Krister Bergström, 30, har legat i 505-toppen i många år, och hela 80-talet har han jagat världsmästartiteln, 4:a 1980, 5:a 1982, 9:a 1983 och 2:a 1986, då han hårfint missade VM-segern.

I år var det upplagt för revansch, nästan på hemmaplan och med rutinerade gasten Olle Wenrup vid sin sida (Wenrup har under 17 år gastat åt Ebbe Rosén, en annan av Sveriges bästa 505-seglare).

Det fanns gott om rutinerade seglare bland de 74 besättningarna från 10 nationer. Bland deltagarna märktes Marcel Buffet, världsmästare 1959 och 1960, och Peter White, mästare 1973. Många i det starka svenska laget har seglat 505 i över tio år, och det fanns toppbesättningar från England och Australien.

Seglingarna startade i hårt väder med grov sjö, och seglarna från södra halvklotet hade nog problem med det kalla vattnet, bara 6-8 grader. Att kapsejsa var allvarligt i det kyliga vattnet. Emellertid visade världsmästarna från 1984 Dean Blatchford och Tom Woods från Australien att de hade utmärkt hårdvindsfart med deras böjliga, självjusterande Gold Spar mast och Ulmer/Kolius segel. De tog skottet före landsmännen Stephen och Andrew McConaughy, som 19 resp 20 år gamla seglade sitt första VM. Trea var Bergström/Wenrup före danskarna Molbech/Strange. Bergström/Wenrup vann därefter nästa race i mer måttliga vindar före ett annat danskt par Holm/Jensen, medan Blatchford delade ledningen sammanlagt efter en tredjeplats.

Den tredje seglingen fick avbrytas pga för svaga vindar, och också den fjärde seglingen gick i lätta och skiftande brisar. Men favoriterna höll huvudet kallt, med målskott för bröderna McConaghy före Holm/Jensen på andra plats. Dean Blatchford var mycket nöjd med sin tredje plats: "Vi tycker bättre om hård vind, och idag hade vi lika gärna kunnat hamna nere på 50:e plats," kommenterade australiern, som nu tog ledningen sammanlagt. Bergström var 5:a bakom Ebbe Rosén/Lars Stugemo, som nu började klättra uppåt i listan.

I den femte seglingen var vinden lite starkare, men ett kraftigt vindskift på första kryssen vållade problem för många, Svenskarna Eklund och Rosén ledde efter första triangeln, med Bergström runt 10:e och Blatchford sämre än 25:a. Den förre visade utmärkt speed och gick upp i ledningen på tredje kryssen genom att hålla sig ute på havet, och det blev målskott för Bergström/Wenrup före amerikanen Jeff Miller och Ebbe Rosén.

Med Blatchford på 20:e plats hade svenskarna nu en rejäl chans att ta VM-titeln. De kunde ha råd med en dålig placering att räkna bort i det sista racet, men om Blatchford vann måste Bergström/Wenrup bli minst 3:a. Australierna var de enda som kunde nå svenskarna, men de måste komma sämst tvåa och före den svenska båten.

En lätt till måttlig sjöbris blåste den sista dagen, men den var mycket skiftande vid starten. Bergström och Blatchford valde att starta sent i grindstarten, och svenskarna fick en kontrollerande position från början. Blatchfords tycktes sakna fart för att segla förbi, och Bergström täckte honom i varje slag. Båda låg en bit ner i fältet vid första märket, och därmed var VM:et avgjort.

Australierna tappade t.o.m. silvret till Jörgen Holm/Finn Jensen som vann sista seglingen övertygande. Bergström kunde räkna bort sin 13:e plats, medan Blatchford måste räkna sin 16:e. På fjärde plats, bara 1.6 poäng efter Blatchford, kom bröderna McConaghy, medan Rosén/Stugemo blev femma sammanlagt ytterligare 1.7 poäng efter.

Krister Bergströms båt är en tre år gammal Parker med en Proctor D mast och Rebell segel. Hans båt är ganska komplicerad med många trimmöjligheter för rigg och segel; detta menar Bergström är en av hemligheterna bakom segern, just möjligheterna att trimma båten för olika och föränderliga förhållanden. Och svenskarna hade verkligen utmärkt speed i såväl måttliga som friska vindar.

Australierna seglade en enklare Kyrwood-båt i plast/balsa sandwich med en böjlig självjusterande Gold Spar rigg där bara fockfallet, inte vanten, var trimbart. Skrovet var fem år gammalt och fortfarande styvt och på minimivikt, varför konstruktionen av dessa båtar måste vara mycket god. Det är bra för klassen, jämfört med 470, som ofta tar slut efter en hård säsong.

– Eyeline

• Världsbäst - Där satt den! Seglarbladet 1987

The setting for the 32nd World Championship should have been ideal, clear of the islands to the south of Helsinki. It was thus disappointing that the last four days were dominated by very light and variable winds.

This was the second time that Finland has hosted the World Championship. The first was in 1972 at Hanko, and only two of the sailors could claim sailing in both. One being the ever buoyant Marcel Buffet, and the other Rob Napier who came twelfth overall then. It was disappointing that neither Peter Colclough nor Nigel Buckley were able to take part this year as they would undoubtedly improved the British results.

One feature of the general weather conditions was the contrast of temperature when the sun was in and out. After a cloudless day there were some very sunburnt faces. Yet when out at sea in a blow, the water and spray were icy (below 9°C). Consequently it was important to dress up in ones winter gear, Balaclavas and all.

Excellent conditions prevailed for the Pre Worlds which started on Monday, 6 July, with the intention to have two races a day for three days. Only four races were completed as a mist persisted until well into the afternoon of the third day and racing could not take place.

Many of the top sailors treated the Pre Worlds as a tune up, so the results did not reflect their true potential. Nevertheless, conditions were ideal, with light winds in the morning, building up to a force four or five sea breeze in the afternoon. The results gave top honours to Dean Blatchford and Tom Woods from Down Under, with two firsts and a second. Three Danes followed with Christensen and Feddersen in second, Petersen and Storm third and Holm and Jensen in fourth. The Eklund brothers from Sweden finished fifth. Clive Robinson and John Ironmonger led the British team in eleventh place.

After two day's measurement, the first race of the Worlds took place on Saturday, 11 July. The weather was in contrast to the rest of the week, and it blew hard all day from the south west. In spite of great care many capsizes occured in the steep lumpy seas, and one of the home club boats had to be abandoned. The swedish pair, Krister Bergström and Olle Wenrup, took an early lead, hotly contested by Blatchford and Woods. Bergström capsized at the beginning of the third beat to allow Blatchford and his 'countryman', McConaghy, through. They finished in that order. Martin Jones and Steve Butcher from Britain started well and climbed to fourth place, then capsized at the first gybe mark. They recovered to sixth place, only to repeat the capsize on the second triangle and did well to finish seventh.

The second race was held in a force three from the south west, which brought cold showers with it. The two Danish boats, Holm and Jensen, and Petersen and Storm, were first out of the gate, and reached the windward mark first and third with Bergström in second place. Peacock and Smith from Britain were lying sixth, with Jones and Butcher just behind. Bergström took the lead from Holm on the third beat and steadily opened this up to finish over three minutes ahead at the end.

Blatchford managed to pass Petersen to finish third, Peacock, who also overtook Petersen on the third beat, lost this on the final beat to finish a creditable fifth. Jones finished seventh with Stodel and Merrett just behind in eighth.

The third race saw the start of completely different conditions, in which the gradient wind from the north and east was in conflict with the sea breeze from the south west. The fleet had become accustomed to a weather briefing each morning from a professional lady Meteorologist. During the Pre Worlds she had show a quiet uncanny accuracy in predicting when the sea breeze would start to come in, and received a round of applause each day for her performance. However, sad to relate, it was a different matter for the Worlds and 'Madame Isobar', as she become known, was unable to predict the fickle happenings from this day on.

The race started with a light wind from the south east. This steadily dropped until the whole fleet was becalmed. Eventually on the third beat, the time limit of one hour for each leg caused the race to be abandoned.

The fourth race was sailed in similar light wind conditions, with massive wind shifts occuring between the north gradient wind and the south west sea breeze. It finished with nearly half the fleet not making the one hour limit. However the top sailors were still up there and the pathfinder, the McConaghy brothers from Australia, held the lead from start to finish. Blatchford fought his way up to second with the Dane Holm, taking third place. The British pair Napier and Summersgill rounded the first mark in eighth position, but lost everything during a 180° wind shift in the last round to finish thirty-first. Robinson and Ironmonger picked up from nineteenth to finish tenth, while Milanes and Labbett improved steadily from twenty-fifth at the first mark to finish eleventh.

An attempt to resail the third race was made on Wednesday, 15 July, but after the fleet had been becalmed out at sea for five hours this was abandoned.

The fifth race started in the now familiar uncertain conditions. This time a 20° wind shift occured as the gate opened, which set the scene dramatically. Those who went early had an unassailable lead by the first mark. Bergström and Wenrup picked up from fourteenth to win, with the Americans, Miller and Maloney, in second. Jones and Butcher were sixth round the first mark but dropped to finish tenth, closely followed by Peters and Masterman in twelfth.

The final race was held in bright sunshine with a light wind which was dominated by the sea breeze from the south. The championship depended on the close duel between Bergström, on 5.7 points (two firsts and a third with a fifth as discard) and Blatchford with 11.4 points (a first and two thirds with twentieth as discard). Bergström, with the advantage, had to keep Blatchford well down the fleet to achieve the overall honours.

This was evident from the five minute gun, and the two boats eventually started late and were thirtieth and fortieth at the first windward mark. Bergström held his cover to the end finishing thirteenth, leaving Blatchford in sixteenth position. Whilst this battle was in progress, Holm played the shifts up the first beat to lead the fleet at the windward mark. After briefly losing this to Hamlin, he retook the lead on the last beat to win, thus clinching second place overall. Miller from America overtook Hamlin on the last beat to finish second. The British pair Martin Jones and Steve Butcher finished twelfth to take ninth place overall, the first of the British team.

Overall results after 5 races (15 first + swedish team). 74 boats from 10 nations participated.

SUM

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Uppdaterad 2024-06-03