British win 505 world championship

The 505 world championship was held in Denmark at Gilleleje, which is a fishing town 20 miles north of Copenhagen, on the Kattegat. The event was extremely well run and managed by Gilleleje SC from its new clubhouse which was completed for the event. The sponsors were Tuborg Breweries, who provided free beer each evening, Coca Cola, Ertras Fondant and the local Council.

Owing to the high pressure systems that dominated the weather over Europe during August, both the pre-worlds regatta and the world championship were generally held in light but reasonably steady winds of 5-15 knots, under an unrelentingly blue sky.

The pre-worlds regatta, which was also the Danish national championship, was a six-race series held over three days from August 10. Lightweight Danish team Hans Jorgen Riber and Adam Malling combined good speed with some superb sailing to win two races and the regatta overall. Californians Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin were not far behind in second place with fellow Americans Tyler Moore and Scott lkle in third. Former world champion Jorgen Schonherr and Jacob Bojsen-Moller were fourth, ahead of four other Danes in the top ten. Of the Brits, Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell were sixth with Ian Pinnell and Ian Godfrey ninth overall.

After qualification events had been held in each country, a total of 90 boats were entered for the world championship. The class worldwide was well represented with teams from Australia and USA as well as most Scandinavian and European countries. The regatta was a seven-race series with one race scheduled per day, beginning on August 15.

The first race was held in a 5-10 knot gradient wind. Danes Riber and Malling continued where they had left off in the pre-worlds. They took the opportunity to cross the fleet shortly after the start, led around the first mark and were never headed. Swedes Krister Bergstrom and Thomas Moss were second with Upton-Brown and Mitchell moving through the top ten to finish third.

The next two races were held in identical conditions to the first. Californians Hamlin and Martin established an overall lead with consecutive wins. Upton-Brown and Mitchell were second overall having finished second and sixth, encouragingly moving forward through the fleet throughout each race. Riber and Malling crashed out of their winning streak with two 13th places, which effectively ended their title chances. Swedes Ebbe Rosen and Olle Wenrup emerged as contenders with two fourths, while Bergstrom and Moss made life difficult for themselves with a 22nd and an eighth. Former 470 world champion Wolfgang Hunger crewed by Holger Jess, spearheaded the German challenge with a third to add to a fifth in the first race, although they would have to discard the 18th they had in the second race to have any prospect of overall victory. Ian Barker and Paul Young moved from seventh to second on the last beat of the third race to gain their best race result.

The fourth race was held in a steady sea breeze of 12-15 knots. Rosen and Wenrup led around the first mark but were rolled by UptonBrown and Mitchell, who then led to the last mark but could never quite shake off the Swedes. Rosen and Wenrup tacked underneath the Brits up the last beat. A lift, provided courtesy of an approaching thunderstorm, put both boats just above the layline to the finish. The Swedes won the following ten-minute drag race while Hamlin and Martin worked through to third with Hunger and Jess fourth.

There was no wind the next day so the Aussies thrashed the Brits at water polo, who then returned the compliment on the football pitch before adjourning to the sailing club for the for now customary free beer.

The light winds of the fifth race provided some cheer for the American East Coast sailors Moore and Ikle as they won a difficult race, with Hunger and Jess second, Rosen and Wenrup third and Hamlin and Martin fourth.

The sea breeze filled in to give a steady 15 knot breeze for the sixth race. Defending champions Paul Towers and Dan Johnson finally showed some form to lead the race from start to finish to win from Upton-Brown and Mitchell. Bergstrom and Moss moved through to third with Danes Bojland and Friss fourth.

Going into the seventh race, Upton-Brown Mitchell led overall by two points from Hamlin and Martin with Rosen and Wenrup a further eight points adrift. Hamlin and Martin were pathfinders in the 12-knot sea breeze. The race was relatively close to the shore and a bend on the right-hand side of the beat saw Bergstrom and Moss emerge from that side to lead at the first mark. Upton-Brown and Mitchell covered Hamlin and Martin up the first beat and rounded 12th and 16th respectively. Downwind both teams moved through the fleet to be 8th and 9th respectively at the leeward mark. Rosen and Wenrup used their devastating upwind speed to move through to second on the next beat and stake their claim for the title.

If Rosen and Wenrup finished second, then Upton-Brown and Mitchell had to finish at least seventh to win overall. The Brits and Americans dropped places as they raced each other, although by the windward mark the Brits had gained enough places and distance on the Americans to concentrate on moving up through the fleet. A good run saw them move back into the top ten. They were eighth by the next windward mark and then overtook two boats on the first reach to be sixth. Losing a place up the last beat, the Brits finished seventh, which was enough to clinch the world championship from Rosen and Wenrup by 0.3 pt. Hamlin and Martin pulled through to ninth and third place overall. 
Hunger and Jess were third and finished fourth overall.

After the winners had received their weight in Tuborg Gold Beer, a formal prizegiving was held at Helsingor Castle, with Paul Elvstr�m presenting the prizes.

Thanks must go to DFDS Transport who sponsored the delivery of the British containers to Gilleleje and so saved an awful lot of driving. 

Ian Mitchell 

Overall Results: 1st Mark Upton-Brown and Ian Mitchell (GBR) 39.4 pts, 2nd Ebbe Rosen and Olle Wenrup (SWE) 39.7, 3rd Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin (USA) 43.7, 4th Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess (GER) 51.4, 5th Krister Bergstrom and Thomas Moss (SWE) 52.7, 6th Hans Jorgen Riber and Adam Malling (DEN) 73.7; Other British Results: 9th Ian Barker and Paul Young, 14th Ian Pinnell and Ian Godfrey, 19th Richard Tew and Simon Hiscocks, 26th Paul Towers and Dan Johnson, 29th Martin Hodgson and Paul Beasley.

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Championship Report by: Ali Meller | Allan Johnson | Jan Saugmann