15th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta - Day 3

Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk win the first race on day 3 of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta © Ingrid Abery / www.hotcapers.com

TIED BATTLE FOR VICTORY ON THIRD DAY ARUBA HEINEKEN CATAMARAN REGATTA

On Tuesday November 8th 2005, the top two teams showed a tied battle for victory in the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. Eduard Zanen and Mischa Heemskerk (Tornado, NED) won the first race, after which Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power (F18, GBR) took the next bullet. John Moret and Gijs Jannink (Tornado, NED) moved into third position overall with today’s top ten results. Due to a miscalculation, the race committee announced the wrong winners of race five yesterday. It was not the Dart 18 of Sybrand Trefffers and Tjitske Stoel that beat all high tech cats, but it was the Capricorn of Gummer and Power.

Yamaha Race 6: No extra miles, two OCS

This morning, the competitors had to sail again a long course with two triangles and two rounds. Some people wrote the numbers of the marks down on their arm, others studied hard on the map, but everybody completed the race correctly. The offshore wind was about force four and initially the sun struggled to burst through the clouds. It was also a typical third day, as many sailors had to deal with muscular pains, painful hands and bruces all over. Zanen and Heemskerk were first at the upwind mark and staid in the lead until the end. Unfortunately for Gerard Loos and Ruurd van Wieren, they got an OCS (early over the line) after a second finish. The same happened to James Power and Marcus Lynch (F18, GBR). Stuart Gummer and Gillian Power scored a second place, followed by Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke.

Setar Race 7: Short race

“We sailed only 30 minutes”, said Mischa Heemskerk after his arrival at the beach. “The course was too short to beat the Britons on handicap.” Despite their lead, Zanen and Heemskerk were not able to win the Setar Race. It is their second regatta together and for skipper Eduard Zanen it is like a valuable workshop: “Mischa is the big master this week. I learned to move calm onboard and to steer subtle.” Richard Allen and Simon Farren had again back luck, as their spin lock cleat for the spinnaker halyard broke. “It happened during the very first run, just when we got into the lead”, said Allen. “We finished, but not very good of course. Sailing downwind while trying to hold the the spinnaker halyard up, is not clever.”

Heineken wins VIP-Race

Gerard Loos and Patrick Melchiors won the annual VIP-Race of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. Some experienced skippers were as competitive as normally and encouraged their occasional crew fanatically, which was good for the true sense of racing. Jean Louis Flier and Six van Leeuwen (BuroSix, ATA’s Pr agency) were second best on their F18 Capricorn, followed by John Moret and Marco van Buuren (Zwitserleven, title sponsor of the Round Texel Race) on a Tornado. In the evening, all sailors and family have been invited for the Pelican Pier Party, offered by EasySkin. Tomorrow, the muscles will get a break, since there is no racing scheduled.

Top five after seven races and one discard:

1. GBR – F18 – Gummer/Power, 7 points
2. NED – Tornado – Zanen/Heemskerk, 24 points
3. NED – F18 – Moret/Jannink, 35 points
4. GBR – Spitfire – Sproat/Burke, 37 points
5. GBR – Tornado – Allen/Farren, 39 points

In addition to the head sponsors Heineken and Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta is sponsored by Hapag Lloyd, TNG Swiss Watches, KLM, Holiday Inn, Does & Cadushi, Magic Marine, Coca Cola, Gaastra, AWA, Anthony Veder & Co, Aruba Watersports Center, Kodak, Palm Tours, Pelican Watersports, Seaworld Explorer and Aruba Bank.

Further information at www.arubaregatta.com