Light winds stop play

There were no races on day one of the Texel Dutch Open 2006

On Wednesday, 14 June 2006, the 64 entered teams did not leave the beach to sail the first races of the Texel Dutch Open 2006. An approaching rain cloud with heavy gusts of wind made the racing committee decide to keep the competitors ashore. Eventually, it turned out to be not that bad and the dreary weather stayed on. The Open Dutch Catamaran Sailing Championships, which are officially acknowledged by the Royal Dutch Sailing Federation will last until Friday. On Saturday the 29th Round Texel is expected to kick off with 450 competitors.

The winners of Texel Dutch Open 2005, Simon Kearns and Ben Burns (GBR) are ready to defend their title, with their Hobie Cat. Kearns: "We have trained very hard, and we've been looking towards this moment for the last three months. We now know what to expect, so we'll go for it. Last year, the young and ambitious Brits performed very well in light weather, but they had more trouble during the rough Round Texel race and capsized. "Hopefully, we can push the leading group a bit more this year. The forecasts are favourable," said Kearns. The guys hope to gain some experience in the F18 class, and to attract sponsors for their Olympic aspirations in the Tornado.

Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer, winners of the Zwitserleven Round Texel 2005, are ready to race. They expect great competition from favourites such as the Nissan Pro Team Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS), Vincent Huntelman and Herwin van der Kamp (NED) and Jean-Christophe Mourniac and Frank Citeau (FRA). "It's going to be a close-fought game. We'll need a sparkle of luck to make the difference," commented De Boer. The Yamaha team has sailed the new Nacra F18 Infusion since February, with stunning results. "Last weekend, we won the North Sea Regatta and we ended up in second position at Eurocat in Carnac," De Boer continues.

The seventeen-year-old Chris Rashly (GBR) is helming the TNG-boat, a Hobie Tiger, with Marcus Lynch on the wire. The teenager made his debut two years ago, crewing for Stuart Gummer on the Spitfire. Back then, the duo ended in 13th position. This year, Rashly hopes to finish in the top ten. Rashly and Lynch managed to obtain an eleventh place in Carnac and were twelfth at the ISAF World Sailing Games. Apart from that, the guys sail the Tornado. "We're learning as we go. We want to compete in the 2012 games in London," said Lynch

Tomorrow morning at least two races are scheduled. The weather forecasts are good with a force three breeze from the North.

Apart from Zwitserleven, the event is also sponsored by TNG Swiss Watches, Repeat Sales Promotions, W&H/Liebherr, Yamaha Nederland, Nissan, Teso, VVV Texel, TROS, RoT Events, the Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep, de Meeuw, Zeilen and the Province Noord-Holland.