N.Z. yachtsman misses title

Press, 17 July 1978, Page 6

N.Z. yachtsman misses title

NZPA special correspondent Medemblik New’ Zealanders took three of the top seven places at the world O.K. yachting championships which finished in the Netherlands yesterday. Leith Armit, the young Aucklander who was leading the series up until the fifth race, was beaten for the world title by a single point by the veteran Danish yachtsman, Jorgen Lindhartsen.

Armit, a 17-year-old mastmaker from Malrangi Bay, becomes the world youth O.K. champion. He began the final day’s racing in second place over-ail but in the first race suffered from bad air at the start and finished eighteenth. Lindhartsen was third. Armit won the final race and Lindhartsen came only thirtyfourth, but the Dane was able to discard this, his worst performance, and still end up ahead of the young New Zealander. The first race yesterday was won b.v Tom Dodson, the New Zealand and inter-Dominion O.K. champion, but he needed to beat Lindhartsen by 11 places in the filial race to win the series. Dodson took fifth place overall in tl e championships. His younger brother. Richard, came second in the early race and sixth in the final, and thus advanced six places to finish seventh. The fourth New Zealand rente-

sentative. John Welson, scored his best result in the series with a thirteenth in the early race yesterday, but. he still finished well hack in the fleet over-all. Final points.—Lindhartsen, 54.7 points, 1; Arm it, 55.7, 2; Alexander Hagen (West Germany), 62.7, 3; Thomas Oljelund (Sweden*, 66.4, 4; Tom Dodson, 76, 5; Mikael Delis (Sweden), 79.1, 6; Richard Dodson. 79.7, 7; Per Frode -Sweden), 83.7, 8; Jonty Sherwill (Britain), 86, 9; Christer Brendtsson (Sweden), 90, 10. And in FJngland, the Aucklander. Russell Bowler, and his 18-footer Fletcher Brown built, took third place in the final race of the world 18-footer championships off Plymouth yesterday to finish second over all in the fiverace series. The Australian yacht, Colour Seven, skippered by lan Murray, won the final race to take this year’s title. Another Australian boat. P.K. Gum. finished third in the series. Fletcher Brownbuilt started strongly in yesterday’s race and was well ahead at the first mark. However, after two tight spinnaker reaches Colour Seven had taken a slight lead, which it hung on to until the end.

Shooting.—lan Newton has won his second consecutive Wellington smallbore shooting title. Runner-up was the Munich Olympic shooter, Mike Watt, from Petone Central.