Wednesday, September 22, 2010

J/22 Netherlands Nationals

J/22 one-design sailing on Brassermeer in The Netherlands
Quantum Racing Repeats World's Win
(The Hague, Netherlands- Sep 17-19)-  Quantum Racing Team NED 1364 sailed by Nic Bol is not only the World Champion, but now the Dutch Champion!

It was exciting race this past weekend sailing in front of The Hague, a monumental and historical waterfront city.  Autumn often means lots of wind, rain and cold in the area.  No one was disappointed by the forecast- winds of 20 knots and gusting above 25 knots all day.  Three races were held in these demanding conditions.  There were many tough stories about planing, broaching equipment failure in conversations at the Restaurant Ektaboer over many a pint and a few suffering from bruises.

Saturday started with more wind and rain, but by the start of the first day's racing, it was fantastically beautiful autumn weather with sunshine and a nice breeze, so the less experienced sailors J/22 could compete more favorably and still have fun.
Although the top three teams after the first day didn't change, the battle at the top was very exciting. After the first day, first was MOJO sailed by Roy Heiner with 4 points on top, followed by Team KESBEKE and third was Quantum Racing Team. After two days of racing, these top three teams had equal points!  Talk about a "horse race"!  

On the last day of racing, the brand new World Champion, Nic Bol and his team Quantum Racing, sailed the most steady series and avoided the many dangers on the race course to win overall.  Second place was Team KESBEKE sailed by Eelco Blok, Bart Fast and Niels Blok.  THird was Team MOJO sailed by Roy Heiner, Ronald Veraar, Robert Janssen and Joost Brouwer.  For more J/22 Netherlands Nationals sailing information.