De Panne Krabrally for land yachts 2025
by Nick Heather 31 Mar 06:54 AEDT
22-23 March 2025
Krabrally 2025 © Mark Duminy
UK sailors travel to De Panne, Belgium, to compete against 50 European land yachters from Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and France, in the famous Krabrally.
The Krab is a major land yachting event notably organized by the ZC De Krab, the youth land yachting part of the Royal Sand Yachting Club which celebrated its centenary last year. It targets is young people between the ages of 10 and 30, getting them into sand yachting and organization of the regatta weekend.
This two-day competition has two distinct races:
- The signature Krabrally as a long-distance time trial, from De Panne, to Koksijde strand, Dunkirk and back to De Panne (± 35 km). With the smaller yachts (MC2 / Promo / Class 5) sailing between La Panne and Dunkirk (± 25 km).
The round trip (at low tide) can take several hours if the beach and wind are not on the pilot side, however the records is just over 35 minutes for the faster classes
- Saturday: conventional 20-minute races covering much of the same beach between De Panne and the French border. Multiple races are run with individual classes
Day 1 Saturdays started with a great forecast, the offshore wind 10-14 mph was a good for most
The race director briefed all the pilots together to inform them of the state of the course, obstacles and the course. The race started with the junior NSJ class setting off with 30 seconds interval followed by Promo, Class 5, on the 25k, then Class 3 and 2 on the full 35k.
Against the clock the pilots set of a 30 second intervals. Pilots then need to pick a route along the shore on a number of different banks, each bank is made up of hard and soft sand, divided by areas of water and ripples, additionally deep gutters where water cuts between the banks creating obstacle that you cross at your peril. All of which change with every cycle of the tide, what's good today won't necessarily be there tomorrow.
The goal is speed, a true race against the clock so staying on the best beach and minimize to impact of switching banks is the name of the game. Picking the crossing places and avoiding the gullies while staying in the best wind and avoiding obstacles.
A few found good passage however some did end up taking a less favourable route into the ripples, lighter wind and having to push out to get back on tract.
Despite the challenges this was a fast race with the first yacht first yacht home, Class 3, Chris Wilson K43 completing in 39 minutes 25 seconds.
Day 2 had a similar forecast dropping off to 5-8 mph. Race director started with Standarts however races had to be yellow flagged and restarted because of low wind and horses on the course, after two yellows the class 2 and 3 raced, offshore breeze helped to spread the field but there were a number of changes in position.
Overall, the Krab Rally proved to be a excellent event showcasing both the challenges and camaraderie of land yachting, encouraging youth participation and fostering a sense of community within the sport. The UK team came away after a good showing across the class 3 looking forward to the Europeans on home soil at Wirral Sand Yacht Club, Hoylake, 26th Sept - 3rd October.