TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA, 18 APRIL: Swedish sailor Krister Bergstrom today blew a golden opportunity to win an unprecedented fifth world championship in the International 505 dinghy class - seconds after the start of today's seventh and final race on Townsvilles Cleveland Bay.
Bergstrom and his crew, Martin Westerdahl, with an eight-point lead in the pointscore, crashed into the official lead boat at the second attempt to get the 100 boat fleet away from a gate start.
They had no choice but retire from the race and with a DNF already on the scorecard, they slumped from first to the middle of the fleet in the final pointscore.
The 1996 world championship went to the British crew of Paul Towers and Dan Johnson, clinching victory with a fine last race win from another Swedish crew, Kalle Nelsson and Michael Ahrbom, another British crew Marc Upton-Brown and Nigel Vooght.
In fourth place came Americans Howie Hamlin and Cam Lewis followed by the first of the Australians, 18-footer national champion and former 505 world champions Chris and Darren Lewis.
The final scorecard saw Towers and Johnson on 38.7 points with Hamlin and Lewis on 46.0 followed by Ian Barker and Don Cripps (UK) 61, the Nicholson brothers on 68.1, Americans Jeff Miller and Mike Martin on 60.0, Australians Hugh Stodart and Andrew Barker 81.0.
Defending world champions, Jeremy Robinson and Bill Masterton, finishing seventh on 90 points.
Towers and Johnson, who sailed consistently through the generally light weather series and won two heats, were eight points behind Bergstrom and Westerdahl going into the final race.