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Reporting: Prindle 15 Second Overall (out of 436) at 2006 Round Texel

Added by damonAdmin on Jun 17, 2006 - 03:43 PM

Göran Marström and Thomas Persson (SWE) round texel Texel / Netherlands, June 17th 2006 - Saturday June 17 2006, Göran Marström and Thomas Persson (SWE) were the fasted team during the 29th edition of the Zwiserleven Round Texel. Their M20, build by Marström himself, crossed the finish in 4:10:34. Their fellow country members Mattsson/Malmsjo followed in second position and Bouscholte/Van Wieren (NED) finished third.

Surprising Prindle 15
More than an hour and ten minutes after Marström took the line honours, an old Prindle 15 finished. Competitor Hans Primowees was astonished at his provisional second position overall: “This weather is perfect for A-cats, so I though they would have won the race.” He mentioned his experience as a reason for his success: “I made full use of the current by staying inshore, while many cats choose for the Waddensea. Although Primowees participated in twenty Zwitserleven Round Texel Races, he is not a fanatic sailor during the rest of the season. Primowees: “A week before the event, I take my old Prindle out to practice in the Texel Dutch Open. I will bring the boat back next week.”

“I knew we have a fast boat”, Marström said. “But when I saw the light conditions this morning, I didn't have any expectations. This cat usually prefers more wind.” The 63-year-old skipper participated in the Zwitserleven Round Texel for the fifth time, but he only once managed to complete the race.

A flying start for Heemskerk/De Boer
Before the start, all eyes closely watched the bright red Hobie Fox, a carbon prototype with a length of 20 feet, belonging to the Zwitserleven Team Booth/Dercksen (NED). Other favourites were the overall winners of 2005, Heemskerk/De Boer (NED), and the F18 World Champions Bundock/Ashby (AUS). A couple of minutes before the start, the fleet of 436 catamarans became more compact. Both the wind and the tide pushed the sailors towards the line. However, only three boats started too early. Many top teams chose the beachside of the line. After the smoke signal of the helicopter, Heemskerk and De Boer had a magnificent take off under spinnaker, leaving the rest of the fleet behind. Maström/Persson were positioned on the wrong side of the fleet and sailing in bad air. Persson: “We had to head up and pass several boats to get free wind again. When we arrived at the lighthouse, we were in fourth position.”

Battle for the lead
Marström/Persson, Mattsson/Malmsjo and Bouscholte/Van Wieren battled for the lead. Bourscholte: “We sailed tactically a good race, without any mistakes. We were first at the VC-mark as the wind picked up and the M20's were off. They were simply faster than us.” Bouscholte did not expect the M20's to run away with the line honours. Bouscholte: “I am a bit disappointed, but we will try it again next year.” At 04.16.30 hours, Remco Kenbeek and Paul Brouwer crossed the finish line with their Capricorn as first F18. They grabbed the overall victory in the provisional results. Kenbeek: “After the VC-mark, we saw the carbon boats floating. We went inshore, because we thought there would be more wind.” Their reasoning paid off and they were the first to take advantage of a new breeze and finished sixth. “We were aiming for winning our class”, said Kenbeek. “This is even better.”

Crowd
Sailors were hoping for more wind, but the crowd was pleased with the sunny weather. Hundreds of visitors watched the race on a big screen on the beach at Paal 17. Others enjoyed performances of Ilse de Lange, Treble and Boris in the big tent. The quais in Oudeschild were crowded as well.

Apart from Zwitserleven, the event is also sponsored by TNG Swiss Watches, Repeat Sales Promotions, W&H/Liebherr, Yamaha Nederland, Nissan, Teso, VVV Texel, TROS, RoT Events, the Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep, de Meeuw, Zeilen and the Province Noord-Holland.

 
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