505 World Championship 1986

SWEDISH SILVER AND BRONZE MEDAL

87 boats had gathered in the French sailing metropolis and Atlantic city of La Rochelle at the end of July. Australians, Americans, Britons and Swedes were among the favourites.

The winds during the WC were mostly light to moderate, from the west or northwest. English champion Chris Lewis won the first and the final sixth race, but all other four races were dominated by the Swedish Bergstrom brothers. Jan and his crew Bengt Zachrisson won the third race, while Krister Bergstrom and Magnus Holmberg won races 2, 4 and 5.

Not as superbly but always evenly sailed were the Englishmen Peter Colclough and Harold Barnes, who had the series 3-3-8-17- 3.

With his three-year-old Parker boat and rather full Swedish Rebel sails, Krister Bergstrom sailed fast and smart except in the third race, when he got stuck in an uncontrollable situation and was later disqualified. This single but big mistake saw him almost in level with Colclough heading into the sixth and decisive race. "He did what he had to do, and he did it well: we would have done the same thing if we had been in the same situation," Krister Bergstrom said afterwards when describing the tough, decisive duel. The experienced English crew played their cards right and forced the Swedes into another poor result – one too many – which would see them permanently in 2nd place overall while the English could maintain a 17th place as their worst.

Francois Richard

• PHOTOS

FORMULA 1
The 505 World Championship always gathers many talented sailors, perhaps due to the fact that the 505 is considered by many to be sailing's formula 1. Paul Elvstrom has called the dinghy his favorite boat. The boat, which is 505 cm long, lightly rigged with a hull with a flat finish makes it very lively and fast and also very physically demanding. Despite this, the class has a large age spread, from teenagers to seasoned retired sailors such as the Frenchman Marcel Buffet, 64 years old. Internationally speaking, you sail a dinghy considerably longer than is usual in Sweden, where raised eyebrows meet you if you sail a dinghy over the age of 25.

PRE-WORLDS
The Worlds was preceded by a Pre-Worlds which was also the open French championships and had attracted 135 participants. During the Pre-Worlds, the various crews usually test their equipment to have it in optimal condition for the Worlds.
The races were contested in 4-12 m/s winds and were won by the -84 world champions Australians Dean Blatchford/Tom Woods. Best among the Swedes was Bergstrom/Holmberg with a 6th place.

As always before a Worlds, there is a lot of speculation and general psyching. Should the Australians, who have won the Worlds in recent years, win. With two former world champions in the group and a win during the pre-worlds, they were perhaps favourites. The Australians sail according to slightly different principles than what has been common among Europeans. With a loosely attached rig, which they rake strongly backwards in strong winds. Some Europeans & Americans had not resisted the pressure and bought Australian material.

Among the Europeans there were also favourites, perhaps mainly Peter Colclough/Harold Barnes. Peter, former three-time world champion and countless 2nds, did not do well during the pre-worlds, but usually always turns up when it matters. In the American group, Howard Hamlin/Jay Glaser who did not have a position worse than 10 in any part of sailing the Worlds in the last years or could even a Swede succeed. For many years, the Swedes have had several in the top 10, but never a world champion.

WORLDS
Time for the Worlds. Now everything would be ready, no more preparation, the final finishing touches done. The entire Worlds was decided in moderate winds with fairly similar conditions, it seemed as if one corner almost always paid off.

RACE ONE
Already from the first race, the top crews began to be spotted. The Swedes were also well ahead. The Englishmen Chris Lewis/Russel Peters won with three-time world champion Colclogh/Barnes in second place. Bergstrom/Holmberg also seemed to have found the momentum with a fine 3rd place. The Australians also placed nicely with a 4th and 6th place. Other Swedes fine with 8th place for Kalle Nilsson/Joakim Peterson, 10th Rosen/Wenrup and Jan Bergstrom/Bengt Zachrisson in 11th. Race 2 was a nice Swedish success with a win for Bergstrom/Holmberg, however, as usual Colclough/Barnes were up and finished second. Bergstrom/Zachrisson was the best among the other Swedes with a fine 9th place.

The average wind held and it seemed to suit the Swedes because even the race on the third day ended with the Swedes on top. This time through Bergstrom/Zachrisson with Rosen/Wenrup as second. Bergstrom/Holmberg, who led before the third day's race, had a small mishap at the start. They were hard pressed just as they were going out of the gate and happened to collide with a Frenchman with disqualification as a result. This would prove to have fatal consequences towards the end. Colclough/Barnes were up as usual and finished fourth.

DESTINY FOR REVENGE
Charged up after the mistake, Bergstrom/Holmberg sailed very nicely and won the fourth and fifth races. Colclough/Barnes made no mistakes as usual and placed nicely with an 11th and a 2nd place.

SWEDISH WORLD CHAMPION?
Would we finally get a Swedish world champion? Bergstrom/Holmberg led with their 5.7 points, but unfortunately had a disqualification in the series. Colclough/Barnes with 17 points finished second with an opportunity to win. Among the other Swedes, Bergstrom/Zachrisson were 4th and Rosen/Wenrup in 6th place, however, the points were tight here and it was important to place well on the last day.

The atmosphere was thus high in the Swedish camp and most probably believed that we would finally get a Swede at the top. However, there was a cloud of worry. Colclough/Barnes had an opportunity to win but then Bergstrom/Holmberg had to finish worse than 23rd. With their nice even series, they had an opportunity to sail down the Swedes. Not an impossible task in this large even field. For the other two well-placed, it was also about getting top positions. Everything was set for a thrilling final race.

THE DECISION
The wind had, as usual, medium strength. In general, it should be an advantage for the Swedes, who had good speed in this wind, but for the showdown between Bergstrom and Colclough, it would probably have been better from a Swedish point of view with a slightly stronger wind, as it can be more difficult to get hold of someone in a stronger wind.

Even before the start, it was clear that the English intended to make an attempt to sail down the Swedes. The two boats circled each other during Bergstrom/Holmberg's attempt to break free. Just before the start the Swedes tried to accelerate their boat as they exited the gate but Colclough/Barnes were there and managed to get a perfect position just to windward slightly ahead of the Swedes. The only thing left to do now was to try to break free. Unfortunately, Krister and Magnus had not sailed together for so long with the consequence that they tacked technically worse than the English. They thus had to go with the first beat with the Englishmen to windward with fluttering jibs. The first beat was a disaster, the two boats were last to round the windward mark.

GAINING POSITIONS UPWARDS
After the round, the English let go. The Swedes now made two superb reached and were now around 50th place. On subsequent beats they then sailed to port which this time was a great advantage. The following laps also went very well. When they finally went to the finish line they were close to their goal and were 25th, just 3 more places and they would be world champions. Unfortunately, the English had also sailed up and were still ahead. They realized the threat from the Swedes and waited for them before the final crossing. Another down-sailing and Bergstrom/Holmberg finished 36th. Colclough/Barnes had succeeded and became world champions.

Bergstrom/Zachrisson did a superb final race and finished 4th, advancement and a very nice overall third place. Rosén/Wenrup unfortunately missed out a bit and finished 27th with an overall 8th place. Nilsson/Peterson advanced nicely after finishing in 7th place and became 13th boat. As a Swede, you might have thought that it was a bit unfair and perhaps a bit unsportsmanlike that the Worlds would be decided in this way, but you also have to admire the Englishmen's fantastic performance to succeed in implementing their tactics and that also belongs to racing.

2nd AND 3rd, NICE SUCCESS
In summary, it was a nice Worlds with nice Swedish successes. 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 13th among 87 entrants with stiff opposition. Also, La Rochelle was a wonderful place with glorious weather and sailing in warm water. You tend to get jealous when you get home and go sailing in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea after you've been out in swimming trunks and a t-shirt.