Contender Worlds at Plymouth Overall

Andrea Bonezzi, the new Contender World Champion © Neil Ferguson

Graham Scott finishes 4th at the Contender Worlds © Dave Curno

83 Contenders, some from afar afield as California, Toronto and Australia, came to the line outside the breakwater at Plymouth on Sunday 17th August for the first start of the week long World Championships.

They were so keen to enjoy the force 3 conditions that they needed 4 starts before getting away. Even the use of the black flag didn’t deter the excitement. The eventual outcome was a reduced fleet, headed at the first mark by the man with local knowledge, Graham Scott. He led from start to finish, at one point pulling out a considerable lead. This was greatly reduced on the last reach when he sat in a hole while Stuart Jones and Italian Andrea Bonezzi gleefully trapezed up to him. The final outcome was only briefly in doubt as it finished in that order.

The second start saw Jones get away cleanly at the committee boat, continue all the way to the port layline and round the windward mark 50 metres clear, going on to win with little threat to his lead. Bonezzi fought his way up to second, with fine all round boatspeed, after an average first leg, due to overlaying the windward mark, along with a good lump of the fleet. German Karsten Claus sailed consistently well to always be up there, comfortably taking third. The end of the race was notable for the large gash on Jones’s head caused by the mainsheet tower. He trapezed, manfully, across the line to take the gun covered in blood. A couple of pints of beer from sponsors Erdinger and four stitches sorted all that out.

Day 2 dawned rainy with a force 3 to 4. The first start looked an even affair for the first half of the beat, but as the wind died, the left became heavily favoured. Joachim Harpprecht and John Browett were the first to benefit, followed by 1st day leader Jones. Harpprecht extended his lead to the leeward mark only to drop the mainsheet causing a near capsize. This allowed Jones, now closely followed by Browett, to slip past Harpprecht. Jones’s boatspeed proved enough for him to pull out a comfortable lead to the shortened finish. Browett eased past Harpprecht on the run to finish second. Tim Holden was fourth.

Race four of the championship took three attempts to get away leading to a black flag for the championship leader Jones. Tim Holden led at the first mark after a dream start with nephew Ben a close second. Marcus Hamilton, Soren Andreason and Bonezzi pulled free of the pack to overhaul the younger Holden, finishing in the strengthening breeze in that order.

Day 3 started with a glassy millpond in the sound. At 2pm the wind arrived, initially 5 knots, and gradually increased to around 10 knots from the west. The first race of the day started with 3 general recalls, and resulted in around 16 black flags before the fleet eventually set off. The wind became patchy on the first beat, but generally favoured the left. So it was from here that the early leaders appeared. Bonezzi led, closely followed by Scott and Tim Holden, with a gaggle of new faces at the front. Championship leader Stuart Jones was way down in the thirties. With the pumping flag up, those that could, did, and those that couldn’t got overtaken! Bonezzi used his practised downwind technique to pull out a comfortable lead to the finish. He was followed home by Holden, Scott and ‘lightweight’ Langdown. Jones recovered to seventh and now has massive arm muscles.

In the next race the fleet got away after more black flag recalls with Christoph Homeier recording his third of the event. A touch careless. Again it was the left that just paid, with Bonezzi, Holden, Jones and Scott taking the first four places on the reach. Bonezzi once more extended his lead at the bottom mark of the trapezoid course to lead comfortably on the beat. The wind became very patchy as the seabreeze began to turn off. Bonezzi fell into a hole as the wind began to die and shift greatly to the right. Jones, having taken a small hitch out to the right was the first to gain and reached into the windward mark with a large lead. Giovanni Bonzio came from tenth to grab second on the shortened course. Scott just obtained third from Karsten Kraus with Bonezzi a grumpy fifth.

After the rest of the lay day on Wednesday the racing continued with a vengeance on Thursday. The start was delayed until a solid force 4 set in, which saw Andrea Bonezzi lead at the first mark. It proved to be a boatspeed course with some large waves for downwind surfing. Bonezzi revelled in the conditions and extended his lead to the finish. He was followed home by Browett, having an up and down week, with a decent gap to Scott and Neil Wilson.

The second race of the day, the eighth of the championship, was sailed in identical conditions to the previous and was notable for a fifteen boat log jamb at the pin end and once more for seeing Bonezzi lead comfortably at the windward mark. It was a lead he once again extended to the finish. Tim Holden, despite gybing round out of the log jamb at the start emerged well up on the first beat and sailed well to claim second place. Scott and Hamilton followed up.

With one day to go in the championship Bonezzi had grabbed a good lead but the outcome was still in doubt with four helms still in contention. Stuart Jones, the previous leader, had an average day but was still in second with Scott and Holden close behind.

The first race of the day started with a sloppy force 3 and saw the out to sea, left side of the course just favoured. A new face at the front, Cris Miles, lead at the first mark with Bonzio and Ernest Mika leading the chasing pack. Out of the frontrunners Bonezzi, Holden and Jones rounded in the teens with Scott some way behind. Miles extended his lead to win with some distance to spare with Bonzio retaining second. Bonezzi and Holden pulled steadily up the fleet with Jones a short way behind. Bonezzi’s gallop was halted by taking a penalty due to a lack of pumping flag. Holden slipped by to take third. Bonezzi, however, benefited from a shift to the left to claim a championship winning fourth.

In the last race of the championship, it was all to play for as far as the minor placings were concerned. Holden just had the lead for second from Jones with Scott still in with a hope. Bonezzi led from start to finish by way of a lap of honour. Neil Wilson and Miles led the chase with Holden, Jones and Scott a few places behind. Wilson took second with Jones taking advantage of a pumping penalty for Holden to sneak into third. Fourth was enough for Holden, however, to claim second overall from Jones with Scott fourth.

The championship has been a great week of sailing and thanks must go to Mayflower SC and the Mount Batten Centre.

Overall Results: