Concentration game

Light winds made life hard on day four of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta

It was a concentration game on the fourth day of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. The light and variable breeze caused big gains and losses on the course. The sailors had to be very cautious, as the tactics changed all the time. Menno Vercauteren and Jaap Straakenbroek (NED) won the morning race and climbed on the leader board. Mischa Heemskerk and Eduard Zanen took the bullet in the semi-long distance in the afternoon. Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis scored two seconds and are still leading.

This Wednesday morning started calmly on the Aruba beach. The conditions were light and the sailors did not seem to be in a hurry, after a lay-day full of activities. They took their time to get dressed while swimming in the Caribbean Sea. But once they were out, the heat was on and the sixth race of the series saw a new winner. Menno Vercauteren and Jaap Straatenbroek pushed the accelerator hard and played the game well. They slowly worked their way up to the front and got there at the very end. “We finally beat Mischa and Eduard in the last beat," explained Vercauteren. "Close to the top mark along the coast, they tacked off early and sailed straight into a header. We carried on and tacked on the lay-line. We gybed straight after the mark and picked up the breeze, whereas Mischa continued to the right side of the course into less pressure.” Vercauteren and Straakenbroek had a big lead, even after the penalty they had to take just before the finish. “It was so exciting”, said Vercauteren with a big smile.

Despite a bad start at the boat end, Team Zwitserleven came back strongly and finished second. “Up the first beat we had every shift wrong, but after that we got them all right. We avoided the corners and went through the middle to leave all options open. That gives you the possibility to play the shifts,” commented Nieuwenhuis. Booth and Nieuwenhuis normally prefer the big winds, but today they showed their skills in the light conditions. “We don’t mind these circumstances as long as there are many tactical options on the course," Nieuwenhuis continues. "Today it was about the tactics, more than boat speed.” The Olympic duo passed Heemskerk and Zanen in the last meters before the finish.

Fortunately, the breeze was strong enough for the traditional semi-long distance race in the afternoon. The fleet had to round a top mark first, where after it set course to the southern point of Aruba, passing a reef and small islands. The 41 catamarans returned through the tricky lagoon in the shadow of Oranjestad and the airport. The differences in pressure and wind direction were significant, which was hard on the crews.

Mischa Heemskerk and Eduard Zanen (NED) were first the the windward mark. “Initially we stayed close to the shore, whereas Mitch and Pim gybed away and chose for the seaside,” said Heemskerk. The two of them battled it out all the way to the entrance of the lagoon. Booth and Nieuwenhuis were leading at that point and extended the gap. On the way back to the last mark before the finish, the two front runners came together again. “We sailed above Mitch in a good breeze, so he tacked and crossed us at the stern. We continued and benefited from a shift to the left. That is where we got him,” Heemskerk added. Sander de Boer and Mischa de Munck finished third. “We gained a lot on the reach, by switching quickly in the variable wind. It was a great race,” De Boer explained.

“We did alright this morning, but we had some troubles in the afternoon”, said Dart 18 sailor Martin van der Velden. He and his daughter Nicole are leading the small fleet. “We could not get the boat into the groove, until we found out why. In the lagoon we noticed that one hull was dislocated by 3cm, so we pushed it back as hard as we could. Fortunately, we managed to overtake Henk, so we finished second,” he said. Manfred Thomasch and Amanda Westera took both bullets.

It rained prizes in the afternoon at the Holiday Inn Beach Party. Not to reward the sailing performances, but to collect money for the Right to Play foundation. This event was initiated by team Vladimir Voute and Meriam Winterink (NED). All sponsored items were sold by auction or raffled. The final return will be doubled by Atos Origin, the employer of Voute.

Results:

1-NED – Booth and Nieuwenhuis, F18 Hobie Tiger, 8 points
2-NED – Zanen and Heemskerk, F18 Hobie Tiger, 14 points
3-NED – Pols and De Waard, F18 Nacra Infusion, 21 points
4-GBR – Sunnucks and Farren, F18 Nacra Infusion, 25 points
5-GBR – Gummer and Bogaards, F18 Capricorn, 29 points

Small Cats

1-ARU – Van der Velden and Van der Velden, Dart 18, 8 points
2-ARU – Grijpma and Hankart, Dart 18, 14 points
3-AUT – Thomasch and Westera, Dart 18, 17 points

The Aruba Catamaran Regatta is sponsored by Heineken, Aruba (ATA), Martinair, Hapag Lloyd, Holiday Inn, Setar, AWA, Coca Cola, TNG, Does & Cadushi, Aruba Aloe, Palmtours, Aruba Watersports Center, Atlantis, Pelican Nest, Moomba Beach, Zwitserleven and Alfons de Letter.