Dart 18 Worlds 2006 at Eastern Cape, South Africa

Tricky launching during the 2006 Dart 18 worlds at Eastern Cape, South Africa © Mark de Wet

Tricky launching during the 2006 Dart 18 worlds at Eastern Cape, South Africa © Mark de Wet

Tricky launching during the 2006 Dart 18 worlds at Eastern Cape, South Africa © Tony Dod

The 2006 Worlds was sailed at East London Yacht Club in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

The practice race was Force 5 + with reasonable sized waves. Thierry & Christine Wibaux (FRA) led followed by David Lloyd & Polly Bishop (GBR) then Gareth Owen & Angus Armstrong. Wibeaux peeled off after one lap Lloyd then led but being superstitious about the practice race did not sail through the finish leaving Owen to win. Alan & Fiona Kernick were also up there but the course was very short with 3 laps over in a total of 25 minutes. Matt Pullen overlaid the windward mark by about a mile and Adrian Parsons was last seen trying to be shark bait. There was numerous capsizes.

Race 1:

On Thursday the surf was really up (about 4 metres on the beach and officially measured at 7.5 metres on the course!) and the wind was about 5 knots.

Owen started on port in massive 7 metre swell and ducked about 10 boats on a very port biased line! Lloyd hit a starboard boat and had to do turns. Out to sea paid big time on laps 2 and 3 as the wind ranged from force 1 to 4 with enormous waves. Getting off the beach was the hardest part of the day with at least one boat flipped over backwards on to its rudders.(See picture)

Race 1 Results:

1st Gareth Owen
2nd Ben Mienie
3rd William Edwards
4th Matt Pullen
5th Alan Kernick
6th David Lloyd

Race 2:

Race two was sailed back to back after race one. Alan & Fiona Kernick hit the windward mark last time round and dropped to 11th Owen, Lloyd and Wibaux all started at the committee boat end with another massive sea running. Becuase it was close to the shore the waves were starting to break only about 100 metres downwind from the start.

Lloyd looked to be leading but overlaid the windward mark while looking for the spacer (with the size of the seas you only see the marks when you and the mark are on the tops of waves). Owen snuck into the lead with Wibaux and Pullen geting past on the run. On the second beat Pullen led with Owen ,Lloyd and Wibaux in Prsuit. Lloyd sailed through Owen to Leeward and then forced him to tack off. Owen Laid the mark perfectly while Pullen and even more so Lloyd Overlaid it. On the last lap Owen held off the challenge to take his second bullet with Wibaux flying past Pullen on this Gigantic Roller coater wave to pinch second. Lloyd and Manganelli just behind.

The waves are just enormous but the Brits seem to be adapting to them best

About 6 boats suffered serious damage today with massive holes but Grant Elliot is rebuilding them at amazing speed. By the time we got off the water one was already back together (4 foot split) Nicolette Van Gorp from Holland lost 5 foot from the bow and Ramses Delgrange from France had a head on collision and his crew had to be taken to hospital for a damaged elbow (shes back now though). Real demolition derby stuff.

Race 2 Results:

1st Gareth Owen
2nd Thierry Wibaux
3rd Matt Pullen
4th David Lloyd
5th Marco Manganelli
6th Noel Holman

Day 2:

With the wind now North Easterly force 7-9 (that's onshore here) racing has been postponed to another day with waves the size of houses crashing on to the beach.

Day 3:

On day three races 3, 4 and 5 attempted.

Race 3:

The Brits really dominated this one with The Kernicks really unlucky to have been judged OCS. There was a large gap to fourth place. The left hand side was paying nearly every time with an unexplained hole just around the windward mark. You really need to approach on Port and tack around it to gain most. Wind force 1 to 4 with a 3 metre swell.

Race 3 Results:

1st Matt Pullen
2nd David Lloyd
3rd Gareth Owen

Race 4:

Pullen led at the windward mark but was closed down by Lloyd on the run. At this point the TV crew became really interested in the lead battle and hovered just feet to leeward of the pair tracking their every move. As they both gybed Pullen luffed to protect his lead and there seemed no way past, Pullen rouded the mark tightly and Lloyd dived to Leeward as they started the second beat. The TV crew followed but there was no splitting them. Wibaux behind tacked early and narrowed the gap substantially with the two leaders still slugging it out. By the windward mark the wind was light again giving an advantage to Wibaux who went on to win. Report to follow

Race 4 Results:

1st Thierry Wibaux
2nd Matt Pullen
3rd David Lloyd

Race 5 was abandoned after 2 and a half laps Lloyd had been leading and the race officer abandoned when the wind shifted 180 degrees and then died...

Day 4:

No racing on Day 4 as it was a lay day (no wind anyway).

Day 5:

After the lay day with no wind there was again no racing because of a lack of wind, we had a variable, mainly southeasterley, force 1-2.

Day 6:

Race 5:

After 2 days of sitting on the beach, going afloat for a couple of hours twice and then returning to the shore we finally had race 5 in a very light force 2 falling to 1 with 2 metre swell (more like 4 metres on the left of the course).

A very short line and slight port bias led to a general recall and then finally we were off! The usual crowd led with Pullen followed by Owen with a few South Africans in the mix and Wibaux all chasing hard. The light Easterly meant that everyone banged the left hand corner which involved sailing into the breakers on the adjoining beach. The lead didn't change but Kim Phillps and William Edwards (4 times hobie world champ) pulled into 2nd and 3rd with Lloyd pinching 4th off Owen.

Day 7:

Again we were sitting on the beach in 32 degrees waiting for wind , Its just so hot here, but at least the beer is cold. we now (1240pm) have force 4 so should be sailing but for..... the FOG!! A large fog bank is sitting just offshore.

Eventually we got afloat at about 2.30 pm and had a one lap drift for race 6 in a maximum 5 knots falling to a calm. Pullen won with Owen second with South African Mienie taking third.

This meant for the first time in the history of the class we had a British 1,2,3 at a worlds!

Overall Results: