Wilson/Lynch's Shockwave claims Round Texel

But Will Sunnucks and Simon Farren claim line honours

Team Boskalis De Koning/Visser has won the Zwitserleven Sailing Week 2009. The duo managed to take the lead of the fleet under variable conditions, both during the sometimes windy Texel Dutch Open and the tactical Round Texel. But the overall win of the Zwitserleven Round Texel goes to the British F18 team Wilson/Lynch in their new F18 Shockwave. Their compatriots Will Sunnucks and Simon Farren received a warm welcome when they arrived at the sunny beach, after they were the first to cross the finish in their extra wide M20.

Slightly surprised, the winners come from the water. "It went well; good boat, good crew and good sails", said former Tornado sailor Rob Wilson, "but you never know if there will be an A-cat passing by in the overall rankings".



And indeed, one and a half hours later, the local islander Dirk Pool gave everyone a surprise. Because his Prindle 15 isn't too fast, the solo sailor came home second overall under handicap. Pool commented: "I was tired of it when the wind died out, but I happen to be a fighter, so I don't give up before I reach the end."

The big winners of the Zwitserleven Sailing Week are ruling F18 World Champion Coen de Koning (NED) and his new crew Thijs Visser (NED). The winners of the line honours, William Sunnucks and Simon Farren were delighted too. Sunnucks said: "We tried something different and it worked out. That's very satisfying."

Despite the lack of wind, the start of the Zwitserleven Round Texel was extremely exciting. After the sailors had tackled the mountainous surf, they had great trouble to get south of the start line time with the current pushing them north. About 10 minutes before the start, such a large number of cats was still at the wrong side of the starti line, that the racing committee decided to move the starting vessel. In the end, about 350 boats managed to cross the line in time.



With Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veenstra in the lead, the fleet sailed under gennaker to the lighthouse on the northern point of the island. Rob Wilson described it: "We first chose the seaside, but soon found out that that wasn't a good idea, so we tacked back to the shore." Team Pols/Veenstra first passed the gate, followed by the Australian Tornado 2008 Olypmic silver medallist Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby, but then the wind faded at the front causing the fleet to bunch up again. A few fast boats managed to get away thanks to a gust of wind, but most of them just floated about. Coen de Koning explained: "We even had to sail upwind to the buoy again, because the current had pushed us away. We stayed put for about five minutes, as if we were anchoring."

F18s overtaking

After rounding the VC buoy east of the island, a few F18s start overtaking the rest. Rob Wilson described it: "We made a few good tacks. Also by paying attention to Mitch Booth, who has done the Runt many times before." His crew, Marc Lynch, added that their F18 Shockwave, which was designed last year by Yves Loday, performs very well upwind. After the rounding of the south cape, Team De Koning/Visser closed in. De Koning described it: "We were sailing at the open sea, but it didn't work, so we were one of the boats to turn to the coast. We gained a lot by sailing very close to the surf, and jibing a lot. It was great."

Meanwhile, two M20s were fighting their own battle. When the wind increased, Team Pols/Veenstra, which led the fleet most of the race, had to let William Sunnucks and Simon Farren pass. The Brits were able to sail their extra wide M20 at full power under the heavier conditions. They finished first in a time of 5 hours, 15 minutes and 19 seconds.

For Dirk Pool the last leg was hardly bearable. "The wind died out and the current was against me," he said. By sailing in the exact opposite direction of the stream, he managed to minimise its effect. Eventually he got some puff after all, and his effort of 7 hours and 20 minutes was rewarded with a podium place.

Slalom Windsurfing Worlds

Even though the wind surfers could not sail any races the last day, it was a successful and valid event with five elimination rounds. The German Bernd Flessner, who took the lead on day one, said with great enthusiasm: "It's been years since we sailed a Slalom under such circumstances. With side shore winds and buoys in the surf, this is a dream come true," he said. The last day, the wind surfers couldn't sail any races, which means yesterday's results did not change; Bernd Flessner was the convincing winner.

Results Zwitserleven Sailing Week (Open Dutch Championship):

Fleet 1:
1. De Koning/Visser (NED)
2. Styles (GBR)/Van West (NED)
3. Wilson/Lynch (GBR)
4. Clainche/Joubert (FRA)
5. Booth/Nieuwenhuis (NED)

Fleet 2:
1. Pool (NED)
2. Te Gussinklo/Dekker (NED)
3. De Jong (NED)

Zwitserleven Round Texel:
Gold fleet:
1. Wilson/Lynch (GBR)
2. Pool (NED)
3. De Koning/Visser (NED)
4. Clainche/Joubert (FRA)
5. Orpin/Crawford (GBR)

Silver fleet:
1. Goudriaan/Goudriaan (NED)
2. De Haas/De Haas (NED)
3. Van Delden/Van Delden (NED)
4. Penning (NED)
5. Van Pelt/Dieleman (NED)

Line Honours Round Texel:
1. Sunnucks/Farren (GBR) 5:15:39
2. Pols/Veenstra (NED) 5:20:53
3. Moret/Radelaar (NED) 5:31:02
4. Dercksen (NED)/Bulkeley (GBR) 5:38:36
5. Philippron/Saelens (BEL) 5:46:18

Worlds Slalom Surfing:
1. Bernd Flessner (G16)
2. Jacques van der Hout (NED35)
3. Antoine Questel (FRA 99)
4. Josh Ludo (ESP12)
5. Adriaan van Rijsselberghe (NED2)