Nacra 2010 International Championship day two - Capsize!

by Diana Bogaards on 16 Jun 2010 Nacra 2010 International Championship, being held as part of Zwitserleven Sailing Week, day two was sailed in challenging conditions along the Texel coast in the Netherlands.

The northern breeze had an average strength of 15-16 knots, gusting up to 18-22 knots, and there was a big swell. The overall leaders in the Nacra Infusion class, Gunnar Larsen and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED), extended their lead. The Dutch F18 World Champions Coen de Koning and Thijs Visser capsized in the surf, but made a winning comeback.

Not everybody had the guts to fight today's circumstances. Almost half of the Infusion fleet raced and in the other classes only a few teams turned up. They prefered to save their equipment and energy for the big battle on Saturday; the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race 2010.

The flying Dutchmen Gunnar Larsen and Jeroen van Leeuwen were on fire. They knew how to handle the big swell and breeze and took both bullets this morning. 'It's about mind set', commented Larsen during the lunch break. 'It seemed to be blowing, but in reality the wind was not that strong. We did not switch to the survival mode, but sailed strategically and we continued pushing. It was great fun surfing down the huge waves.'

Larsen reported a 'tide seam' in the first race this morning: 'In the third beat, we were second behind Coen and Thijs. We went again to the left side of the course, but this time we crossed this tide ridge before we tacked. As a result, we could point 10-15 degrees higher towards the top mark and we took the lead.' The Dutchmen were fifth around the windward buoy in the following race and overtook two competitors on the downwind. They slipped into the lead in the second beat: 'We over stood the mark on purpose, so that the current could not affect us too much.'

In the afternoon, the wind picked up a little bit and the tide turned. Some cats had troubles to get through the building surf. The current F18 World Champions Coen de Koning and Thijs Visser had bad luck and capsized. Their boat hit the rocky dam and the helmsman had to be picked up by a jetski driver. However, the damage to their Infusion was repairable and they were back on the water for the eighth and final race of Tuesday. De Koning: 'The waves were huge. We just hit a big one and went over backwards. That has never happened to me before. It was shocking to watch our boat going over the rocks. We are always so careful with our equipment.' They replaced the broken battens and set sails again: 'We were sharp in the preparation, had a good spot at the committee boat, accelerated quickly off the line and had free air. We tacked as soon as possible to the right side.' De Koning and Visser hoisted the spinnaker first, extended their lead and took the bullet. 'It was at least a convincing win', said De Koning.

Vincent Huntelman and Herwin van der Kamp from the Netherlands had a strong second day with only top five finishes. 'It was great', reacted Huntelman afterwards. 'After a few hours practice on the water, we are back in the groove. Our boat speed is good, so this is a perfect training for the Round Texel Race.'

The Dutch summer doesn't help the Aussies to acclimatize, as the northern breeze comes with chilly temperatures. But as long as there is a strong wind and a nice swell, they are happy. Mick Guinea smiles: 'It is good sailing, especially downwind. The competition is tough. One mistake and you lose a few spots. In today's windy conditions, we had different people on our hip.' Guinea and his crew Mal Richardson are fifth overall after eight races. Followed by their fellow countrymen Adam Beattie and Jamie Leitner, who scored three top five finishes and one tenth place: 'We made a crash jibe and capsized.'

Three teams brought their brand new Nacra carbon 20 out in the waves. Overall leaders Peter Vink (NED) and Pom Green remain unbeaten. According to Vink, the big cat with curved dagger boards is easy to handle in today's weather conditions: 'We pulled the boards about thirty centimeters up. You need to find balance between keeping the bow out of the water, due to the lift, and smooth sailing. For example, Pom trapezes much more to the front on the run. It is really fun. Hopefully we will have the same circumstances on Saturday at the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race. In that case, it doesn't matter that the Nacra 20 is a bit heavier than the M20. We will see.'

The Israeli team of Asaf Leshem and Oded took over the lead in the Open class. They scored a series of 1-5-2-2. Their biggest competitors Piotr Skotnicki and Niels Kleijweg dropped to the second position overall. They were disqualified from the first race this morning, because they forgot to sign in. In the afternoon, they added an OCS to their results, which did not help them either.

Top five Nacra Infusion after 8 races and one discard:
1. NED, Larsen/Van Leeuwen, 9 points
2. NED, De Koning/Visser, 19 points
3. GER, Sach/Sach, 27 points
4. NED, Huntelman/Van der Kamp, 30 points
5. AUS, Guinea/Richardson, 36 points

Top three Open class after 8 races and one discard:
1. ISR, Leshed/Oded, 19 points
2. NED, Skotnicki/Kleijweg, 22 points
3. NED, Meermans/Brommer, 26 points
Top three Nacra carbon 20:
1. NED, Vink/Green, 7 points
2. NED, Bouscholte/Bouscholte, 14 points
3. NED, Van der Plas/Pool, 26 points

Complete results, www.nacrachampionship.com