Dutch, Belgian, and German Open F18 combined Championships - International Formula 18 Class Association

From Wik Becker, NED F18 – All Pictures by Laurens Morel – saltycolours.com

Regatta concept

Earlier this year, the Dutch, Belgian, and German F18 class associations decided to organise a combined national championship in the coming years with the goal of attracting a stronger international fleet.

With 30 boats from 8 nationalities, including two top 10 scoring teams from the Worlds, these goals were certainly met during the 2024 event in Hellevoetsluis, The Netherlands.

Day by day

Unfortunately, racing on Friday had to be cancelled due to gusts over 30 knots. On Saturday, the wind was still blowing up to 28 knots, and with 5 races now scheduled, it turned out to be a challenging day. Demesmaeker/Tas flourished in these conditions, winning 3 races and finishing 2nd in the other two. Noordzij/Noordzij also showed great speed, ending up 2nd at the end of the day, followed by the French team Bader/Peters, who had just missed the podium at the Worlds.

*Gilles tas & Patrick Demesmaeker (BEL), uncontested winners of the Championship*

On Sunday, the wind had dropped but was very unstable, varying from 8 to 16 knots, with very local pressure and shifts up to 40 degrees. Demesmaeker/Tas demonstrated that they could handle these conditions as well, never finishing lower than 3rd and thus winning the event with a 12-point lead over Bader/Peters. The Dutch father/son team Van Dam also sailed very well, climbing up from 5th after the first day to the podium, only two points behind Bader/Peters.

Looking forwards

Next year, we aim to organise this combined championship in May/June on the North Sea to provide competitors with similar conditions to those expected during the Worlds in July, and to attract an even stronger fleet.