Counting down the days to the Hansa World Championships in Medemblik

by Media 2016 Hansa Worlds on 28 May 2016 Next week, the Hansa World and International Championships start in Medemblik. Sailors, crews and visitors are looking forward to this championship with an big social part. While the sailors get into some serious racing on the water where the competition will be tough, after the races they’ll all be socializing with each other again.

The 2016 Hansa Worlds will include competitions for the Hansa 2.3, Hansa 303 (one and two person), Liberty and SKUD18. With a total of 119 sailors in 96 teams, the competition will be tough.

Top British sailor Lindsay Burns in Hansa 2.3
In the Hansa 2.3, a small group of nine sailors will race for the Championship. Top English sailor Lindsay Burns is one to watch during this regatta. There are also sailors form Japan and Malaysia coming, where Koji Harada is the other one to watch after is fourth place in the 2012 Worlds in Sydney.

Double prices for some Hansa 303 sailors
In the Hansa 303 we have two divisions – single person and two person. Some sailors compete in both, so they have a chance to get a double prize. One of them is Chris Symonds, the current Australian Champion in the single and two person 303 disciplines. In the doubles, he will be sailing with Michael Darby. “I’ll sail with Chris, but also support him as he is going to sail in the single division as well”, said Darby.

Chris has already proven in Australia that he is a great sailor, but is he ready to compete in The Netherlands on a high level? “I’m just hoping to get the best result for Mike and myself as we can get”, says Symonds.

Liberty - largest fleet in the regatta
The Liberty is the largest fleet in the regatta with 33 entries. Big names in this class are the British sailors Paul Phillips, David Durston and Monique Foster. They made up the podium for the 2015 European Championships in Rutland and are eager to get onto the podium again during the World championships. It’s going to be hard - they have to compete against Helena Horswell (NZL), winner of the Servo Division in the last Worlds in Sydney. There are also nine Dutch sailors who are more familiar with the waters of the IJsselmeer and Dutch conditions. One of them is Vera Voorbach who was part of the Dutch Paralympic Sailing team and knows exactly what to expect from the water around Medemblik.

Good practice for Paralympic Games
In the current Paralympics class, the SKUD 18, we welcome some sailors that are preparing for Rio 2016. The Local Dutch sailors Rolf Schrama and Sandra Nap will be present and have their goals set on a medal during the regatta. At the 2015 Para World Sailing Championships they finished fourth, after a battle with the Polish team of Monika Gibes and Piotr Chichocki. The Polish team will also be present, so we expect a great competition between these sailors.