(Scheveningen, The Netherlands)- Hosted by the Jachtclub Scheveningen,
the North Sea Regatta is the largest event hosted in the Netherlands
each year for a host of one-design classes (dinghies, cats, and
keelboats like J/22s and J/80s) and offshore ORC/IRC classes. The event kicked off on May 8th with the Vuurschepen Race, a North Sea Regatta Feeder Race that goes from the starting line off The Hague (Scheveningen) and takes a 3 mark course of 130nm across the North Sea to Harwich in the United Kingdom. Several J/teams were sailing and almost all had podium finishes!
The “J/All-stars” were in the ORC Two-Handed division. Winning was Robin Verhoef & John van der Starre’s J/122E AJETO. Taking the silver was Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE/ RAYMARINE and 4th was Wim van Slooten & Jochem Hamstra’s J/109 FIRESTORM.
In the ORC 2 division, taking 3rd was Alain Bornet’s J/109 JAI ALAI and 4th Arjen van Leeuwen’s J/109 JOULE.
After
a two-day layover, on the 11th of May, teams representing Belgium,
Denmark, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands entered the 181nm
North Sea Race; the start was off Harwich, England and finished in
Scheveningen, The Netherlands. The race was organized by the Royal Ocean
Racing Club, in association with the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, the East
Anglian Offshore Racing Association, and the Yacht Club Scheveningen.“The race was mostly upwind and reaching, with very few teams getting their spinnakers out of the bag,” commented RORC Racing Manager, Chris Stone. “Conditions conspired to favor the smaller yachts, as the faster boats did not get the breeze that arrived later in the race. Over the course of the season, favorable conditions will average out through the fleet. Well done to the teams that did well, even when the conditions are right for your team, you still have to put in a top performance to win your class, and have a chance of the overall win.”
In
the IRC Two-Handed Class, Robin Verhoef & John Van Der Starre's
Dutch J/122e AJETO was second, and Wim van Slooten's Dutch J/109
FIRESTORM was third. Then, 4th were the amazing women duo of Edith
Voskamp & Yvonne Beusker’s J/105 PANTHER, finishing 5th behind them
were Chris Revelman & Pascal Bakker’s J/122 JUNIQUE.“We are very please with our result, as Two-handed racing in Holland has become very popular and very competitive.” commented AJETO’s Robin Verhoef. “Our J/122e was specially built for Two-handed sailing, and we love to sail that way because we don't need any more crew or all the additional equipment and provisions required when more people are on board. We do have systems designed for two-handed racing, and our preparation is always a big part of producing the best performance.”
As a result, the three teams that are dominating the podium for the overall regatta in the ORC Two-handed Division are AJETO on top, followed by JUNIQUE and FIRESTORM.
On the return trip to the Netherlands, the ORC 2 division J/crews had a rough time. Settling for 5th was Alain Bornet’s JAI ALAI (currently sitting 2nd in class for the overall regatta) and ending up in 9th was Arjen van Leeuwen’s J/109 JOULE. Follow the North Sea Regatta on Facebook here For more North Sea Regatta sailing information RORC North Sea Race information Add to Flipboard Magazine.
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