Lutze surges back to claim third place at Splash worlds

Taipa's Ben Lutze put in a gutsy performance at the 2010 Splash World Sailing Championships, at Auckland's Takapuna Beach to claim third place overall on the final day of competition.
After leading the regatta for the first two days of competition early in the week, 18-year-old Lutze slipped back into seventh place in the open section after the wind dropped on Wednesday.
However, the 2008 world champion took advantage of the strong 35-knot winds yesterday at Takapuna and placed third and second in his final two races. After dropping his two worst results from the week, he  moved back into third spot behind fellow Kiwis Chris Steele and 2009 champion Declan Burn, and ahead of Onerahi yachtie Michael Cate, in fourth place.
"I'm stoked," Lutze said following the result.
"It was an intense week of racing. Once the wind died off, the lighter guys had the advantage - both Chris and Declan are about 65kg, where as I am 78kg. But today's racing was good after that gust of wind came through."
Up against 73 sailors from 12 countries, Lutze said the competition was tough.
"Chris [Steele] has done well at both the Optimist Worlds [winning the world title in 2007] and in the Starling class, Declan [Burn] won the Splash world title last year and I won it the year before that."
Takapuna Beach proved a popular spot with competitors - the course was well marked and provided fair sailing, Lutze said.
These world championships were Lutze's last in the Splash division, he said.
The Far North sailor finished school last year and will be attending Waikato University in 2010, where he will keep sailing, concentrating on the Laser class as well as hitting the water with the NZ Royal Yacht Squadron fortnightly, he said.
Steele's victory at the Splash World Sailing Championships made it the sixth time in  10 years, New Zealanders have won the world championship.
Meanwhile, another Kiwi, 18-year old Laura Hemingway, representing Tauranga Yacht and Powerboat Club, secured the women's title, finishing 20th overall in the fleet. Berensten Kullmann of Norway, on an exchange programme in Auckland, was second and reigning champion Nienke Reina Jorna from the Netherlands was third.
New Zealand also claimed the Nations Trophy for the second year in a row.
 Nine competitors from Northland contested the five-day championships.
Lutze was third and Cate fourth overall in the gold flight (top) division, while Kerikeri's Dylan Wichman and Kerikeri's Rosemary Sim were 25th and 33rd respectively, and O'Shea Butler was 37th.
James Ayr also of Kerikeri took 15th place in the silver flight division, while Klaus Ohlendorf was 27th and Stacey Wright from Whangarei was 29th and Harris Read Bindon was 30th.