Dercksen and Bulkeley's day

The second day of the Texel Dutch Open saw the Extreme 20 at the front in light conditions

On a calm and grey second day, Herbert Dercksen (NED) and Mark Bulkely (GBR) took over the lead of the Texel Dutch Open 2008. They won both races on handicap and climbed two places on the leader board. Their gap is four points, so the heat is still on.

The sailing conditions were challenging with a northern breeze of about five knots, a strong current and choppy waves. The carbon 20-feet multihulls seem to like these conditions, as they dominated the fleet today. Dutchmen Heemskerk and Tentij, sailing a Bulthaup Hobie Tiger, dropped to second position overall, followed by Coen de Koning and Jeroen van Leeuwen on a Nacra Infusion. Dirk de Pool (NED) remained in the lead of the Open Class II. Meanwhile, 500 teams pre-entered the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race 2008.

Today’s first start was a bit chaotic and therefore dictated the outcome of the race. Stuart Gummer and Ellen Forshaw (GBR) took advantage of the situation, as they positioned their F18 Capricorn next to the pin end. “The committee moved the mark, so nobody could make the line," explained Gummer. "Even we were thirty seconds late.” The British sailors grabbed the lead in the F18’s and extended it on the last beat. According to James Power (GBR) it was difficult sailing: “There was a sloppy chop, so you had to foot a bit in order to keep the pace up. There was also a really strong tide. Many people hit the mark.” He finished ninth. Dercksen and Bulkely were leading the pack by miles and took the bullet, followed by John Moret and Gijs Jannink on a M20 and Gummer and Forshaw.

It was not a Hobie, Nacra, Cirrus or Capricorn that lead the F18’s in race four, but an X-4 made by Bimare. This brand new F18 from Italy was introduced a year ago. That is when the French sailors Gurvan Bontemps and Matthieu Marfaing teamed up and two months ago they started racing this catamaran. The boat looks slightly different from the latest F18 types. “The hulls are taller, so not so voluminous as the Infusion or Capricorn," said Marfaing. "Our shape has a higher freeboard, which prevents the waves from smashing against the beam.” The Frenchmen started at the pin end with Heemskerk and Tentij above them. “We let him pass and tacked to the right,” Marfaing continued. That was the favourite side of the course and the X-4 was the first F18 to round the top mark. They defended their lead and finished third overall, after two carbon 20-feet cats. Dercksen and Bulkely won again, with Hans Bouscholte and Ruurd van Wieren on an Eagle 20 in their wake.

Bouscholte and Van Wieren had an exciting battle with Xander Pols and Tjiddo Veenstra, sailing a M20, on the finish line. It evolved into a gybing duel, finally won by Pols and Veenstra. But since they have a bigger spinnaker, they need to be a bit faster on handicap. That is how Bouscholte and Van Wieren managed to beat them after calculating. Bouscholte: “We are improving. It is a new boat and we have to get used it, but we are getting there.”

In the afternoon, the traditional and recreational Horstocht guided the 101 participating teams towards the sand bank, called Hors. They had to cross the Marsdiep, which can be a wild ride, but not today with the calm weather. It gives the rescue crews the opportunity to test their safety equipment.

The last two races for the Texel Dutch Open are scheduled for tomorrow morning. The wind already picked up and will shift to the north-east. According to the local weather forecast it will be force four on Friday 6 June. In the afternoon, the TNG Short Track Races are to be sailed close to the Texel beach at Paal 17.

Results:

Open Class I:

1-NED Dercksen and Bulkely – Extreme 20, 11 points
2-NED Heemskerk and Tentij – F18 Hobie Tiger, 15 points
3-NED De Koning and Van Leeuwen – F18 Nacra Infusion, 20 points
4-GBR Power and Power – F18 Capricorn, 25 points
5-FRA Bontemps and Marfaing – F18 X-4, 26,5 points

Open Classe II:

1-NED Dirk Pool - Prindle 15, 6 points
2-NED David van Aard - Hobie FxOne spi, 8 points
3-NED Hans Primowees - Prindle 15, 11 points