Texel Dutch Open at Zwitserleven Sailing Week - Overall

Championships come to an early end due to strong winds

The Texel Dutch Open and World Championships Nacra Infusion came to an early end on Friday June 8th because of strong southwesterly wind. Thus the results of the second day of both championships also mean the final results. With seven races both championships are valid and the winners are crowned. Darren Bundock (AUS) and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED) win the Texel Dutch Open in class I in a field of 47 contestants. With a minimal difference, they defeat title defenders Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij. Oscar Zeekant and Charles Begemann take third place. In the Open class II Hans Primowees wins. Meanwhile, over three hundred participants are getting ready for the 35th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on Saturday June 9th. The race will start between 11.00 and 12.00h.

If the races today had been continued, it would have been an exciting battle. Heemskerk and Tentij got into their game more and more yesterday and won the last two races. They were just five points short of the final victory, but are happy being runner-ups. Heemskerk: 'Our goal was to get the boat speed back. We haven't been training that much this year, but during the event our sailing was getting better. Yesterday it went great, so maybe we would have gotten more out of it if we had been able to race today. But that's sailing for you. Anything can happen, even cancelling races. We just as well could have lost today. Darren and Jeroen have sailed very well and just did make fewer mistakes then we did. It is an open championship, so even an Australian can be the Dutch champion. May the best one win. 2

Luck with the weather

Fresh Dutch champion catamaran sailing Bundock is happy with his victory and laudatory about the event: 'I'm participating since 1998 and have missed only twice or three times. That's why I'm so pleased that I, even as an Australian, became first. Despite the bad forecasts for this week we have been lucky, but today. That is always a disappointment, in the end we come to sail. Yesterday we sailed better than Wednesday. Then we sailed a fourth place, we can do better than that. Unfortunately yesterday we broke the spinnaker halyard. That twelfth place was our worst result."

Texel Dutch Open II

In the Open II class Hans Primowees with his Prindle 15 wins with force majeure in a field of seven catamarans. With only first and second places and a third (discard) he was the best. Martin Maat (Nacra F17) becomes second, Dirk Pool (Dart 18) third.

35th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race

On Saturday June 9th, the 35th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race will start between 11 AM and 12 AM if the wind has decreased enough. 331 Boats have registered for this event. Defending champions Heemskerk and Tentij would love to win another time. Heemskerk: 'That would be the fourth time for me and the second time for Bastiaan. This is the thirtieth time I'm participating, since I was eight. We hope that it will go on tomorrow, we like a bit of wind. The Round Texel Race is unique. Not only for racers, but also for people who have just a catamaran in their backyard and who want to sail a nice round. The concept is simple: just keep the island on your right hand and go fast."

Also Taylor and Jordi Booth, sons of Mitch Booth, are exited to participate. They have never sailed with each other before, except for the last few days at the Texel Dutch Open, where they ended twelfth. Taylor last year took line honours in the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race with his father and loves to sail with his younger brother now. Taylor Booth: 'Mitch cannot make it tomorrow. Last year we sailed on a 20-feet cat, now we are sailing on the new Olympic Nacra17. So we won't make line honours. But we are going for the victory on rating. Starting as good as possible and sailing as fast as we can, depending on the wind and the wind direction. We are very pleased that we can sail the new Olympic Nacra17. Quite an unique design with the curved centerboards. They generate a lot of lift and because of that we sail very fast. But the boat handling is still difficult, because we have never sailed together before. You just can be stuck and gotta be on the ball."

Saturday or Sunday?

The organization hopes the 35th edition of the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on Saturday will go on and keeps a keen eye on the weather forecasts. The briefing for the sailors is at the regatta office at 09.00 AM. If the organization thinks that because of the weather it will be to dangerous to sail the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on Saturday, it could be the first time it will be postponed until Sunday. Then the start will be around 12.00 AM. The final decision will be at 09.00 am tomorrow.

Nacra Infusion Worlds

Also the World Championships Nacra Infusion could have expected an excited denouement if the races had been continued today. Winners of the first day and title defenders Coen de Koning and Thijs Visser ended with exact the same score as the final winners Gunnar Larsen and Sam Frank. But Larsen/Frank took four bullets yesterday, so they are the new world champions. Larsen: 'Every day we fought to stay in the top three, the competition was strong. Therefore finishing with equal points doesn't make us less happy."

De Koning is slightly disappointed: "It would have been nice to have another few races, but the wind was increasing during the day. So it was probably the safest decision to cancel the races. Finishing second with equal points is a bit of a bummer, though. This is one of the races where you want to perform well, but if you don't get the chance, it's too bad."

Live broadcast start Round Texel Race

On Saturday June 9th the 35th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race will start. The start is between 11 and 12 AM and will be broadcast live on the website www.roundtexel.com. Saturday morning will be announced on the website and Twitter the time the live broadcasting begins.

Zwitserleven Sailing Week 2012

The Zwitserleven Sailing Week knows multiple championships and races. The whole event started Wednesday June 6th with the Open Dutch Championships Catamaran Sailing and the official World Championships Nacra Infusion 2012. The recreational sailors sailed the Horstocht on Thursday and would have sailed the Trip to the North on Friday, but this trip was cancelled due to the wind. On Saturday June 9th hundreds of catamarans will participate in the biggest cat race of the world, the Round Texel Race.

The Zwitserleven Sailing Week can be followed through the website www.roundtexel.com, Facebook and Twitter.

Next to Zwitserleven the sponsors of the Round Texel Race are VVV Texel, Paal 17 Events, Treffers/Tenson, Teso, Boskalis, W&H Liebherr en Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep.

Texel Dutch Open Results: (after seven races)

1st Darren Bundock/Jeroen van Leeuwen, 12pts
2nd Mischa Heemskerk/Bastiaan Tentij, 17pts
3rd Oscar Zeekant/Karel Begemann, 18pts
4th Xander Pols/Stefan Dubbeldam, 23,5pts
5th Carolijn Brouwer/Wouter Samama, 32pts

Open Class I
1st Hans Primowees, 8pts
2nd Martin Maat, 13pts
3rd Dirk Pool, 15pts

Nacra Infusion Worlds
1st Gunnar Larsen/Sam Frank, 9pts
2nd Coen de Koning/Thijs Visser, 9pts
3rd Jorden Veenman/Frank de Waard, 18pts
4th Juan Faustin/Lucas Gonzalez Smith, 28pts

For the final results see www.roundtexel.com/results.asp