Nieuws- en persberichten
19-6-2010
33rd Zwitserleven Round Texel Race cancelled
The 33rd Zwitserleven Round Texel Race is cancelled. On Saturday morning June 19 2010, Chairman Sidny van Zon (NED) announced this judgment before hundreds of cat sailors from all over the world on the Texel beach. The combination of wind force 5/6 from the northwest and a brutal surf makes it irresponsible to send the participants out on the North sea. This is the third time in 33 years that world's biggest catrace can't be sailed.
 
18-6-2010
Heemskerk/Tentij win Zwitserleven Dutch Open Cat Sailing 2010
On Friday 18 June, Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij (NED) won the Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran Sailing 2010. They raced in close competition with Hugh Styles (GBR) and Ferdinand van West (NED). The two rivals finished on equal points. Heemskerk and Tentij won the tie-breaker, as the had more wins on their name. Willem Geijssen and Rico van Capelle (NED) took bronze. The other topic that kept everyone occupied today, was whether tomorrow's Zwitserleven Round Texel Race will actually take place, as extremely tough conditions are expected.
 
18-6-2010
The Battle is on…M20 versus Nacra 20 carbon
This afternoon, the giant race monsters will face their first trial of strength. The speculations are full on in the Pit lane. Is it going to be the extra wide M20 with straight or curved dagger boards, with or without jib, with small or big rig? Or will the heavier Nacra 20 carbon with curved boards be quicker in these windy conditions?
 
17-6-2010
Heemskerk/Tentij take over lead of Zwitserleven Dutch Open Cat Sailing 2010
On Thursday 17 june 2010 Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij (NED) took over the lead of the Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran Sailing 2010. A severe northeasterly combined with high waves made for perfect sailing and surfing conditions on the North Sea along the Texel coast. The catamarans sailed three races and the slalom wind surfers completed five elimination rounds.
 
17-6-2010
Horstocht departed with 74 boats
The recreational Horstocht departed at 14:00 with 74 catamarans. After a speedy leg to the Molengat, the street between the Dutch mainland and the island Texel, the sailors will enjoy some freshly fried fish at the southernmost beach of Texel, the Horst. On their way back to Paal 17, they will have to fight a headwind and big waves.
 
17-6-2010
Rough start Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran Sailing 2010
The Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran sailing 2010 had a rough start on Wednesday 16 June. The northeasterly wind increased to over 20 knots with high waves off the Texel beach. As a result, many sailors spent a lot of time swimming instead of sailing. Coen de Koning and Thijs Visser (NED) thought they climbed to the top of the ranking, but they were disqualified. That is how Willem Geijssen and Sascha Larsen (NED) took the lead. It is the girls' Hobie 16 duo Anneloek Rauwerdink and Ingrid Bakker, that is leading the smaller boats.
 
16-6-2010
Champions crowned at Nacra 2010 Int. Championship
On Wednesday June 16, the Nacra 2010 International Championship crowned its new champions. The final two races were sailed in wild conditions off the Texel beach in the Netherlands, which caused lots of capsizes and an exciting battle for the remaining competitors. Gunnar Larsen and Jeroen van Leeuwen pushed the accelerator once more and won the Infusion title with a nine points lead. Peter Vink and Pom Green showed the same supremacy in the Nacra carbon 20 class. Skotnicki and Kleijweg regained the first position and won convincingly with a gap of 11 points.
 
 
NEWS
Zwitserleven Sailing Week 2010
Heemskerk/Tentij win Zwitserleven Dutch Open Cat Sailing 2010

On Friday 18 June, Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij (NED) won the Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran Sailing 2010. They raced in close competition with Hugh Styles (GBR) and Ferdinand van West (NED). The two rivals finished on equal points. Heemskerk and Tentij won the tie-breaker, as the had more wins on their name. Willem Geijssen and Rico van Capelle (NED) took bronze. The other topic that kept everyone occupied today, was whether tomorrow's Zwitserleven Round Texel Race will actually take place, as extremely tough conditions are expected.

The final day of the Zwitserleven Dutch Open Catamaran Sailing wasn't flawless for the champions. Heemskerk: 'We didn't get the details right. In the first upwind leg of the second race our dagger board broke, so we had to deal with that during the following rounds." Eventually their final score was sufficient to earn the title. But tomorrow is the big day for Heemskerk. 'If we're going to sail, we're going to win. We'll go for it at full speed." In 2002 and 2005 Heemskerk managed to gain the overall victory. Both times the breeze was strong.

In control for silver
Hugh Styles (GBR) and Ferdinand van West (NED) sailed a consistent series of 2-4-4. "We were well in control of our most important opponents”, says Van West. "Our speed was fine. This event was a good preparation for the F18 World Championships.” About the prospect of a rough Zwitserleven Round Texel says Van West: "This is going to be my first Round with lots of wind. I’ve been participating since 2008 and we’ve had light conditions since then. So this is going to a new experience. As long as we get through the surf in one piece, we’ll be fine.

Bronze after all
Even though Willem Geijssen and and Rico van Capelle met quite some problems along the way, they managed to hang on to their bronze position. Van Capelle: 'The waves were even higher than yesterday, but it was superb." According to the Dutch duo F18 sailors Mischa Heemskerk, Gunnar Larsen, Darren Bundock, Hugh Styles and Coen de Koning are most likely to gain the overall win tomorrow. 'Those conditions are not favourable for the M20, so we don't expect those boats to win. The F16 Viper on the other hand stands a good chance as well."

Booth: 'This is Texel"
For Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis the Zwitserleven Open Dutch Catamaran Sailing came to a turbulent end as well. In the first race they saved a swimmer in distress and dropped him off at his boat. In the final race a steer less French cat bumped in to them. The former Olympians received a redress (average score of all races) for both races and finished fourth overall, but with a damaged boat. The hole in the hull is going to be fixed tonight, so tomorrow they will join the race again. Booth about his expectations: 'It's going to be tough, but that's Texel. Sometimes you have to challenge extreme weather. It's been a few years since we had a full on Texel."

Bullet for Brewin/Benson
The Australian F18 Champions Steven Brewin and Jack Benson, sailing a C2, had their best day so far. They started off with a bullet and a third. 'In the last race, we hit the start mark", said Brewin. They finished seventh and overall twelfth. 'We only discovered last night that our diamond was too loose, therefore we couldn't use the Cunningham properly. We fixed it and we had a totally different boat today. That is why we are here. We don't have much time to prepare for the Worlds, so this is a perfect training." Asking about their expectations for tomorrow's Zwitserleven Round Texel Race, Brewin answers: 'I am a light wind master in the A-cat class, but I don't care about the conditions. If we get our boat together, we should be alright."
 
New challenge for Ashby/Spithill
'It was a great day", commented Glenn Ashby, while his crew James Spithill was taking a nap in a bean bag. The Aussies scored a fifth and third. They retired from race seven, as they had a port/starboard situation with Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij. As a result, they dropped to the thirteenth position overall. 'A bit more training on beforehand would have been nice, but we are having a lot of fun. And we are looking forward to tomorrow. It is going to be James' first Round Texel Race." Spithill says he is amazed by how much energy it takes. He laughs: 'But people keep saying this is an extraordinary week in terms of sailing conditions. It is good to do this with Glenn and have an idea about it for the Worlds. I am just excited about tomorrow to be honest." According to Spithill, their target will be to get off and on the beach through the wild surf.

Wilson: 'Glad to be a windsurfer"
Last year's Zwitserleven Round Texel winners Rob Wilson and Marcus Lynch were calmly preparing their boat for tomorrow's trial of strength. 'It's going to be pretty brutal. A survival of the fittest. The waves will be huge, so I'm glad to be aw windsurfer as well", says Wilson.

TNG Round Texel Record Attempts
The strong wind shifted to north-northwest this morning, which is ideal for a TNG Round Texel Record Attempt. No less than eleven cats took up the gauntlet, with three M20's and a Nacra 20 carbon amongst them. This was going to be the first time for these fast 20-foot racing monsters to meet up in battle. Herbert Dercksen and Ed Barney again sailed the fastest time of the week: 2 hours, 24 minutes and 52 seconds. Hans and Ronald Bouscholte (NED) followed almost five minutes later. 'At some legs the M20 was faster and maybe we performed better downwind. It's going to be interesting tomorrow", says Ronald Bouscholte. Coen de Koning and Thijs Visser were the fastest F18.
 

For the small cats, the Zwitserleven Dutch Open Cat Sailing is not valid, since the minimum requirement of 20 participants was not met. The Dutch Hobie 16-duo Joep Wijnand and Mathijs Pauli won in this class. Darren Bundock (AUS) and Wouter Samama (NED) won the TNG Short Track races 2010.

Big final GP/EC Slalom Windsurfing
The best sixteen windsurfers will compete in the final round of the GP/EC Slalom Windsurfing 2010 tomorrow. The French dominate the top three. Even though Julien Quentel's (FRA) lead has decreased, he still holds the first position. 'I like the choppy conditions. For me it's easier to control waves, because I'm lighter than most of the men", explains the surfer from Guadeloupe. Pierre Mortefon (FRA) is currently second and Wojtek Brozozowski third. Even though no significant shuffles in the rankings are expected, tomorrow's final races will be spectacular.

Top five Zwitserleven Open Dutch Championship after eight races and one discard:

1.NED, Heemskerk/Tentij, F18 Hobie Wild Cat, 23 points

2.GBR, Styles/Van West, F18 Nacra Infusion, 23 points

3.NRD, Geijsse/Van Capelle, F18 Nacra Infusion, 37 points

4.NED, Booth/Nieuwenhuis, F18 Hobie Wild Cat, 42 points

5.AUS, Burvill/Duffield, F18, 60 points

The 33rd Zwitserleven Round Texel will start between 12:00 and 13:00 tomorrow. The forecasts are daunting: wind force 6 from the northeast with huge waves.
 
   
 
 
 
 
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