Turangi OK Dinghy Regatta

2007 Turangi International Open


Fourteen sailors gathered in Turangi over the weekend for the second regatta of the 2007-2008 Summer series they were not disappointed weather wise being treated to 6-8knot winds and brilliant sunshine over both days.

Day one saw four sailors fighting for the wining positions, Karl Purdie, Luke O’Connell, Steve McDowell and Trent Pryce; each of these sailors won a race however it was Pryce and Purdie who had the most consistent day, being first and second respectively at the end of racing.

Interestingly these four didn’t have it all there own way, the depth of the class is such that all four race winners had results further back in the fleet than they would like, especially McDowell and O’Connell who had a 10th and 11th respectively in race three.


Day two saw much the same conditions a lovely 6-8 knots on shore breeze, although this time a little more shifty. Race one was again taken out by Pryce showing good tactical nous in the tricky conditions and a touch more speed than the chasing pack, he was closely followed by O’Connell and McDowell, Purdie was further back in the fleet resulting in a very close four way battle for the championship.

Race 6 was another tricky affair, with all of the leaders “deep” in the pack, Aucklanders Mark Perrow and Grant Pederson took the early lead. By the second beat Purdie took a chance on the left hand corner as: ”The pressure looked good out there” – although it look like a desperation move to the rest of the fleet! Purdie however did managed to find an advantage and bounced back from nearly last to first with in the space of one beat, he held this until the finish giving him a slight lead over the pack.

Race seven was a close one however the battle for the title was almost over after the start when Pryce was over the start line early, Purdie and McDowell jumped out on the fleet and then had a very close race including a tacking duel up to the finish line, Purdie held on to win the race and the series. O’Connell continued his consistent form and took out second with McDowell third and Pryce fourth.


The next regatta of the 2007-2008 Summer series is the East coast champs which will be run in Napier in two weeks time.

Top Ten:

1 Karl Purdie 502 Worser Bay BC
2 Luke O'Connell 474 Napier SC
3 Steve McDowell 525 Worser Bay BC
4 Trent Pryce 497 Napier SC
5 Grant Pederson 518 Wakatere BC
6 Alistair Deaves 472 Wakatere BC
7 Mark Perrow 527 Wakatere BC
8 Mike Wilde 529 Wakatere BC
9 Russell Wood 526 Wakatere BC
10 Marty Weeks 509 Napier SC






The New Zealand OK Dinghy Association
www.okdinghy.co.nz