Dercksen and Bulkeley win

The Texel Dutch Open has come to a close in yet more light winds

On Friday 6 June 2008, Herbert Dercksen (NED) and Mark Bulkely (GBR) won the 2008 Texel Dutch Open. Due to an instable and light offshore breeze, only one race could be completed. Coen de Koning and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED), sailing a F18 Nacra Infusion, took the bullet and climbed to second position on the leader board. They beat their fellow countrymen Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij, who won bronze. Although local Dirk Pool finished third in today’s only race, he managed to win the Open Class II. Tomorrow morning at 10:00 hours, a helicopter will give the starting signal for the massive fleet of beach catamarans. At the moment, 521 teams have entered for the 31st Zwitserleven Round Texel Race.

“I can’t believe we won on handicap,” said Herbert Dercksen back in the pit lane. While de-rigging his Extreme 20 he said: “Although this light weather certainly suits us, I did not expect us to beat all the F18’s on handicap. As soon as we can just get this boat going, we do make a big difference with the F18’s. And I have a great crew, which makes life a lot easier onboard.” According to Dercksen, they had a good start: “We tacked twice and sailed straight to the mark. We leaded at the top mark and kept it. It was a short course that took us about 28 minutes. Mark was supposed to steer the second race, but they cancelled it.”

Coen de Koning and Jeroen van Leeuwen sailed a strong series this week and took the last bullet. De Koning said about their winning performance: “It was easy sailing with a simple wind pattern. In case there was a gust, it always came in from the right. The timing for the tack after the start was important. And then again for the long leg on starboard tack towards the top mark. That was the trick. On the run, you had to stick to the same strategy and use the shift to the right.” The Dutchmen beat the black Hobie Tiger of Heemskerk and Tentij on handicap, that had an off day with a seventeenth place. As a result, they dropped to a third position overall after the discard. De Koning started racing mulihulls on the Olympic Tornado, as helmsman of Heemskerk. "Of course it feels good to finish ahead of him. Our goal was to climb one spot. We know we are able to do well in this weather, but you still have to do it,” explained De Koning.

In the sunny and warm afternoon with a freshened wind from the north-east, twenty top teams lined up for the TNG Short Track Invitational Races. After the exciting knock out series, the final battle was between De Koning and Van Leeuwen and Team Boskalis Larsen and Dubbeldam. The new collection TNG watches went to De Koning and Van Leeuwen. “I won the 1985 European title on the Prindle 15”, said local Dirk Pool. After having competed in the F18 class, he returned to his old love. “My son crewed for me in the last few years, but he is not so much interested in the sailing anymore. I turn 64 this year, so I did not want to spend that much money on a new F18.” Pool still knows how to sail the Prindle 15 and won this year’s Texel Dutch Open in the Open Class II. “It was a nice week”, said Pool with a smile.

The latest forecasts show a north-eastern breeze of 10-11 knots for tomorrow. That is definitely interesting for the battle between the 20-feet carbon cats, Olympic Tornado and the F18’s with a better rating. The stronger the wind, the better chances for F18’s to win on handicap. Dercksen about their expectations for the 31st Zwitserleven Round Texel Race: “Let’s see what the weather is going to be like. We need this breeze of four to eight knots or a bit more. In case it will be a little stronger, the Tornado could be dangerous.” The Dutch Team Zwitserleven Booth and Nieuwenhuis will try its luck on the Olympic multihull, used by Booth and Dercksen in the 2004 Olympics. The winners of the line honours in 2007, Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veenstra, will meet tough competition.
Out of 521 pre-entries, 451 cats are already present on the Texel beach. The total fleet represents fourteen countries from all over the world.

Results:

Open Class I:

1-NED: Dercksen/Bulkey – Extreme 20, 5 points
2-NED: Heemskerk/Tentij – F18 Hobie Tiger, 11 points
3-NED: De Koning/Van Leeuwen – F18 Nacra Infusion, 16 points

Open Classe II:

1-NED: Dirk Pool – Prindle 15, 6 points
2-NED: Hans Primowees, Prindle 15, 8 points
3-NED: David van Aard, Hobie FxOne spi, 8 points