2016 Hansa Class Worlds conclude in Medemblik

by ISAF on 22 Jun 2016 World and International Champions for 2016 have been decided in four classes and fine competitions at the International Sailing Centre in Medemblik, Netherlands.

The 2016 Hansa Class World and International Championships were conducted from June 3-9 by Royal Yacht Club Hollandia and incorporated the Dutch National Championships. The event followed closely after the Para World Sailing Championships and Delta Lloyd Regatta, providing back to back world class competition for SKUD 18 sailors preparing for Rio 2016.

The event included the Hansa 2.3 World Championship (single person), Hansa 303 World Championship (two person), Hansa 303 International Championship (single person), Liberty World Championship (single person) and SKUD 18 International Championship (two person).

124 competitors comprised 92 entries from 16 nations - all sailing in an inclusive, mixed abilities fleet. 90% of the competitors at the Championships were sailors with a disability.

Thursday 9 June marked the end of a great week of sailing. The weather was perfect throughout with breezes between 10-20 knots each day, a lot of sun and no rain. A full program of races was completed as planned.

Liberty World Championship for New Zealand sailor

Sarah Dunckley from Wellington, New Zealand has won the 2016 World Championship in the 31 boat Liberty fleet. Although she is the current national champion, this was Dunckley's first World Championship event.

'I really didn't expect it. My practice race was not good and on the first day my nervousness got to me, but then I managed to string together a bunch of race wins', said the newly crowned champion.

Azmi Ani (MAS) sailed consistently throughout the week to finish second overall, nine points behind Dunckley and 10 points ahead of Gerard Beens (NED) who led the competition for the first two days.

'Before the event started, I didn't expect to end up with a medal, but after the first few days I realized there was something to win here. Overall I've had a fantastic week. Big compliments for the organization', said Beens.

Local sailor wins the Liberty Servo division

The Liberty Servo is a special division within the Liberty. These boats have servo-electric controls for helm and sheets, but sailors compete within the open fleet. There were nine servo boats. Dutch sailor Vera Voorbach finished fourth overall standings and was the top Servo competitor.

'I'm really happy with my results - I improved steadily all week. Today I even sailed in the lead after a good start and some good tacks, ending up on a third place this race. A fourth place overall in the Liberty class is fantastic!' said Voorbach.

Swiss World Champions in the Hansa 303 Two Person

Patrick Maurer and Christian Hiller (SUI) sailed consistently across the 10 race series to claim the Hansa 303 Two Person World Championship. 25 teams from nine nations competed.

'We've done well with our whole Swiss team and we are very proud of what we achieved this week', said Hillier.

Chris Symonds teamed up with Michael Darby for the two person event in Medemblik, with the Australians finishing two points behind the Swiss.

'Normally we compete against each other. Here we sailed together for the first time which was great. Today we had a good day with a first and second place, but it wasn't enough to take the overall', said Darby after the presentation ceremony.

Gilles Guyon and Olivier Ducruix (FRA) sailed in to the bronze position, just one point ahead of the Malaysian pairing of Nurul Amilin Balawi and Mustafah Junell.

Hansa 303 Single Person title goes to Australia

Chris Symonds (AUS) dropped an OCS and a second placing to finish 19 points clear of Willi Lutz (SUI) and Pedro Reis (POR). Symonds has been top of the National competition for the past two years but has now been crowned International Champion in the single person Hansa 303.

'I've had an amazing week here in Medemblik. I've worked really hard to get to this result', he said.

Willi Lutz claimed second overall on a tie-break from Pedro Reis.

'It's been a good week. In April we've trained in Medemblik to learn about the conditions here and there was a lot of wind and cold weather. But it was a good experience to prepare for this week, and the weather was perfect now so I'm really happy', said Lutz.

Malaysia wins Hansa 2.3

The Hansa 2.3 Championship was dominated by the Al Mustakim Matrin (MAS), who put together a clean scorecard of first places. Matrin was well warmed-up, having sailed the previous week in the Para World Sailing Championships. The second and third places were taken by Portuguese sailors Fernando Pinto and Luisa Graca.

Poland hold on for a close finish in the SKUD18 Championship

The SKUD18 class had a really exciting International Championship in Medemblik. The British, Polish, Dutch and Italian teams, all having competed in the Para World Sailing Championships the previous week, engaged in some close racing all week. Eventually it was Monika Gibes and Piotr Cichocki (POL) who came out on top by a single point from Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR), with Dutch sailors Sandra Nap and Rolf Schrama in third.

Gibes and Cichocki won the European Championships last year and now, achieving the Para World Sailing Championships and SKUD 18 International Championships double, bodes well for Poland's representatives in Rio.

'We've done some sailing this year in Medemblik already, but this was a really great week with good wind. This has been a good preparation for the Paralympics in Rio', said Cichocki.

Special Awards

At the presentation ceremony, President of the International Hansa Class, Russell Phillips, noted that every year the IHCA presents some special awards.

'It's not just to do with sailing', said Mr Phillips.

This 2016 Encouragement Award was presented to Greece.

The Nations Prize was awarded to Australia, who fielded a large team and were well placed in three of the five fleets.

The inaugural Chris Mitchell Gold Hansa Award, for Excellence in Inclusive Sailing, was presented to Sailability Switzerland.

Mitchell, designer of all the Hansa Classes, was in Medemblik for the Championships and gave a presentation on Tuesday where he spoke of his dream where people with a disability and able bodied people all sail together and compete with each other.

'People with a disability operate in the community just like everyone else. So why do we presume that the best way is to segregate our friends off to disabled sailing programs instead of going the other way, which is to broaden our programs to include the family and friends of people with a disability, and everyone else who may show an interest in sailing our boats', said Mitchell.

'Sailability Switzerland not only run extensive disability service programmes, but also introduce sailing for mainstream schools using their 16 boats. They are a great example of a group or programme with a philosophy which promotes Inclusion', he said.

2018 World Championships in Hiroshima, Japan

A large delegation from the Hiroshima Sailing Federation and the City of Hiroshima were in Medemblik to tell the sailors about their city and invite everyone to come to the Hansa Class World and International Championships at the Kanon Marina in Hiroshima from October 12th to 18th, 2018.