Bundock Beats Booth For F18 World Title

Despite some goading from the second placed Netherlands pairing of Mitch BOOTH and Herbie DERCKSEN to match race, Australia’s Darren BUNDOCK and Glenn ASHBY declined.

And in the process won the F18 Worlds, with Booth and Dercksen second, in Puntala, Italy, overnight.

There is no update on the Championship website – there has been very little all week, despite the calibre of the competitors and the event itself, but Herbie reported via cell phone, “Mitch tried to tie up Bundock in a match race. He needed to have Bundock foul out twice to be able to catch him… it didn’t happen, as Mitch couldn’t get near Bundock in the final race, which was sailed in winds between 6 to- 8 knots, with gusts up to 12.”

Booth and Bundock will next face off at the Athens Olympic Games and the F18 Worlds will have been a strong battle of wills – Booth formerly represented Australia in the Tornado class at the Olympic Games in 1992 with John FORBES (Darren BUNDOCK’S now crew), winning a Bronze medal.

In 1996, the former pair split, Booth got the Olympic spot after the dispute went to court, where he won Silver. In 2000, Bundock and Forbes got the nod and brought home Silver.

Now both Booth (who is the No. 2 Tornado sailor on the ISAF World Sailing Rankings), and Forbes (the winner of six Tornado World Championships who will retire from elite sailing after Athens) are after that elusive Gold and these F18 Worlds will have played a major psychological part in the minds of these sailors.

Official Final results
1.AUS 111 Bundock Darren, Ashby Glenn
2.NED 11 Booth Mitch, Dercksen Herbert
3.SUI 5 Colby Gavin, Camenisch Corsin
4.FRA 21 Morniac Jean Christophe, Citeau Franck