In the end, father and son Van Dam on the Akurra came out on top after three days of intense battles in very challenging conditions, with plenty of capsizes and other spectacular actions at the Open Dutch Championships, held from Marina Muiderzand on 27-29 May as part of the Allianz Regatta.
Throughout the event the 15 teams from the Netherlands and Germany sailed in windy conditions with gusts of well over 20 knots off the shores of Amsterdam, bringing out the best of all F18 sailors present. Especially the first day proved to be one of attrition, with only four teams managing to finish the final race of the day.
During the first day Ad and Maarten Noordzij were in a league of their own on their Cirrus R, with the rest of the fleet not being able to match their boat speed. But the Van Dams always stayed in contention, consistently finishing in second place. The second and third day developed into a thriller with close racing and switching positions between the two leading teams throughout. Unfortunately for team Noordzij their retirement for the two last races on the second day left them without any spare discards, as a result of which they had to settle for silver.
Bronze was for Wik Becker and Pieter Oskam on the Akurra, finishing ahead of the German mixed team of Kathrin Szasz and Peter Franke on the Windrush Edge.
The Allianz Regatta is organised by het Watersportverbond (Netherlands MNA) during the Dutch Water Week. This first edition of the Dutch Water Week takes place from May 27 and June 5 and includes among various other activities the Open Dutch Championships and, for Olympic classes, the Hempel World Cup series.
For more info:
- Event Facebook page
- Results
- Foto gallery by Sander van der Borch
- About the Allianz Regatta