Never, in all of history, have so many OK Dinghies gathered in one place at the same time and gone sailing. Today, on Lake Garda, for the first time ever, more than 200 OK Dinghy sailors took to the water for the practice race ahead of the 2025 World Championship. With 213 boats from 15 nations completing equipment inspection, this will be the largest ever championship for the class in the 70 years since the OK became a worldwide sailing phenomenon.
The world championship was opened tonight at Circolo Vela Arco after the practice race and two Hall of Fame inductions. After a cloudy start to the day the skies cleared, and a 10-12 knot Ora filled in just in time for the practice race. With the huge fleet split into two groups for this race the current world champion, Nick Craig, from Britain, won the first group with Sweden’s Daniel Bjorndahl winning the second group.
In the evening the opening ceremony was held at the newly opened brand new clubhouse at the Circolo Vela Arco. Newly elected OKDIA class President Pontus Gäbel from Sweden stated, “It’s great to be back. It’s going to be an amazing event with the biggest OK fleet of all time on the race course tomorrow. It’s amazing. Racing on Lake Garda is probably on every sailor’s bucket list, The backdrop is spectacular, the race course is beautiful, the weather is warm, and the sun is shining. To quote a sailor who did well here two years ago at the Europeans, the only problem with this place is that it is so beautiful that if you look up for a second you lose concentration.”
It is traditional in the class that Hall of Fame nominations happen at the world championship. The OKDIA Hall of Fame was started in 2007 when class legend Jørgen Lindhardtsen was the first inductee. Since then, the list has included multiple world champions, such as Nick Craig, New Zealand’s Leith Armit and Australia’s Roger Blasse, along with many of those who have defined the class through the decades, including of course Paul Elvstrøm.
Tonight, on the shores of Lake Garda, modesty permitting, two long standing OKDIA officers were brought into the fold. Both have been racing OK Dinghies for more than 40 years. Alistair Deaves, now from New Zealand, has sat on OKDIA committees for 28 years, has been Chairman of the Technical Committee for 17 years and has been instrumental in defining the current technical expertise in the class, was introduced first by former Vice-President Mike Wilde from New Zealand. Then, the current Vice-President Andreas Pich, from Germany, introduced Robert Deaves, long time secretary, media manager and behind the scenes operative for the current success of the OK Dinghy class. The nominations were surrounded in secrecy, but we have to report the response from the assembled crowd, with well over 200 people gathered for the flag parade of the opening ceremony, was humbling, and greatly appreciated by both nominees.
Celebrations inevitably ensued, which is why this press release wass late….
Racing is scheduled to start at 13.00 on Monday with a 10-race series until Friday.
Report by Robert Deaves
Gallery Day 1: https://www.flickr.com/photos/okdia/albums/72177720329018736
Notice board and results here: https://www.racingrulesofsailing.org/documents/10764/event
Event website: https://2025.okworlds.org
#OKDinghy #SailingNews #LakeGarda #SailingChampionships #SailingEvent #AustralianSailing #OKDIA #SailorsLife
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