F18 Worlds Championship - Team Boskalis in good shape
by Diana Bogaards on 4 Jul 2013

2013 F18 Worlds Championship -Team Boskalis in shape Laurens Morel.
As the 2013 F18 World Championship commence next Monday Marina di Grosseto/Italy, Team Boskalis is in good shape for the event.
The Boskalis formation appears with four Nacra Infusions at the start of this global battle. Team manager Gunnar Larsen targets one Boskalis-duo in the top ten and three among the first fifteen. Last weekend, Team Boskalis claimed the first two podium spots of the Raid Emeraude, a series of long-distance races along the French coast of Saint-Malo.
'If we accomplish that goal, I am very satisfied', said Larsen. 'I am deliberately not too ambitious, because too much focus on the end result comes at the expense of that result. The sailors must be able to go on the water with a free mind. These are and remain the Worlds; a few little mistakes in the qualifier series and you won't make it to the Gold Fleet. We are taking it race by race.'
Mitch and Jordi Booth
The accomplished multihull sailor Mitch Booth and his son Jordi Booth prepared themselves at home in Spain. It will be their first F18 Worlds as a team. Booth senior won the world title three times before. Mitch Booth about his objective for the coming Worlds: 'We don't like to 'name our position' before a major event, but with a huge competitive spirit in our family as long as we can beat Taylor (and Mischa) then we will be happy.' According to Mitch Booth their preparation has been good and they feel ready for the event. 'Jordi is racing the SL 16 Open Worlds this week in France and that will assist in his training.'
Taylor Booth and Mischa de Munck
The older son Taylor Booth will also be present in Grosseto, along with Mischa de Munck. Last weekend, they took victory in the Raid Emeraude. Larsen mentioned Booth and De Munck as a possible surprise. Especially if it is windy, reckons De Munck: 'We have sailed the Raid Emeraude, which was nice and yesterday we started training for the Worlds, with some starts and races together with the Omani's. We feel comfortable in breeze of 10 knots and higher, but as soon as there are patches of lighter breeze we feel a bit heavy. We are trying to drop a few kilo's and are hoping for wind. Our goal for the coming three training days is to straight line with the quick guys and optimize our game. For next week our goals is to give every race the best we have.'
Jorden Veenman and Frank de Waard
'Our goal is clear: a top 10 finish', Jorden Veenman and Frank Worth speak out firmly. 'Our preparation was good. We have sailed a lot and at the beginning of this season we stated our points of concern. We have worked hard to improve ourselves and even though this is not always reflected in results, we have learned so much. We feel that we are better able to cope with changing weather conditions and are not afraid of light air circumstances. We have great confidence in this years' F18 Worlds. We are both fit and also on weight. Last year we finished 14th. It is always difficult to estimate in advance what position you may end up, but top 10 must be attainable. '
Jolbert van Dijk and Niels Kleijweg
In recent weeks, the young Team Boskalis-riders Jolbert van Dijk and Niels Kleijweg had to first work on their studies. Van Dijk: 'After having completed our last exams of the year and hopefully having passed them, we and our boat are ready for the Worlds. We are aiming for a considerably better position than in 2012, when we finished 51st place. It would be quite nice if we can do good business in the youth ranking as well.'
At this moment there are 183 pre-entries, representing 26 nations, for the F18 Worlds 2013. The Championship concludes on Friday 12 July and takes place on the Mediterranean coast of Marina di Grosseto. This week, Team Boskalis will continue its preparations on the race course area, trying to map out the local conditions as much as possible.
Team Boskalis can be followed through the Team
website and the F18 Worlds via the event
website.
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