Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta - Great conditions, full action on day 2

by Diana Bogaards on 19 May 2013 Day two of the 2013 Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta was marked by nice sailing conditions. It began drizzling, but in the course of the morning it got dry and even sunny at the end of the afternoon. However, it was again difficult to get the boat speed up with the southwesterly of 15 knots and the waves, just like yesterday. During the day the breeze turned to the South and dropped to about ten knots. Occasionally there were big wind shifts, which caused some course changes and in some cases starts had to be abandoned. All scheduled races could be sailed today.

Skipper Frans Rodenburg and his crew onboard Elke are leading the IRC1 class (eight boats), despite a four, five and a three today, followed closely by the Il Corvo that scored two bullets and a second on Saturday. Especially the two first places in the offshore races of the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta leaves Elke still on top of the leader board. 'We didn't sail well today', says Rodenburg.

'We are better in the offshores and we don't know yet whether that is because of our boat or it is just us. Compared to last year, we are performing better in the inshores. The first five boats are very close to each other, so that's an exciting fight. Anything can happen. We were too early over the line at the second start. We had to go back, which is a pity. Tomorrow we expect light air again, so we expect the Il Corvo to finish the job. We are more bothered by the waves than they do. Just like the Xcentric Ripper actually, that normally is a much bigger competitor, but they are clearly not having their best races in the light conditions.'

It is for the first time that the J109 class (nine boats) has her own starting fleet at the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta. The Expecto with skipper Tom van der Vecht is leading after two days (six points), well ahead of the Joule (13 points). Van der Vecht: 'We generally have good starts and then we can finish it as well. Out of five races, we finished once second, due to a bad start. It is our first regatta as a crew onboard Expecto and we are certainly improving. We are critical of ourselves and that pays out. The conditions were difficult, but we kept the boat well up to speed. We do, I guess, just a little less stupid things than the others and do not make any major errors. That's why we win so far. But today all boats sailed much closer together than yesterday. The level goes up. Tomorrow we will get more competition for sure. '

This afternoon brought the official start of the multihull competition. For the participants in the Olympic Nacra17 the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta counts as a good training for the inaugural Nacra17 World Championships, starting from 20 to 27 July off the Scheveningen coast. Elke Delnooz of the Dutch National Team leads the four Nacra17's after three races, scoring two bullets and an OCS. The F18 class entered the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta with traditionally the biggest fleet (36 cats). Oscar Zeekant, silver medalist at the 2012 F18 Worlds, holds the fist position after three races.

This year, kitesurfing is being introduced to the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta. Today, competitors could follow a clinic by international Katja Roose. In addition, two training sessions could be sailed, despite the moderate wind conditions. The organization decided to start the official racing tomorrow, instead of Monday, as the wind forecast is perfect.

For the results in all classes, please click here.