Eurosaf Team Racing, 2K European Championship - Batavia victorious

by John Friend on 25 Sep 2012 On September 23rd at the 2012 Eurosaf 2K Team Racing Championships in Bataviahaven, Lelystad, The Netherlands, Batavia Sailing Center team became champions, beating the Royal Yachting Association, Great Britain, 3:0, in the first to three final.

After an almost windless start to the day, a south easterly breeze of some 5-6 knots filled-in, allowing racing to get underway. Initially, in order to get the best of the wind, racing was moved beyond the harbour wall, where it was less visible to the spectators on shore, but with the wind having backed to the east and increased slightly, the final races were held on a course laid nearer to the shore, which made spectating easy.

On Sunday 23rd September, the third series of round-robins saw the competitors split into two fleets, with those placed fifth to eighth after the first two round-robins competing against each other and the top four doing likewise. For the team from Bayerischer Yacht Club, Germany, this was their first experience of team racing and whilst they were rarely well adrift in any race, they were delighted when they won their first race in the later stages of the second round-robin. Success met with success and they won two of their final three races, which whilst it did not take them off the bottom spot, showed enormous progress and gave great encouragement for the future. They are now taking home a whole new sailing discipline to Germany, which they can promote and develop.

After the first two round-robins, the top four teams were (in order) Batavia Sailing Center, Cambridge Alumni, Haarlem and the Royal Yachting Association. The third round-robin showed Batavia maintaining their very strong performance and winning all their races, but whilst Haarlem went on to retain their third place and to win the bronze medal, the Cambridge team managed to lose all three of their races, resulting in them dropping to fourth and the Royal Yachting Association leapfrogging both into send place.

The final, therefore, was contested between the teams from the Batavia Sailing Center and the Royal Yachting Association. In races one and two the racing was very close, with the RYA team holding a winning position in race one, only for Batavia to head them late in the race, to clinch a very close race. Race two was similar to the first, but Batavia were not headed in the third and final race and went on to comfortably win the gold medal, with the RYA taking silver.

The overall results were:

1. Batavia Sailing Center (NED)
2. Royal Yachting Association (GBR)
3. Haarlem Yacht Club (NED)
4. Cambridge Alumni (GBR)
5. Royal Netherlands Yacht Club (NED)
6. Royal Loosdrecht Yacht Club (NED)
7. Dutch Match and Team Racing Association (NED)
8. Bayerischer Yacht Club (GER)

Bruce Hebbert, Chief Umpire for the event, said 'Umpiring the European 2K Championship was an absolute pleasure. The quality and standard of racing, even from the less experienced team racers, was excellent. Racing was very competitive and, as with all team racing, at times very close, indeed, there were hardly any races where one team was absolutely dominant'. He continued 'I have rarely seen such enthusiasm, good humour, and great sailing. But this is all down to the meticulous care and preparation the people from Bataviahaven put into the event. Everything worked like a well oiled machine, everyone knew what to do and when and where, and did it with good humour and professionalism. It was a real privilege to be associated with this championship, one of the most important developments in international sailing in recent years'.

John Friend, from Eurosaf added 'We must add a huge thank you to all the volunteers and the City of Lelystad for everything they did to ensure the event was such a great success. The sailors all left with smiles on their faces and a keenness to return for a second championship in 2013, which is probably the greatest compliment any event organiser can Eurosaf website