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e-Newsletter - February 2017
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Opening shot - 2017 New Zealand Nationals at Worser Bay BC
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60 years of the OK Dinghy
 Sixty years ago two Danish sailors combined their great ideas and created the fantastic OK Dinghy. Axel Damgaard's vision, combined with Knud Olsen's design skills, created an innovative and exciting dinghy that has now lasted six decades. In the early years, many in Denmark tried to have the boat banned because it was demed to be so hard to control, but the early OK Dinghy sailors stuck at, learned how to control the boat and make it go fast and it flourished into one of the most successful classes of the 1960s and 1970s. The resurgence in the class today is perhaps because the boat attracts the same pedigree of sailor as it did 60 years ago for very close and competitive racing. The class is a family of sailors worldwide who love to sail the OK Dinghy and to be with other OK Dinghy sailors (well, most of them anyway) and which embodies having huge amounts of fun on and off the water.
There will be lots of celebrations this year, and lots of reasons to celebrate. We look forward to the first OK Dinghy World Championship in the Caribbean, as around 80 sailors head to Barbados in May. The biggest event in Europe will be the European Championship in Denmark in August, which will be the main focus of the 60th anniversary celebrations and is expected to attract a huge turnout. In most countries the growth continues, with new fleets, new boats, new builders and new sailors in new parts of Europe. There is a lot to celebrate.
A NEW BOOK
As part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary it is proposed to publish a new book on the class. This will be vastly different from 'Completely OK', which was published for the 50th anniversary, cheaper, smaller and much more stories. What is needed is for everyone to contribute an anecdote, a funny story, a memory of some race or other.
They will then be compiled chronologically to create a narrative of people and events in the class, notorious prizegivings, extreme races, funny stories, drinking stories, and sailing stories. It will be a reflection of the people in the class who enjoy racing such a great little boat in great company.
If everyone receiving this email contributed 100 words, the job would be almost done.
So please wrack your brains, think of a great story (try not to libel too many people) and send in your story, whether it's 100 words or 2,000 words. Photos are always useful, though in this case not obilgatory. Please send all contributions to Robert.
It intended to publish the book in the summer, priced about £12.
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Above: Some early OK Dinghies in Denmark in 1959
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OK Dinghy Europeans - Faaborg, Denmark
The Notice of Race has been published on the event website at okeuropeans.org. Online entry is expected to open on March 1st, though you will still need to send your entry fees through your National Association.
The current plan is to run some kind of clinic/coached regatta/sprint racing on one or two days before the championship starts. More details on this later as it becomes clear what is possible.
The schedule is:
Sunday 22 July - Camping open
Sunday 22 - Monday 23 July - Possible coached regatta (depends on interest)
Tuesday 24 July - Tune up race
Wednesday 25 July to Saturday 28 July - Racing
Saturday 28 July - Prizegiving Dinner
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The 2017 New Zealand OK Dinghy National Championship was this year hosted by the Worser Bay Boating Club in Wellington. Ben Morrison won a very close series from Luke O'Connell, with Steve McDowell in third. Report here. Photo album here. Results here. |
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Mark Jackson won his sixth Australian title at the Henning Harders 55th OK Dinghy National Championship at Drummoyne SC, followed by Mark Skelton and Peter Horne. Final report here. Results here. |
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2017 World Championship - Barbados UPDATE
We are at the final stages of preparation with containers now almost full from GER, DEN, GBR, NZL and AUS. Expected final entry is around 80 boats. There are still a few spaces left in the NZL container so get in touch soon if you want to book a space. Containers will be loaded down under in March and in Europe, in April. For the latest info please check the event website at okworlds.org. |
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Many stories have been told about the great Paul Elvstrøm since his death in Hellerup on December 7th 2016. His little known impact on the OK Dinghy was significant, and many believe without his influence the class would have never gained a foothold in Denmark, which eventually led to the gaining of international status. Read more...
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There is a nice tribute to Bill Tyler on the Australan site. Bill was a dedicated OK Dinghy sailor for 45 years and was also one of the first inductees into the OKDIA Hall of Fame in 2008, after a lifetime of service to the class he loved so much. Read more...
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For those not going to Barbados to enjoy the saling, sunshine and rum, online entry is now open to the Spring Cup at Medembik, here.
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If you missed it, it's back. The British Association has released a new website this month with the same very active forum being ported into the new site for some of the most extensive OK chat on the web.
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Class news
1. OKDIA AGM 2017
The date for this has been provisionally set for Monday 29 May at Barbados Yacht Club. Please note the following deadlines according to the Constitution and the Event Manual:
March 6, 2017: Submissions for Rules changes and bids for Future events (slots available are Europeans from 2018 onwards, World Championships from 2021 onwards)
March 24, 2017: All other submissions
According to Constitution Rule 12 (b) The Agenda and supporting paper must be circulated 8 weeks in advance, so these will be published before 3 April, 2017
The deadlines above allow sufficient times to process submissions before the Agenda is produced.
2. New Class Rules
The work is continuing and we really hope we are on the last leg. It is amazing how much detail is needed to ensure the new rules are correct, but we think it will be worth the wait. Keep an eye on the rules website rules.okdinghy.org for further updates.
3. Website
Please remember to send all your regatta reports to both webmaster@okdia.org and publicity@okdia.org
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OK Dinghy World Ranking List - October 2017
 Current European Champion Bo Petersen (DEN) not only stays at the top of the October 2017 release of the OK Dinghy World Ranking list, but has also amassed the highest points score of any sailor in the 11 years the list has been running. In addition both Petersen and second placed Thomas Hansson-Mild (SWE) join a select group of sailors who have collected more than 1000 points. See full list here
| Rank |
Name |
Nat. |
Sailno. |
Points |
Events sailed
(5 to count) |
| 1 |
Bo Petersen |
DEN |
1431 |
1046.06 |
13 |
| 2 |
Thomas Hanson-Mild |
SWE |
100 |
1021.77 |
10 |
| 3 |
Greg Wilcox |
NZL |
544 |
985.70 |
14 |
| 4 |
Charlie Cumbley |
GBR |
2173 |
985.08 |
8 |
| 5 |
Stefan Myrälf |
DEN |
6 |
972.41 |
10 |
| 6 |
Richard Burton |
GBR |
2183 |
951.13 |
8 |
| 7 |
Martin von Zimmermann |
GER |
693 |
908.29 |
14 |
| 8 |
Pawel Pawlaczyk |
POL |
14 |
898.22 |
9 |
| 9 |
David Bourne |
GBR |
17 |
874.86 |
8 |
| 10 |
Tomasz Gaj |
POL |
1 |
866.10 |
9 |
| 11 |
André Budzien |
GER |
792 |
863.19 |
9 |
| 12 |
Jim Hunt |
GBR |
1 |
856.13 |
7 |
| 13 |
Mark Jackson |
AUS |
735 |
822.51 |
7 |
| 14 |
Jørgen Svendsen |
DEN |
3 |
810.22 |
8 |
| 15 |
Bo Reker Andersen |
DEN |
1 |
801.29 |
16 |
| 16 |
Mats Caap |
SWE |
2797 |
798.78 |
5 |
| 17 |
Henrik Kofoed Larsen |
DEN |
1397 |
784.63 |
9 |
| 18 |
Jonas Borjesson |
SWE |
2809 |
779.94 |
9 |
| 19 |
Andreas Pich |
GER |
797 |
763.57 |
14 |
| 20 |
Robert Deaves |
GBR |
2156 |
750.83 |
8 |
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The full programme can be found here. To get your event included on this list please contact the Webmaster.
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Please send all content for inclusion in future e-newsletters to publicity@okdia.org.
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