker	DSC	30	22	19	27	25	44	43	‑47	210
56th	34	AUS 771	Claus Ejlertsen	OK WAKA	RQYS	45	22	31	18	26	31	50	‑56	223
Silver Fleet
1st	99	NZL 561	Brett Daniel	Blue	WBC	(UFD)	4	29	34	24	46	4	1	142
2nd	59	AUS 7	Glenn Williams	Rum Runner	ASC	42	(BFD)	43	17	19	18	5	5	149
3rd	103	NZL 564	Sefton Powrie	Fossil 2	WBC	7	28	‑40	38	27	32	7	17	156
4th	102	NZ 568	Dean Coleman	Grey Matter		18	‑32	31	29	26	31	SOP	3	162
5th	100	AUS 810	Jay Harrison	RU	VA12SC	33	37	25	33	‑41	20	10	9	167
6th	88	NZL 611	Oscar Paulich	Waterrat		(UFD)	29	SOP	DNF	18	SOP	SOP	2	168
7th	118	AUS 740	Andrew Baker	Kalinda IV	SYC	34	32	27	40	‑44	25	6	6	170
8th	65	AUS 725	Jordan Barney	Joan's Respite	RQYS	31	‑33	32	28	22	22	24	11	170
9th	11	AUS 813	Steven Shale	Minerva	RQYS	21	(BFD)	38	34	23	25	20	12	173
10th	33	AUS 772	Simon Paul	Ollie	RQYS	35	‑36	33	36	36	24	3	10	177
11th	77	AUS 830	Rhyss Edwards	OK Gooogle	FSC	17	25	34	‑45	39	35	16	15	181
12th	24	AUS 763	Chris Mason	.	DBYC	26	‑37	30	28	29	28	19	26	186
13th	21	AUS 47	Brendon Green	YIPPIEE KI‑YAY	FSC	42	13	23	33	31	43	9	(UFD)	194
14th	66	AUS 780	David Haseldine	OKasionally	DSC	24	‑44	39	30	39	36	13	19	200
15th	23	AUS 6	Bob Buchanan	Bundy	PCSC	39	31	25	29	34	‑40	26	21	205
16th	114	AUS 744	Michael Horvath	Max Power	IHYC	45	43	18	18	37	18	27	(DNF)	206
17th	56	AUS 818	Jim Dwyer	Tokyo Drift		‑48	45	48	35	29	35	8	8	208
18th	115	AUS 792	Steven Humphris	Houdini	RQYS	32	30	32	‑49	40	45	12	20	211
19th	89	AUS 14	Christopher Visick	Monkey Trunks	BRYC	(UFD)	26	35	32	47	34	18	23	215
20th	81	AUS 797	Peter Wallace	Natural Selection III	SLMASC	19	(SOP)	27	39	34	38	33	27	217
21st	76	AUS 781	Andrew Thyrd	Lion	DSC	‑47	42	41	36	27	30	21	24	221
22nd	5	NZL 604	Tony Bierre	Buzz	WBC	34	43	38	37	‑44	36	31	4	223
23rd	57	AUS 787	Sean Homan	Fine	ASC	41	38	‑52	37	37	42	28	7	230
24th	91	DEN 1481	Nils Troland	RAL5012		SOP	34	37	41	‑45	38	SOP	30	231
25th	61	AUS 785	Anthony Galante	Bella	FSC	(UFD)	BFD	37	24	16	41	1	UFD	233
26th	14	NZL 7	Phil Coveny	NZL 7	WBC	26	‑51	42	41	47	41	22	16	235
27th	85	AUS 112	Jonah Parry	Footrock Flats (Jnr)		38	35	‑54	45	43	51	11	18	241
28th	55	AUS 822	Don Williams	theboatwithnoname	BRYC	32	41	41	26	50	29	29	(UFD)	248
29th	67	AUS 3	Grant Durran	Catalina Wine Mixer	RGYC	36	(BFD)	33	43	35	39	39	28	253
30th	84	AUS 2	Rob McMillan	NB Sailsports	RQYS	8	2	16	(DNS)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	254
31st	71	AUS 762	Anthony Johnston	Rusty	DSC	37	39	39	42	42	‑44	37	25	261
32nd	38	AUS 764	Wayne Greenwood	Tan Lines	RQYS	(UFD)	30	49	43	41	39	25	35	262
33rd	7	NED 690	Sybren Hornstra	'‑		47	(BFD)	47	44	46	46	17	22	269
34th	36	NZL 560	tim mcdowell	560	WBC	46	‑49	44	39	48	32	SOP	29	269
35th	62	AUS 702	Jackson Black	Fat Dog (Jnr)	RQYS	28	40	50	46	48	‑53	45	13	270
36th	42	NZL 600	Brendan Sneddon	Charbeau	WBC	49	46	(DNC)	DNC	30	43	32	14	272
37th	52	AUS 33	Jamie Bennett	Prestige Worldwide	IHYC	43	40	40	‑49	38	42	38	31	272
38th	70	AUS 748	Pam Johnston	Pocket Rocket	DSC	48	38	48	47	‑49	47	15	33	276
39th	101	NZL 574	Philip Rzepecky	Kotuku		40	SOP	44	35	49	40	41	(UFD)	283
40th	63	AUS 703	Nelson Morse	Valkyrie (Jnr)	RQYS	43	‑48	42	40	45	47	36	32	285
41st	53	AUS 546	Kevin Knott	Tequila	ASC	40	SOP	49	51	40	37	35	(DNF)	292
42nd	111	AUS 13	Ashley Parkinson	Eternal Blue	BRYC	37	34	‑56	48	43	48	46	39	295
43rd	54	AUS 715	Luke Cromie	Think Big	BRYC	46	‑52	45	47	46	50	34	37	305
44th	50	AUS 759	Rik Thompson	Shades of Gray	RQYS	41	45	45	50	‑51	50	42	34	307
45th	107	GER 809	jessica finke	Zart am Limit		36	‑53	46	48	52	SOP	43	36	310
46th	64	AUS 750	Blake Russell	Ajax	DSC	51	42	36	46	42	45	(DNC)	DNC	318
47th	48	AUS 693	fraser spencer	Pale Rider	RQYS	44	(BFD)	53	50	50	54	40	38	329
48th	113	NZL 475	Graham Anthony Lambert	Rough Red	RNZYS	44	41	50	53	‑54	51	48	42	329
49th	82	AUS 732	Tim Alewood	Barely	DSC	50	44	51	(SOP)	53	49	44	41	332
50th	106	AUS 761	paul richards	Racing in the Street		49	50	46	42	51	49	47	(UFD)	334
51st	87	AUS 737	Richard Furneaux	Diogenes	IHYC	27	(BFD)	47	DNF	DNC	DNC	OCS	40	344
52nd	112	AUS 753	Bruce Schofield	AUS 753	WASC	50	(BFD)	51	51	52	52	DNC	DNC	368
53rd	60	AUS 760	Steven Wyatt	Voodoo Child	DSC	(DNF)	54	55	54	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	391
54th	98	AUS 779	Brett Morris	Slake	WSC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	402
54th	2	AUS 808	Mark Phillips	Cosmos Factory	DSC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	402