I arrived on the beach Wednesday morning at around eleven, once there I noticed that quite a few people had already setup their boats to compete in the Texel Dutch Open (6 round-the-cans races) which would start at twelve. A beautiful day with sunshine, no surf, and light winds. After setting up the boat I went for a sail to see if I hadn't forgotten anything, apart from a few minor details everything was ready for action. After sailing I met up my fellow club members which had already setup their tents on a nice camping close to the beach.

On Thursday we went for a sail (The "Horstocht") to the south of the island for free fish and drinks, it gives you a good opportunity to scout the south of the island for the race on Saturday. Its a tricky place with shoals, sandbanks, currents and tides. As always people try to go as far outside the channel markers as possible which makes for the usual capsizes and groundings. Since there were no more than 8-10kts of wind there where no serious problems.

Friday was a cold day (12C/53F), to cold for me anyway! This gave me a good opportunity to take pictures and follow the racing. First stop was the Pit Lane's Hobie Europe stand with the very cool looking Hobie Fox Extreme, this all-carbon beast was built to take line honors and maybe more. Interesting was the "Made by Hobie Europe" sticker on the hulls, obviously they now have facilities to build carbon hulls. Also the rudder system was not standard Hobie style, ironically they didn't use carbon boards and rudders but standard GRPs. Opposite the Hobie Europe stand where the F18-Capricorns, a relative newcomer that seems to perform very well within the F18 field.

Saturday morning, race day. I set the alarm at 6am, had some breakfast, headed to the beach where everyone was preparing their boats for the start at 10am.

It appears that rumors of a new, possibly experimental, carbon Hobie are true. The boat appears to be based on the Hobie Fox and is manufactured by Hobie Europe. The first example was at the Texel race but, (like over half the participants) wasn't able to make it out through the surf. We'll have to wait for another event to see what the black boat can do. Pictures of the Carbon Hobie Cat

Thanks to Tony Mels, we have these first pictures of the new boat.

Wind, waves and shallow water... the 28th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race for beachcatamarans was a tough one. The surf became a huge playground for waves with boats as their toys. It was a challenge to get to the starting line, due to the onshore wind. Many participants crashed and were washed ashore. Even top sailors. Others decided to withdraw from the race and did not try to face the elements. Only 247 teams crossed the finishline, but 120 were disqualified. Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen, sailing on a Tornado Spi, smashed the race and world record with almost twenty minutes. Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer finished about four minutes later with their Hobie Tiger, which was enough for the victory on handicap.

At 8:00 hours on Saturday morning 11 June, race director Jaap Tirion wished all sailors a safe and good race. The north-north-west wind was force 5 to 6 and the waves were high. Participants prepared themselves for a tough challenge. Spectators got ready for an unprecedented spectacle. It was like an exciting show. Xander Pols and Sven de Laaf were the first drop-outs among the favourites. Their M20 with brand new carbon sails capsized in the surf, after which the mast broke immediately. Gerard Loos, Rikkert Graat and Daan Koene followed. Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen had bad luck as well. Although they were able to start again, the frames inside their carbon Hobie Concept hulls were cracked, which forced them to give up. Sailors were assisting each other to save masts of capsized catamarans. For others it was too late and they needed help to rescue their equipment. Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen were also in troubles. Samama: "I thought it would not be too difficult, but I fell off the boat and we broke the tiller and we damaged the bow. Fortunately, we could repair the damage on the water."

On Saturday June 11th 2005, Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen (NED) broke all records during the 28th Zwitserleven Rounde Texel Race. They sailed their Tornado within 2 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds around the island. That was about 19 minutes faster than Van Teylingen/Manuel in the 1997 race and Bouscholte/Van Wieren at their attempt in 2003. According to the provisional results, Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer won on handicap with their Hobie Tiger.

Many drop-outs
Participants had a tough day, due to the heavy conditions. During the briefing at 8:00 AM hours, the north-northwest-wind wind was already force five. The direction in combination with the high surf claimed many victims. Boats capsized by the handful, which resulted into lots of damage to the equipment. Among them were favorites for the victory, like Xander Pols and Sven de Laaf with their M20. Last year’s winners, Team Zwitserleven Booth/Dercksen, turned over as well and cracked the inside frames of their brand new carbon hulls. The damage was too serieus and therefore they could not start the race. Booth: "Of course we are disappointed, but what happened belongs to these kind of events. It was close to the limit." Half of the 547 subscribed teams withdrew prematurely. Finally, 247 catamarans finished. Paralympic sailor Thierry Schmitter completed the race as well.

"The party broke out"
Samama and Van Leeuwen did not go through the surf undamaged, but they were able to repair their broken tiller before the start. They started high on the line. Samama: "We could go over everybody and reached the light house in first position." The team hit the ground before the VC-mark and damaged their rudder. "We tied it. Our leg towards Oudeschild was extremely fast, after which we saw nobody anymore. I looked at my watch at the southern point of the island. We still had 45 minutes left to break the record and we only needed 20. As we entered the beach, the party broke out. Super cool!"

Five minutes later, Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer crossed the finishline as second team. De Boer: "Remco Kenbeek and Paul Brouwer were just behind us, until they capsized close before the VC-mark. At that point, there were two Tornado’s in front of us, but Eduard Zanen took in his spinnaker earlier. We passed them, after which we tried to stay as close as possible to Wouter and Jeroen." The Nissan Hobie Pro Team won on handicap. Eduard Zanen and Willem Houwing from Texel finished third.

On Friday June 10th, the British youth team Simon Kearns and Ben Burns won the Texel Dutch Open 2005. Due to a collision before the second start, the Dutch title seemed to be gone, but the boys received redress (compensation in points for prejudice to sailors). The same happened to Repeat Team Willem Geijsen and Rico van Capelle (NED) with their Capricorn. They stormed into the second position, followed by TNG Team Rikkert Graat and Daan Koene. In contrast with the last two days, there was a strong wind from the north. Rain showers crossed over, the current increased and the waves built up. Many competitors of the Zwitserleven Round Texel Race tested their equipment for the big race.

Rikkert Graat and Daan Koene scored today’s first bullet. Koene: "We won because we were the smartest. The whole fleet choose for the sea-side and we went to the coast, where we took advantage of two wind shifts." Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer won the second race.

Trouble for the winners
"We have a big hole", says Kearns in front of the protest room. "We were waiting on the starting line as a Tornado hit us." Jan and Arnoud Schrama (NED) tried to pass the British Hobie Tiger from behind, but they crashed into the hull. The British sailors protested the Dutch Tornado and received redress. Kearns and Burns had to get used to the heavier conditions during the first race, which resulted into an eigth position. Although it is their first appearance on the Texel North Sea, the youth sailors won the Texel Dutch Open surprisingly.