2003 Worlds Images

Updated 7 August, 2003

Images by Elizabeth Thompson and a few by Alexander Meller
Text and captions by Alexander Meller and Elizabeth Thompson
Edited by Elizabeth Thompson
Thumbnails created (in an amazingly short time) by Ali Soylu. Thanks also to Falko Braun, Nicholas Place and Andy Foster for volunteering. Ali Soylu did them while I was still answering e-mails!

Elizabeth Thompson took on the water photos most of the days we were racing. Most of her images are here. Click on the thumbnail to get a full-size version.

July 22
Day 1 of the Swedish International Championship
Two Races


Team Nelson in the dinghy park Launching Team CSC's Alexander Meller
rigging the boat		 Team Zimbabwe
Patrick McCosh/Dennis Lapham
 
Team CSC in the dinghy park The event RC Signal boat Down the run Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie leading
 
Dan Thompson/Andy Zinn about
to round the leeward mark, with
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone
and many others in pursuit.
Someone ahead of Thompson/Zinn
is going upwind at the extreme
right of the image.		 Peter Alarie from Rhode Island
teamed up with West Coaster
Howard Hamlin for this world
championship		 International 505 Class President
Tom Böjland of Denmark teamed
with Jacob Karbo		 Michael Quirk (Australia)
raced with Angela Stenger (Bavaria)
 
     
A Race Committee RIB and crew      
 
These are pictures from day one of the three-day pre-worlds/Swedish International Championship. There were two races each day. The pre-worlds had generally light to medium winds with some wire running and some sitting in the boat. Many German teams were not at the event as they were racing an event in Germany, so we had a smaller and less competitive fleet than we did at the worlds. Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie dominated the event with Danny Thompson/Andy Zinn second. Krister Bergström/Johan Barne had some so-so races (Krister tends to use the pre-worlds to experiment, as he has few opportunities to race against other 505s), and Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess arrived in time to race only the last two races.

July 25
Measurement Day
A trip to Malmö


   
  A view of Malmö from a
restaurant		   Malmö harbour official buildings
 
 
Downtown Malmö Building facade   cycling in Malmö -
everyone cycles here
 
   
part of the two kilometre Malmö
beach		 parking lot for bicycles, Malmö
beach		    
 
On the Measurement Day.

We had managed to have the boat and sails measured ahead of time, so after some boat work that took much longer than it should have, we had the afternoon off. Elizabeth and I borrowed Anne Nelson's mountain bike and went to Malmö. Two people and one bicycle mean that we were walking, running, cycling, cycling double, on the way to Malmö, in Malmö and on the way back. It is very easy to cycle here! The local Swedes all ride older-looking road bicycles, frequently equipped with baskets, not road racing bicycles or mountain bicycles. Anne Nelson's borrowed mountain bike looked a little out of place. Most roads have bicycle lanes, so you can safely and efficiently ride anywhere. There are also bicycle paths, like the one along the coast between Limhamn and Malmö. No one -- except the very young -- bothers to wear a helmet. The result of the bicycle lanes on nearly all roads is that you can actually do useful things with a bicycle -- it is a great substitute for a car -- in Sweden, whereas in the USA you typically use your car to drive to a bicycle path, and then ride the bicycle on the path that does not actually go anywhere useful. So cycling is recreation in North America, and a legitimate means of transportation in Sweden.

July 25
At the MSS

   
  Looking for stowaways? International 505 Class Yacht
Racing Association Secretary,
Chris Thorne
in the 505 measurement tent		  
 
Swedish International
Championship prize presentation		 Swedish International
Championship prize presentation
Danny Thompson/Andy Zinn
finished second		 The Commodore of the MSS
speaks at the World
Championship Opening
Ceremony		 The MSS Commodore
 
Part of the crowd Tom Bojland, President of the
International 505 Class Yacht
Racing Association, speaks at
the opening ceremony		 The Malmö sports minister speaks
at the opening ceremony		 The event flag is hoisted on
the MSS flag staff
 
     
The Swedish flag is hoisted      
 
Later during the Measurement day between the Swedish International Championship and the World Championship. Almost all event measurement checks have been completed. It is time for the prize giving for the Swedish International Championship and the opening ceremonies for the World Championship.

There were speeches from the commodore, the local government official responsible for sport, and International 505 Class President Tom Bojland. Then we got down to eating the food and drinking the Swedish sparkling wine. The commodore took his blazer off for the rest of the regatta and served as RC and organizer.

Swedish International Championship and World Championship top ten finishers were all given prizes, a bottle of Swedish sparkling wine and red roses.

July 26
First Day of Racing
Two Races

Using the computer in the
jury room		 Earle Alexander using the
computer in the jury room		 On a spectator boat The Commodore of MSS
(in blue shirt) is on the
spectator boat
 
On a spectator boat On the water Before the start Nigel Lott/Robert Franks from
Australia
 
Before the start Before the start Before the start A recall?
 
During the start At the weather mark Sailing high down the run Weather mark?
 
More teams on the run Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess
of Germany are leading		 Marginal for trapezing Wolfgang sits in
 
Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie What is he doing to the mark? After rounding a leeward mark?
A windward mark?		 Downwind
 
Downwind Swedish father-and-son team
Karl-Otto Strömberg and
Fredrik Strömberg in a boat
borrowed from Krister Bergström		 Earle Alexander/Dustin Carlsson
from Brisbane		 Rob Napier/Matthew Bristow
from Hayling Island SC
 
 
Team CSC
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone
from Severn Sailing Association
in Annapolis, Maryland, USA 		Bergström/Barne at speed Meller/Falsone pursuing
Hunger/Jess		  
The World Championship schedule was (per day): 2 races, 1 race, 2 race , lay day, 1 race, 2 races, 1 race, so two races today (first day). But first an opportunity to check e-mail. Unfortunately there was no internet cafe so we were all trying to use a PC in the jury room or one of two PCs in the MSS office. The jury room and the MSS office tended to be busy after racing, so before launching was a good time to grab a PC.

I do not know if they had the same Internet connection, but the PCs in the club office were much faster than the one in the jury room. And if it wasn't for the PC we would be trying to stay out of the jury room.

July 27
One Race

     
      The Italian father and daughter
team of Marco and Erica Giraldi
from Milan/Lago Maggiore
A ferry crosses the race course,
and delays racing		 Bergström/Barne Bergström/Barne Down the run
 
The famous bridge between
Denmark and Sweden in the
background		 Team CSC on a mid-race beat
in the windy race.
They led at the first weather mark
sometimes it pays to be pathfinder		 Christian Kellner/
Klaus Stammerjohann		 Hunger/Jess
 
Stefan Böhm/Gerald Roos Beeckman/Benjamin Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone Meller/Falsone
 
On a spectator boat Bergström/Barne win the race Derigging after racing Happy sailors after a windy race
 
Wasn't that fun!
Brett Van Munster, Christian
Diebitsch and Terry Scutcher
discuss the race		 Another happy face
Carter Jackson		 Michael Quirk/Angela Stenger
Even the lightweight teams loved
this race		 Pinnell/Hunt rigging a mast to
replace the one broken in a
collision with a port tack 505
 
Dustin/Earle pack up the boat
for the day		 Dinghy park karate as Alexander
Meller explains some moves to
Brett Van Munster		 The non sailing portion
of the Falsone family		 Spinnaker poles are very useful!
 
   
Andrew Petch Olle Wenrup (Ebbe Rosen at bow)
working on their main halyard		    
 
A one race day, and a race with breeze. There was a postponement as a very large ferry cruised through the race course. Meller/Falsone were the pathfinder and led at the first weather mark. Bergström/Barne fought their way through the leaders to win the race. The breeze was reported as 24 knots at the start, 20 knots part way up the first beat and for most of the rest of the race, but noticeably dying off as the leaders went down the final run. It stayed down for the beat to the finish.

Once ashore, perhaps the most noticeable thing was how everyone was smiling after a fun breezy race.

July 28
Two Races

   
    sailing out sailing out of the harbour
 
To the race course Getting ready Before the race Before the race
 
Before the start Before the start Before the start Before the start
 
Water
the 505 moved so fast
it was gone by the time the
picture was taken		 Arno Parviainen/Antti Jore
of Finland		 A gorgeous older Swedish
Parker with an old
(S rather than SWE) mainsail		 At speed
 
Ebbe Rosen/Olle Wenrup
pursuing
Dan Thompson/Andy Zinn		 Andy Beeckman/Ben Benjamin
part of Team Tuesday
the Long Beach California
505 fleet		 Approaching the leeward mark Part of the fleet
 
part of the fleet around the leeward mark leeward mark action leeward mark action
 
Overlapped? Leeward mark Leeward mark? Ian Pinnell/Steve Hunt
from Hayling Island SC
 
Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess Ian Pinnell/Steve Hunt at speed Father-and-son team
Macy Nelson/Nick Nelson chase
Krister Bergström/Johan Barne
 
   
grey and windy Team CSC
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone		    
 
A two race day.

July 29
Lay Day

A chance to relax! Some competitors believe that we are at a World Championship to race, not to relax and see the area. They would like to race a 505 world championship in fewer days, with two races each day. I disagree. Perhaps a compromise would be building more time in the schedule between the pre-worlds and the world championships. People who prefer to not spend all the time at the venue could simply skip the pre-worlds. This particular lay day was terrific. Apart from there being no wind all day, so we could not have raced anyway, it was a great day for swimming, exploring swimming, or just relaxing.

July 30
One Race

   
    Part of tent city.
There were approximately 30
tents, so many competitors
camped at the MSS		 More of the tent city on
a small lagoon
 
Alexander and Marco being serious Marco working on I
(ignore the SU) 8097		 Remote spinnaker sheet
stopper control		 Duvoisin forward thwart
and cut-away trailing edge centerbord
 
Bergström's Van Munster Bergström's customized
Van Munster		 Nick Nelson and an
ultra high aspect ratio
Bergström rudder		 Nick with Krister's conservative
rudder
 
Bergström's extended-forward
centerboard trunk, forward pin,
and centerboard head that prevents
the CB retracting into the trunk
unless the mast is removed		 Another view of the CB head The CB trunk width changes at
the back		 Lines emerging from CB trunk
are slot gasket zipper controls
 
Hunger/Jess's low aspect ratio
rudder. According to Holger the
hi-tech rudder broke, and
Wolfgang likes to be able to
scull at the start		 New model Rondar transom
Hunger/Jess		 New model Rondar forward thwart
Hunger/Jess		 Hunger/Jess's Rondar
EVERYTHING is adjustable
Note CB trunk bridge
 
Control line takeup recess on
Hunger/Jess's Rondar		 Straightforward section on
Hunger/Jess rudder		 Bergström CB head? Bergström CB tip, cannot retract
with mast in boat
 
Forward twing location Rounded transom corners on
the new Rondar
finally!		 Heavily angled TackTick on
Hunger/Jess's Rondar		 Where CB trunk cap meets the
floor at back. LOTS of
control lines
 
Accurate mast ram settings Rounded mast gate on the
new Rondar		 Mast gate area detail Hunger/Jess Rondar
 
Clear water at the launching ramp Relaxing in the club restaurant A light air day An RC boat crew rests while on
standby
 
Elizabeth Thompson BM mainsail
on shore in light wind		 Christian Diebitsch doing
maintenace while waiting
for wind		 Relaxing
 
A Euro-style 505,
Perhaps Rosen/Wenrup?		 Larger, higher-load,
blocks on transom		 On the way to the races Before the start
 
Tuning up before the start Hamlin/Alarie tuning up After the start Some try to bail to the right
 
Up the first beat Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie cross
Patrick McCosh/ Dennis Lapham
just before the weather mark		 But McCosh/Lapham punch out And are able to force
Hamlin/Alarie back, and
pass them before the offset mark
 
Team CSC
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone,
at the weather mark		 Oops!
The offset is high in this shift		 Upwind Hamlin/Alarie round the second
weather mark
 
8652 rounds the weather mark McCosh/Lapham round the mark Hamlin/Alarie cross the finish line Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie heading in
 
8825 Team CSC crosses The bar in the main tent DJ, screens, multi media and more
 
Enjoying the partying bar karate At the bar Outside the tent
 
Alexander "Ali" Meller Eva Anne and Macy Nelson Laura Falsone
 
     
Olle Wenrup      
 
A one race day, after the lay day. The lay day had almost no wind, and today started out as a repeat. After several postponements we launched, and to our surprise, got a race off in light air. We rolled over Krister Bergström shortly after the start, as Hamlin/Alarie were squeezing him from below. He footed off in an effort to go left, lost more ground and then bailed right. Then most of the leaders went right, and we stayed with them. Bergström went back left, crossed behind all of us, but Bergström/Barne were positioned for the left shift -- along with about twenty other teams to the left -- and led at the weather mark and won the race. Duhhh!

During the lay day and the postponement on the following day, I took some gear photographs, mostly of the Wolfang Hunger/Holger Jess 505, the latest model Rondar with the updated interior, and the Krister Bergström/Johan Barne 505, a Van Munster extensively modifed by Krister.

Krister's boat had a very high aspect ratio centerboard that would only fit within the centreboard trunk -- nothing sticking out below the trunk -- if the mast was removed. I believe the International Rules Committee (IRC) is going to consider a ruling on this. The class rules require that a centreboard can be retracted so that none of it sticks out below the centreboard case. The rule does not say if the mast can be taken out to do this. Krister had extended the centreboard trunk of the boat forward, and the centreboard pin was all the way forward in the extended area. I would expect a very long pin bracket, but did not see it. Someone measured the span with the blade down (boat on its side), and I think it was significantly deeper than anyone else's high aspect ratio centreboard. Krister also had two high aspect ratio rudders, one of which is probably the highest aspect ratio foil I have ever seen. Apparently the head is almost solid carbon fibre. Krister also had a zipper on his slot gaskets. This was somehow tied to the movement of the centreboard so that the slot gaskets were closed as the board went down and opened as the board went up. Amazing! The back of the centreboard case cap was cut away, and Krister built in a new aft cap which can be seen in the photos. Apparently this was to make it easier for the skipper to cross the boat in tacks and gybes. Bergström/Barne used UK sails, but it is the same Rebbel loft they have always dealt with, now part of the UK chain, and the sails are made with the UK tape drive. I believe they were using a Proctor Cumulus mast.

The Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess Rondar was built using a new laminating system from SP Systems. The idea appears to be to get some of the benefit of pre-preg, and eliminate the time constraints that a wet layup with room temperature cure resin has. This resin will not cure at room temperature, so once the vacuum bag is on and the vacuum pulled, the boat is put in an oven for curing. The hull shape is the same as Rondar has had for awhile, though Rondar's hull mould does allow for some minor changes in hull shape. The foredeck-bulkhead-seat tanks-transom mould has been updated. The forward thwart is now wider, and the aft face has a bulkhead going down to the tank-hull join area. The aft thwart may be gone (it looked to me like the Hunger/Jess boat did not have the aft thwart but did have two angled traveller thwarts instead), while the centreboard trunk cap goes much further aft, down to the floor. The top of the transom is wider and the transom corners are rounded, which should make a transom bridle work better, and also is easier on the hulls of other 505s in collisions. Hunger/Jess were using a molded high aspect ratio gybing centreboard made in machined aluminum moulds. I did not see the Hunger/Jess blade but did see another one built from the same moulds. It was a think of beauty and was VERY fair. Their molded rudder had broken recently, and they were using a rather low aspect ratio rudder. Hunger/Jess used Bojsen-Moller sails, and I believe they had a Superspar M2 mast.

Neither of these teams had upper spreaders. Hunger/Jess did have high trapeze wires that could be lowered for upwind work.

July 31
Last Two Race Day

 
  Before the start Before the start At the weather mark
 
Bergström/Barne round first With the other leaders close
behind		 On the way to the offset mark Bergström/Barne on the run
 
8825 and 8826 filling their kites Team CSC,
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone
at the offset mark		 A parade.
Anyone want to try going low?		 Sailing high in light air
 
Reaching Reaching One team has gybed Father and son team,
Macy and Nick Nelson?
 
Hunger/Jess 8825 Team CSC in the pack Team CSC
 
Dousing at the leeward mark gybing for position Going upwind, looking for lanes Bergström/Barne leading ????
 
Bergström/Barne finish Bergström/Barne dousing Completing the douse 8825
 
8633 crosses the line 8633 douses Team CSC Team CSC crosses
 
     
Good Race!      
 
The last two race day. Again it looked like it was going to be light air, but the breeze filled in enough to launch, and we completed two races. Their finishes in these two races wrapped up first place for Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess, and second place for Krister Bergström/Johan Barne. The rest of the positions were a free for all with one final race to go.

August 1
Last Day, Final Race

 
  Sailing out to the race course Macy Nelson and son Nick Nelson 7982: Nigel and Bob
 
Before the start On a spectator boat with
Holger Jess		 Before the start Before the start
 
HOIST! Bohm/Roos Hoisting Team CSC just behind
Thompson/Zinn
 
Nigel/Bob Nigel/Bob After the gybe Team CSC prepares to gybe early
 
Near the finish Hamlin/Alarie duel with
Lutz Stengel/Frank Feller		 and lead to the finish line Finishing
 
Good Race! Hamlin/Alarie sponsorship stickers Hamlin/Alarie sailing in a wake.
The 505 moved before
the picture could be taken
 
After the finish Rosen/Wenrup Bow number 63 crosses McCosh/Lapham approach
 
McCosh/Lapham Done Team CSC
Alexander Meller/Jesse Falsone
from Annapolis, Maryland		 Team CSC approaches the line
 
two teams sailing in after finishing Nice day! In the dinghy park The dinghy park
 
The race to derig and load
containers		 Do I need to untie this?
Half of a Danish
father-and-son team		 Kites should be packed DRY Relaxing outside the showers
 
Pulling the mast out Sailing boots and Speedo Angela fights for the hose Packing up
 
The last day and the final race. Since Wolfgang Hunger/Holger Jess had wrapped up first overall, and Krister Bergström/Johan Barne had wrapped up second overall, these two teams did not launch. Holger hijacked a yacht and commandeered it for spectator purposes, inviting Elizabeth Thompson and visitors from CSC Denmark aboard. What the owner thought of this was not recorded.

Many teams wanted to go left, so the crowd trying to gate early was huge. While there may have been some advantage to the left, the pathfinder apparently rounded the weather mark second, while a number of teams working the lef ended up overstanding the windward mark. Howard Hamlin/Peter Alarie were in the top three at the weather mark and thereafter, and they worked through to take the gun at the finish line.

The US container had been picked up and taken away during the race, along with the extra gear and packing material inside, so the US teams were not able to load the container until it was returned, shortly before the prize presentation dinner.