Duinbergen / Belgium, July 31 2008 -- With one day to go, the organization of the 2008 Nacra Championships expects about forty to fifty entries. Twenty-six teams, representing seven countries, signed up so far. The newly crowned F18 World Champions Coen de Koning and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED) will be present as well. From Friday August 1st until Sunday Augustus 3rd, the catamaran sailors will compete for the Nacra titles in three classes based on the ISAF rating. Racing takes place on the North Sea along the Belgian coast of Duinbergen (Knokke), with the Royal Belgian Sailing Club as host. A maximum of twelve races are scheduled. The weather forecast looks promising with a breeze of 13-17 knots from the southwest.

“I am happy with the process”, said Gunnar Larsen from Nacra Europe. “Our goal is to revive the ‘Nacra feeling’ of the nineties. In those days, you really did not want to miss any Nacra event.” Although it is about the competition on the water, Larsen emphasizes the significance of the pleasure onshore: “We like people to enjoy their time on the beach and on the course. Drinking a beer in the evening is as important as the battle around the cans next day.”

The Nacra Championships are open to three classes: 1) Nacra 5.5 Raid, Inter 18 and Infusion, 2) Handicap rating + 1,100 including Nacra 460, 500, etc. and 3) Handicap rating - 1,100 including Nacra 20, 570, 580, etc. However, most of the entries come from F18 Nacra Infusion teams. Larsen: “ Together with the Nacra association we are working hard on getting the less competitive sailors involved in these events as well. The Nacra Championships are a great opportunity for everybody to meet and learn from other sailors.” The level is high with the 2008 F18 World Champions De Koning/Van Leeuwen, the twofold winners of the line honours around Texel Pols/Veenstra, Team Boskalis Larsen/Van Helden and the Belgian catamaran master Patrick Demesmaeker with youngster Alexander Koopman on the wire.