On 18-19th of April the Dutch Formula 18 catamaran sailors had their first F18 class event of 2015. Ideal conditions: 15-20 knots of breeze, sunshine and 25 boats ready for four spectaculair races on the fresh water lake near Muiderzand. We witnessed a nice battle between former Round Texel champions Oscar Zeekant & Charlie Begemann vs. Jorden Veenman & Frank de Waard. In the end it were Zeekant/Begemann who claimed the overall victory with 3 first places. Unfortunately, no races were held on Sunday due to lack of wind.
Oscar Zeekant and Charlie Begemann are no strangers in the catsailing scene and was a ‘dream team’ for many years. Together they became 2nd at the Formule 18 Worlds 2012 in Los Angeles and won the Round Texel race in 2013. Begemann:”It’s great to be back in this typical Formula 18 family atmosphere. The past two years I’ve been active in other classes like the Nacra 17 and 49-er for my Olympic campaign, but this weekend it felt like a ‘warm welcome home’ event. It’s good to see that the social aspect has grown considerably in the last couple of years.”
It was an exciting weekend for Zeekant/Begemann. Last minute on Friday they were called to pick up their brand new out-of-the-box catamaran. Saturday morning they were busy rigging their new cat. “We hoped to be on the water in time to do some test runs, but unfortunatelly we had an issue with our traveller when we were just out on the water. Back ashore we fixed the problem and arrived just in time at the 4 minute warning signal. No test runs, so we were in a chill mode enjoying sailing together after two years again. It wasn’t our goal to aim for the podium, but racing this new boat was much easier then expected… so our hunger to win this event was growing each race”, Begemann chuckles.
On Saturday there were some breathtaking battles some of the Top Dogs. For Veenman/De Waard it was good to face their former opponents again. Veenman:”Their presence renewed our focus and we had constant battles with Zeekant/Begemann. During several races we were constantly changing places with often a thrilling finish. But, we’ll meet them at the North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen next month… there we’ll have our revenge!”
Dutch Formula 18 class ‘new style’
Since this year the Dutch Formula 18 class association has a new board. The fresh Dutch president, Bas Paumen, is responsible for the new Dutch course in this very populair catamaran class. Paumen: “Besides the great number of participants already at an event in April it’s also good to see all sailors had a perfect start of their season: Lots of boats at the start, often able to do double trapeze and a lot of smiling faces…. on the water and ashore! The presence of the President of the International Formula 18 class association, Olivier Bovyn, and his Secretary-General Don Findlay was much appreciated. Their presence not only showed the interest in the National Class Associations (NCA’s), but was a great opportunity to collect ideas and improvements directly from the members.”
The next big event in the Netherlands will be the North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen during Pentecost where even a bigger fleet is expected.
Results:
- Zeekant/Begemann 3 point
- Veenman/SDe Waard 5 points
- Duinmeijer/Alessie 9 points
- A. Noordzij/M. Noordzij 11 points
- H van Dam/M van Dam 12 points
More (detailed) results can be found here: www.roerkoning.nl/2015/ke_april15.htm