On Wednesday, 14 June 2006, the 64 entered teams did not leave the beach to sail the first races of the Texel Dutch Open 2006. An
approaching rain cloud with heavy gusts of wind made the racing
committee decide to keep the competitors ashore. Eventually, it turned
out to be not that bad and the dreary weather stayed on. The Open Dutch
Catamaran Sailing Championships, which are officially acknowledged by
the Royal Dutch Sailing Federation will last until Friday. On Saturday
the 29th the Round of Texel is expected to kick off with 450
competitors.
The winners of Texel Dutch Open 2005, Simon Kearns and Ben Burns (UK)
are ready to defend their title, with their Hobie Cat. Kearns: “We have
trained very hard, and we’ve been living towards this moment for the
last three months. We now know what to expect, so we’ll go for it. Last
year, the young and ambitious Brits performed very well in light
weather, but they had more trouble during the rough Round and capsized.
Kearns: “Hopefully, we can push the leading group a bit more this year.
The forecasts are favourable.” The guys hope to gain some experience in
the F18 class, and to attract sponsors for their Olympic aspirations in
the Tornado.
“It’s going to be a close-fought game”
Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer, winners of the Zwitserleven Round of Texel
2005, are ready to race. They expect great competition from favourites
such as the Nissan Pro Team Darren Bundock/Glenn Ashby (AUS), Vincent
Huntelman/Herwin van der Kamp (NED) and Jean-Christophe Mourniac/Frank
Citeau (FRA). De Boer: “It’s going to be a close-fought game. We’ll need
a sparkle of luck to make the difference.” The Yamaha team sails the new
Nacra F18 Infusion since February, with stunning results. De Boer: “Last
weekend, we won the North Sea Regatta and we ended up in second position
at Eurocat in Carnac.”
Young talent
The seventeen-year-old Chris Rashly
(UK) steers the TNG-boat, a Hobie Tiger, with Marcus Lynch in the wire.
The teenager made his debut two years ago, crewing for Stuart Gummer on
the Spitfire. Back then, the duo ended in thirteenth position. This
year, Rashly hopes for a top ten position. Rashly and Lynch managed to
obtain an eleventh place in Carnac and were twelfth at the ISAF World
Sailing Games. Apart from that, the guys sail with the Tornado. Lynch:
“We’re learning as we go. We want to compete in the Games of 2012 in
London.”
Tomorrow morning at least two races are scheduled. The weather
forecasts are good with a breeze from the North of 3 Beaufort.
Apart from Zwitserleven, the event is also sponsored by TNG Swiss
Watches, Repeat Sales Promotions, W&H/Liebherr, Yamaha Nederland,
Nissan, Teso, VVV Texel, TROS, RoT Events, the Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep,
de Meeuw, Zeilen and the Province Noord-Holland.