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Calrm Start for the Beginning of the Texel Dutch Open
On Wednesday June 8th 2005, the Texel Dutch Open started calmly. The north-north-west wind was weak, while the sun was shining. This afternoon, 53 teams started in the official Dutch Championship Catamaran Sailing 2005. The British F18 youth team of Simon Kearns and Ben Burns leads the fleet after two races. Jorgen Kerstens and Paul Smissaert are in second position with their M20, followed by Jan and Stuart Visser on a iF20. At the end of the afternoon, the cats were surfing the rolling waves in the light conditions on their way back to the beach.Youth team Kearn/Burns in the lead
Kearns (20) and Burns (19) called today’s conditions ‘tricky and unpredictable’. Luck was one part of it, but you also had to keep your eyes open, says Kearns. The boys started with a bullet and are leading the fleet after day one. It is their first year on a Hobie Tiger in the Formula 18 class. They participate at the British catamaran training program for youth and started on the Hobie 16. They won silver at the 2004 Youth Europeans Hobie 16 with spinnaker in Belgium. Last weekend, the young sailors finished second in the Island of Wight Race. Kearns: We were leading for five hours and they got us in the last 1,5 mile. They have no specific goal for their first Zwitserleven Round Texel Race on Saturday June 11th, but they do have an ambition: It would be great to finish among the big names. And we are looking forward to the start, since we have heard a few stories about that.
WOW! 557 Pre-Registered for the 2005 Zwitserleven Round Texel Race
A week and a half before the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race 2005, the organization received 557 pre-entries. Sailors representing nine countries will try their luck on June 11th in world’s biggest catrace. Among them also last year’s overall winner, Team Zwitserleven Booth/Dercksen (NED), and Bouscholte/Van Wieren (NED) who won the line honours. Visitors do not have to miss anything, due to live images on a big screen on the beach. TNG Official Timekeeper will inform them on the interim scores.
Favorites: Most olympic teams will not be present on Texel, since the Tornado Worlds 2005 start on Monday June 13th in France. However, Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen will participate and they go for the line honours on a Hobie Fox Extreme Concept Boat. Booth about their special project: "We are using high-tech technology from the olympic sport for a beach cat. With this boat, we should be able to stay ahead of a Tornado." They have to race against Hans Bouscholte and Ruurd van Wieren on an eagle 20 carbon, but also against Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen, a new Dutch Tornado team. Richard Allen and Simon Farren from Great-Britain are feared competitors on a Tornado as well.
There are several other favourites, sailing on different F18 catamarans, for the victory on handicap. The German Sach brothers and Kenbeek/Brouwer (NED) on a new Capricorn and the French Boulogne brothers, second overall in 2004 and F18 World Champions 2003, on a Cirrus. The Nissan Hobie Pro Team participates with two Hobie Tiger crews: Mourniac/Citeau (FRA) and Heemskerk/De Boer (NED). Paralympic sailor Thierry Schmitter (NED) will start in the Dart 18 class. He won a bronze medal in the 2.4mR at the Paralymic Games in Athens. Schmitter received a spinal cord lesion during a climbing accident in 1998 and sails the Dart 18 since the beginning of this season. Round Texel Co-ordinator Edwin Lodder: "Despite the lack of many olympic sailors, the fleet is of a high level again. It promises to be a strong competition and hopefully with an exciting final."
4th Annual Hobie 101, Sail Sandpoint Facility, Seattle, Washington
The 4th (annual) running of Hobie 101 occurred Saturday, May 14th at the Sail Sandpoint facility in Seattle. Despite the best efforts of the event organizers to limit attendance to maintain some semblance of order, a surge of late and on-site registration resulted in a class that exceeded last year’s class of 35 people. This year’s class included 38 people in 19 boats, including 12 Hobie 16s, one Hobie 18, 4 Hobie Waves, and two Sol Cats.
We specifically told people they had to pre-register because we wanted to limit the class to a manageable size. But people showed up with friends, relatives, the family dog! It was amazing! We can’t seem to keep them away! exclaimed Peter Nelson, one of the event organizers and teachers of the class. Each year it keeps getting bigger and bigger! We figured two years ago the numbers would peak and start falling. Instead, they just keep growing and growing. People can’t seem to get enough of this class! he added.
This year was the first year event sponsors were formally recognized and introduced to the participants. They included: Hobie Fleet 95; Sail Sandpoint; Hobie Cat Co. and the local dealer, Hobie Cats Northwest; and Harken. Each participant received the Hobie University booklet, a Hobie calendar and waterproof credit card holder from the Hobie Cat. Co. and Hobie Cats NW, and several Harken promotional items. The items were devoured by the attendees, and nothing was left at the end of the day!
The class started out in a jam-packed, standing-room-only classroom at Sail Sandpoint’s sailing facility. After a couple of hours to chalk talk, it moved out to the floating dock. There, Nelson and his regular 16 crew, Laura Sullivan, discussed clothing, safety, and rigging, and demonstrated many boat handling skills. After a delicious box lunch in the parking lot where attendees had the opportunity to informally ask questions and meet and make new friends, those who brought boats set about to rig them. Fleet members from the local Hobie fleet walked around the parking lot and assisted participants with the rigging of their boats.
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