ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta 2008 - Overall

The ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta 2008 (NED) came to an end on Whit Monday May 12. A total of 24 classes and 391 boats or Formula boards competed four days long on five courses along the Scheveningen coast. Despite the early Whitsun weekend this year, the weather was unusually warm with bright sunshine. The mostly light and sometimes extremely variable wind conditions in combination with a strong current, made it a perfect ‘Beijing training’ for the Olympic sailors. It was all about tactics. On the final day, the north-eastern breeze picked up to about force four and all competitors were out racing. Even the windsurfers on their Formula boards. The big boats sailed a semi long-distance and the other classes competed around the buoys.

ORC and IRC: Eclectic wins surprisingly

In 2007, skipper Koen Lockefeer (NED) and his crew entered the IRC 1 class with their brand new Dehler 44 Eclectic. They finished behind the favourites, but this year Team Eclectic took the overall victory. They were the best in the overall ranking of both offshores and the inshores. Lockefeer: “The level of competition is that high, that it is impossible to come and win. Tuning is the answer and you have to get used to the boat.” They moved the mast a bit more forward and replaced the keel. Lockefeer: “But working with Sea Path, a software program made by sailors, has been the golden change. We have much more information than we used to have.” Lockefeer about winning the trophy: “I am in one word HAPPY.” Roy Heiner and his crew onboard the MaxFun 35 Team Heiner Two were by far the best in the ORC 1 class. Heiner: “We were not in time with our measurement certificate. That is why we did not compete in the IRC 1, but it was our challenge to overtake as many IRC 1 yachts as possible. In one race, we finished fifth over their line.” The IRC 1 fleet started first, followed by the ORC 1. The Rosetta from the Rocks, a Dehler 36 of skipper Radboud Crul (NED), won again in the IRC 2. The local heroes of Team Moshulu with Hans-Albert de Graaf on the helm, were first in the ORC 2. Geintje from skipper Frits van Dijk (NED) won the ORC 3 and Celestine from Van der Hout the ORC 4/5.

Laser Radial (32 entries): Bizarre ending for Van Acker

”I think I was lucky today”, said twofold European Champion Laser Radial Evi van Acker (BEL) while de-rigging her boat. At the start of the final race, she was third overall. “I started at the right side of the line, but the wind came up on the left. So, my position was very bad, but I worked myself through the fleet.” She sailed in fourth place, as something strange happened in the second beat. Van Acker: “I was sailing on port-tack and the rest of the fleet a bit below me on starboard-tack. Rodie van Mackelenbergh was leading by miles, as the four boats far behind me picked up some breeze. They moved up to the front and all of a sudden we were with eight boats together, including the five possible overall winners.” Ben Koppelaar took the lead and Van Acker managed to finish second. That seemed to be enough for winning the series, but two disqualifications changed the ranking. “Those sailors were disqualified because of not checking in and out, which caused a change in number of points in the top”, explained Van Acker disappointed. Yuri Hummel (NED) took the victory with one point lead, followed by Sarah Blanck (AUS). Blanck, who came to Scheveningen for a training session for China: “We checked the weather forecast for light wind conditions and we made a last minute decision to come here. I found the sailing really hard, but it has been a good experience for China.”

Laser Standard (19 entries): Serge Kats still in shape

Serge Kats (NED) belonged to the world top of Laser sailing for years. He finished fourth at the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney. Meanwhile, he has started to coach Dutch talents within Project 2012. But on Monday May 12, he showed once again his talents by easily scoring two bullets. He beat all his pupils in the overall ranking. Kats afterwards: “This was the most beautiful day of the series. It went well and everything I did was right.” The former top sailor competes more often against Eduardo van Vianen, Marc de Haas, Roelof Bouwmeester and Rutger van Schaardenburg. Kats: “It works both ways. At one hand, it makes it easier to understand and coach them. On the other hand, I am still enjoying it.”

Catamarans and windsurfers: Current champions show off

The F18 class entered the biggest fleet at the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta 2008. Last year’s winners and current F18 European Champions Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij (NED) dominated again the 46 beach catamarans. But this time with a black Hobie Tiger. Heemskerk: “Sunday was a difficult day for us. We started off with a third and bullet, which was alright. Our following port-tack start was a mess and we thought we were smarter than smart. We did not round the offset mark on purpose, because we interpreted the Sailing Instructions differently. According to our understanding, we did not have to round the second top mark, but we were wrong, so we retired from that race.” On Whit Monday, the two Dutchmen scored two bullets and concluded the series with a second discard. They won the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta for the second year in row, followed by Reindert-Jan van der Meulen and Carina Knol on their Capricorn and Sascha Larsen with Christa van Helden on a Nacra Infusion. The Dutch National Dart 18 title went to Robbie Vogelenzang and his crew. The Australian team of Adrian Fawcett finished first in the Hobie 16. The Belgian youth team of Gilles Hendrickz was the best Hobie 16 with spinnaker.

Finally, the 27 Formula windsurfers had more than eight knots wind, which is required for official racing. They completed the first four races for their Dutch Windsurfing Nationals 2008, that includes four events. It was also the first time ever that the windsurfers joined the annual sailing regatta in Scheveningen. Current Dutch Champion Dennis Littel leads with three points, followed by Adri Keet (5 points) and Adriaan van Rijsselberghe (8 points).

One Design classes

Cool Runnings of skipper Thorkild Juncker (GBR) dominated the X-35 fleet (17 entries), but did not line up for the final two races on Monday. Their fellow countrymen from Perfect Ten took advantage and won the series. As expected, the twofold World Champions Ayton/Webb/Wilson (GBR) finished first in the Olympic Yngling class. It was the fifth participation of the MaxFun 25 class (16 entries) and it was Walter Geurts’ fifth victory. Geurts (NED): “The beginning of the regatta was hard. The instable wind made it look like a gamble. Maybe we were lucky sometimes, but we seemed to have survived quite well.” The Van der Pol brothers (NED) scored three bullets on Sunday, which was a solid base for their victory in the FD (12 entries). It was the first time that the former Olympic Dragon class joined the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta. Tim Tavinor (GBR), who built all eleven participating Dragons except for one, helmed for two young Dutch sailors as a training session. Despite their final attack with two firsts, it was still Huib Bannier and his crew who won the overall ranking. The last stage of the competition in a fleet of 22 J22 teams showed an exciting duel between the two front runners on equal points. The Jabulani of Edgar Westerhuys lost its leading position already in the first race on Monday, by finishing 19th. Jtje of helmsman Jeroen den Boer, second overall by then, was the eleventh boat to cross the line, but they made up for it by taking the very last bullet and overall victory.

For the complete results, please go to www.nsr.nl