New leaders

As Larsen and Pols pull out with structural damage at the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta

On Thursday 11 November, Team Bouscholte/Van Wieren from Holland stormed into the lead of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. They won today’s only race, followed by Ambtman/Heemskerk (NED) and Allen/Farren (GBR). Gunnar Larsen and Xander Pols withdrew from the regatta, due to serious damage to the port hull. The weather was very unstable, which caused a postponement twice. The long distance race was cancelled.

Watching clouds

After the first postponement this morning, the starting gun was fired at 11:00 hours. At that moment, there was about four knots winds, but it increased during the race. The swell was still high with occasionally rolling waves. The sky looked a bit threatening with black clouds. Bouscholte/Van Wieren and Ambtman/Heemskerk were in close competition, followed by Richard Allen and Simon Farren.

Olympic sailor Mischa Heemskerk described their race: “We had a good start, but we choose the wrong left side of the course. I did not notice the big cloud, so we lost many boats on that leg. After the upwind mark, we went to the left and the others to the right. Now, I did see there was more wind over there. We managed to come back from the 13th place to the fifth. Beating to windward, we went to the right and the others to the left. The result was a second position. We were lucky today!” Leo Ambtman asked Heemskerk to sail with him, because his crew had a broken elbow. “It is great to see how quick he learns. He is talented. We really enjoy racing together,” Heemskerk continued.



Carolijn Brouwer and Sebbe Godefroid had a bad day, capsizing in the gate after dropping the spinnaker. “Well, it doesn’t happen when it blows force six, but now it does in a few knots of wind," said Brouwer. "After talking to Mischa, I understood what happened. I was too slow steering up towards the mark.” They got a 20th place, which is their second discard. They are still in third position overall.

Richard Allen and Simon Farren were just behind the Tornado, when it fell over. They had to avoid a crash and came closer towards the two leading Tornados. “The conditions were funny," said Allen. "The wind went up and down to nothing, but it was a good competition.” Allen and Farren, with their face paint/sunblock, have now moved back into the top five. At least, they were protected against the sun.



By the time the leading Tornados finished their race, the wind died and the first F18s had a disadvantage. Although they finished today’s race in fourth position, Gunnar Larsen and Xander Pols had to withdraw from the regatta. “Our catamaran got more damaged than expected in yesterday’s collision with the Swiss guys," said Larsen. "I pulled the main sheet and we saw the hull moving towards the other one. As a result, the deck came off and we had again more litres of water on board. Obvisiouly, the structure within the hull is broken. This is bad luck!” Last year’s winners still have a second place overall, but they will not compete anymore.

In the afternoon, the second start should have been at four o’clock. The conditions seemed to be alright, until black clouds appeared on the horizon. The wind picked up quickly and the visibility was poor, so the race committee decided to cancel the race.

Afterwards the weather cleared up, so it is time for a beach party at the Holiday Inn Hotel.

Tomorrow will be the last racing day of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta 2004.

The Aruba Heineken Regatta is sponsored by the Aruba Tourism Authority, Heineken, Hapag Lloyd, Holiday Inn, KLM, TNG, Magic Marine and Does & Cadushi, Setar, Diamonds International, Palm Tours, Tropical Bottling Company, Antony Veder, Kodak and Coca Cola.