Flying Dutchman World Championships at Santa Cruz Yacht Club - Overall
by Richard Phillips 2 Oct 2012 08:10 BST
23-30 September 2012
Day 8
Sun - Good breeze - Superb Racing Conditions!
After 8 races, Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos were the provisional winners of the FD Worlds with a race in hand.
Going into the ninth race second and third places were open as was fifth place and there were only four points separating seven boats any of which could finish sixth!
The start was delayed due to various protests and requests for the International Jury decision regarding race 7 to be re-opened. The Jury decided that the results as posted after the Saturday Hearing should stand and boats were released from the harbour on to a superb sunny Santa Cruz Bay with about 8 knots of wind and a slight chop.
The fleet got clean away at the first start of the day. The wind built during the race as did the swell and chop and the 43 FDs afloat had superb racing conditions. Finally Santa Cruz delivered the promised sailing weather!
Nicola & Francesco Vespasiani in ITA 4 secured an excellent start at the pin end but many of the fleet tacked off to the favoured starboard side of the course. At the first mark, Andrew McKee & Mathew Bismark in NZL 111 had established a comfortable lead over the second team - Enno Krammer & Ard Geelkerken in NED 26 who needed to finish in the top four ahead of GER 88 to achieve second overall.
The local team Philippe Khan crewed by Steve Bourdow (USA 1197), Olympic silver medal winning FD crew at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, used their local knowledge and skill to round the first windward mark in third place followed by the World Champions Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos in HUN 70.
Down the fleet places were being won and lost, some boats capsized in the Santa Cruz swell which can roll boats in on a reach.
By the end of the second beat, the first four places remained unchanged. Nicola & Francesco in ITA 4 was in fifth place and some of the other USA teams were revelling in the conditions with Lin Robson & Adriaan Schmal, sixth round and Tim Sayles & Matthias Kennerknec rounding in seventh place.
Within a hundred metres of the finish Enno & Ard (NED 26) managed to find some extra speed and rolled over Andrew & Mathew (NZL 111) to win the final race and secure second place overall.
The second place pulled Andrew & Matt up to 5th place overall displacing Peggy & Torsten Bahr who retired from the race and finished sixth overall.
Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos in HUN 70 finished third but had already secured first overall before the start of the race.
Philippe Kahn & Steve Bourdow (USA 1197) finished fourth bring them up to 18th place overall.
Then there was another tight finish. Lin & Adriaan (USA 36) sailed over Nicola & Francesco in ITA 4 to finish fifth bring them up to 16th overall. Nicola & Francesco had secured fourth place overall before the start of the race.
Race 9 Results: (top six)
1st Enno Krammer & Ard Geelkerken - NED 26
2nd Andrew McKee & Mathew Bismark - NZL 111
3rd Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos - HUN 70
4th Philippe Khan crewed by Steve Bourdow - USA 1197
5th Lin Robson & Adriaan Schmal - USA 36
6th Nicola & Francesco Vespasiani - ITA 4
Post Race celebrations - Closing Ceremony
After racing the sailors, organisers and volunteers celebrated in the Championship Marquee.
Tim Sayles IFDCO US Class President welcomed everybody and thanked the many people who had helped make the Championship a success.
Charlie Roskosz (Regatta Chairman and an ex Commodore of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club) also paid tribute to the 60+ Santa Cruz Yacht Club volunteers and others who had assisted.
The members of the Measurement Team and Jury were given mementos as were others who had made special contributions to the event.
Alberto Barenghi (IFDCO President) presented the Santa Cruz Yacht Club with a half model of an FD in recognition and appreciation by the FD Class of the Club's hosting of the FD World Championship.
Prizes were awarded to the Trophy winners and the top 10 boats overall by the Race Officer - Beau Vrolyk, IFDCO VP Championships - Jan Lechler, IFDCO President - Alberto Barenghi and IFDCO VP Technical - Peter Hinrichsen.
András Domokos(World Champion crew) profusely thanked everybody for a wonderful event.
Overall Results: (top ten, 9 races, 2 discards)
1st Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos - HUN 70 - 15pts
2nd Enno Krammer & Ard Geelkerken - NED 26 - 18pts
3rd Kay-Uwe Lüdtke/Kai Schäfers - GER 88 - 21pts
4th Nicola & Francesco Vespasiani - ITA 4 - 34pts
5th Andrew McKee & Mathew Bismark - NZL 111 - 47pts
6th Peggy Bahr/Torsten Bahr - GER 19 - 52pts
7th Killian Konig & Johannes Brack - GER 113 - 54pts
8th Edward Cox & Peter Bevis - AUS 7 - 56pts
9th Ralph Jambor & Jens Schreiber - GER 135 - 60pts
10th Andras Suli & David Papp - HUN 13 - 60pts
Winners of the Mexican Hat (Team with lowest points with no discards)
Szabolcs Majthényi & András Domokos - HUN 70
First Woman
Peggy Bahr - crew Torsten Bahr - GER 19 - (6th Overall)
Winners of the 100+ Trophy (Total age of helm + crew over 100 years)
Paul Scoffin & Pavel Ruzicka - NZL 145 - (14th Overall)
Winners of Pizzorno Trophy (Top team with helm under 26 years old)
Nicola & Francesco Vespasiani - ITA4 - (4th overall)
For more information and final results see www.fdworlds2012.org
More photos at www.flikr.com/photos/esailor
The next FD World Championship will be hosted by the Spartacus Yacht Club, Balatonfoldvar, Hungary from 24 May to 1 June 2014 - more details at www.fdworlds2013.jimdo.com