505 World Championship 1968
Philip Wilson reports from Kiel
For the first time, entry for the
International 505 World Championship was restricted to 75 boats. This resulted in an
extremely high standard of racing between top helmsmen from 15 different countries,
gathered in Kiel harbour from August 25th to September 1st.
In the light, variable winds which were the order for most of the week, place changing was
often dramatic and only three boats, all French, showed any measure of consisteney. In the
end it was Marcel Troupel and Phillipe Lanaverre in 'Rififi' from Bordeaux who snatched
the title, at the eleventh hour, from 16 years old Yves Pajot and his 14 years old brother
Marc in 'Leopard'. Marcel Buffet in 'Ya Za' was his usual brilliant self in light weather
but was unable to stay with the leaders in a breeze and sank to third after heading the
overall list at the half-way stage.
The courses were huge and it was essential
to pick the right way up the first two mile beat. Perhaps so many well-known names were
left stranded because it rarely paid to tack on the many windsbifts, but to go right out
on one tack, usually the wrong one theoretically. Few of the British boats really got to
grips but Derek and Robin Farrant, former world champions in 'Miss VI' averted a complete
rout by finishing in fourth position. Larry Marks, current national champion and hot tip
for the title before battle commenced, was seventh.
As the fleet beat out
to the start of the first racc on a Riviera-like day, a dense fog suddenly appeared. The
start was delayed for over an hour and then the fog dispersed as rapidly as it had settled
and the championship was on, unfortunately without four boats including 'Samuel Esquire'
and 'Orang Outang' of Britain, stranded a mile away. Their protest against the cornmittec
was disallowed.
Troupel showed from the outset that he
meant business by securing a handy lead for 'Rififi' at the weather mark. Buffet followed,
chased hard by Pierre Poullain in 'Viking'. Behind, the fleet spread out remarkably, those
choosing the port side of the course being out of the racc already. Peter Bainbridge in
'Anaconda' was the only Englishman in the first twenty on the.first lap but lost over
fifteen places on the second beat. The leading three inereased their advantage and Troupel
was able to take it easy on the final leg, while Buffet and Poullain had a great tactical
battle up to the line. Poullain failed to breakthrough, and then learned that he was
adjudged over the starting line, letting 'Piok' sailed by J. Laurizen, danish national
champion, into third berth.
Marcel Buffet strengthened his claim to a third world title with a victory in
another Force 1-2 north easterly in the second race. Again, the starboard side of the
course was favourite and 'Ya Za' and Larry Marks in 'Mu-Watsui-Go-Go' chose the right path
and headed the downwind stream, with Peter Bainbridge in fourth place. Buffet and Marks
really opened out on the second spinnaker reach and at the start of the second beat, the
Englishman appeared to be through but Buffet tacked away as a gigantic wind shift carved
down the middle of the course. Those below it were left struggling whilst those above were
freed off for the mark.
Buffet came out of this with a longer lead
over Marks. The intended dead run proved to be a trapezing spinnaker reach, giving
competitors their first taste of speed. The wind gradually died off again on the beat
home, a leg made even longer by repositioning of the top mark. Buffet had increased his
lead and Marks dropped one place on a windshift to Jean-Marie Danilou of France, who was
later protested out. Official third was Pajot.
The sun gave way to a
misty, grey Tuesday for the third race with a Force3-4 creating a confused chop in a
surprisingly short time. At the third attempt from a slightly starboard-biased line, crews
found the truest wind of the week. The Scandinavians found this to their liking with the
Swedish 'Pueblo' sailed by Thomas Haraldson leading the way with compatriots Goran Kallfelt
in 'Scaramouche' and Christer Bath in 'Kalabalik'. 'Miss VI' was at last away well in
fifth place and 'Anaconda', 'Samuel Esquire' (H. Bourn), 'Seduction' (J.
Pattinson),
'Puddle-duck' (G. Wilson) and 'Orang Outang' (M. Platts) were all in the first twenty.
The wind could not hold a steady course for
long and strange things happened on the second beat, 'Anaconda' again being on the
reeciving end, losing places wholesale. 'Miss VI', moving into fourth downwind, lost two
places at the end of the beat in a sticky patch, but 'Pueblo' hung on to the lead with
'Faux Pas' (Danilou) sailing fast to windward behind. Wi h a little.more wind on the final
beat 'Kalabalik' really strated moving and thrashed through from fourth place to snatch
the gun from 'Pueblo'. 'Faux Pas' was third with Troupel in fourth place and 'Miss VI'
recovered one place to finish fifth.
The next day was a
rest day and,
of course, provided a perfect sailing breeze.
The fog again clamped
down and the start of the fourth race on Thursday was postponed from the shore.
Eventually, there was a slight improvement and the decision was taken to race just outside
the harbour wall. The breeze again was only around Force 1-2 and the majority of the
fleet, after two general recalls, beated towards the shore. 'Miss VI', after a poor get
away, tacked out and arrived at the windward mark first, squeezing through on port ahead
of previous winner 'Kalabalik'. J.Cordonnier of France in 'Cul See' was right up with
Buffet with H.Cudmore of Ireland in 'Overdrawn' challenging. 'Kalabalik' could not sustain
the pressure in the light going and dropped back on the wind. 'Miss VI' looked set for an
easy victory and Buffet's' Ya Za' was pulling through to second place.
At the start of the final leg. 'Ya Za'
split tacks and unaccountably negleeted to cover those behind, losing four places
irnmediately. Cudrnore drove under 'MissVI's' lee when she tacked off to cover 'Cul See'.
At the line, 'Overdrawn' was still there with 'Miss VI' just behind. 'YaZa's' disastrous
manoeuvre had let 'Leopard' into fourth place and with Troupel caught in the ruck,
'Leopard' seemed the best bet for the championship.
The fifth race was unusual in that, with the light breeze coming slightly more
from the north, it paid to hang on to the port side of the course. Two English boats
'Wazzamarack' (N.Duguid) and 'Anaconda' rounded but the Tanon brothers in 'Alea' moved
through downwind. TheTanons have won world championship races in the past and although
they sail somewhat infrequently now, their tactics are still excellent and they kept ahead
on the next beat. 'Wazzamarack' and 'Anaconda' lost touch, keeping to what had proved the
best way on the first lap, but 'Miss VI' had recovered from a terrible start and was
steadily catching the leaders. At the start of the dead run, it was 'Alea' and 'Leopard'
togetber, 'Ya Za' third followed by 'Miss VI', 'Overdrawn' and 'Rififi'. This was an
agonising leg with barely enough wind to keep the spinnakers flying. 'Alea' went off on
the Port gybe followed by 'Miss VI', 'Leopard' and 'Ya Za' chose the other route and at
the bottom mark, it was apparent that the former two had benefited and 'Alea's' spinnaker
came down two minutes before 'Leopard's'.
'Miss VI' was round in front of 'Ya Za' and
with only the one beat to go, it seemed that these would be the final positions. However,
Troupel, well behind in sixth place, steadily took yards out of those in front. 'Alea's'
lead was gradually whittled down by 'Leopard' but she covered all the way to the line and
won by a whisker, whilst Troupel had passed three boats by pure boat speed to finish
third. 'Miss VI' and 'Ya Za' slipped back to fifth and sixth behind 'Overdrawn'.
The results gave the charnpionship a dramatic turn - three boats 'Leopard', 'Rififi' and
'Ya Za' within one point of one another, with only one race to go. Of these, 'Leopard' was
the most consistent, her worst position so far being a seventh. The other two had to have
a good race to win.
The committee brought forward the starting time of the final race by an hour
to 10.30 a.m. This was not a popular decision as most crews were somewhat weary after a
week of cocktail parties and they were greeted by driving rain and a Force 4 wind, with
odd gusts a little more and a heavy, rolling sea built up. Unaccountably, after all the
early preparation, the start was delayed for half an hour. At last the start came and it
was right first time. With a good wind and miles away from land it was unthinkable that
one side was going ta pay much more than the other but those who stood right out on port
were at least a quarter. of a mile ahead of those who chose the other way. John Pattison
arrived first at the weathermark in 'Seduction' just in front of Gordon Rogers in
'Hornblower' with the heavy weather expert 'Kalabalik' in third place. 'Leopard' was next
round, well ahead of 'Rififi', with 'Ya Za' nowhere.
It looked as though the Pajot brothers were
certain to be the youngest winners of the world championship as they moved up to the lead
when disaster struck. Their spinnaker ripped clean off from the head. Despite this
tragedy, they still carried on and although dropping to fifteenth downwind, came back on
the beats to finish ninth. 'Seduction' held on to her lead grimly over the first lap, but
once 'Kalabalik' was through, she thrashed away to a really convincing win. Troupel,
seeing his chance with 'Leopard' limping, urged 'Rififi' along and on the final beat, when
a vicious rainstorm reduced visibility to100 yards, eased inte second place to take the
1968 world title. Danilou, after a bad start, came through to take third place, whilst
Pattison faded slightly to sixth.
The results were: