Report in Englisch

Day 2

Nieuwpoortweek – lighter sailing conditions on day three with more to come.

After the windy Sunday with a choppy sea the conditions became a bit lighter on day three of the Sailing Week. On both race courses three races for each class were organized with a wind veering from 270° to 300° and some work for the builders of the race track with some buoys travelling around.

On the western race track the early French domination got attacked by the fierce English sailors. And race after race they are closing the gap with the French leaders Pirouelle/Sipan. The difference being only one point after day three. The best Belgian teams losing some ground on the nineteenth spot (Quinten Lootens/Stijn Van Hooye). In the top five anything is possible here. The committee had to use the black flag again but that’s the game.

In the Europe Class the lighter conditions were favourable for the girls. Maité Colombie and Emma Plasschaert, both from Ostend (Belgium) won all three races today but Nicolas D’Hondt is still standing with both girls at his heels. Maité Colombie is second, Emma Plasschaert third.

The Laser 4.7 class is still dominated by Michiel Curvers but in his wake two girls are closing in. Margot Audenaert and Laura Van de Loock are coming closer. The Splash class is for the dutch with Nienke Jorna still strong in the lead but with different heat winners on the third day. Gabriel Wempe (NED) scoring one, one, two! Stef Audenaert is still the first Belgian Splash sailor on the tenth spot.

On the other side of Nieuwpoort the races of Optimist and Cadet continued. At the times of this report we didn’t have any results but we’ll publish as soon as they are public. With seven races sailed the event is already a big success.

Tuesday and wedsnesday look promising too but on Monday night there is a sailors BBQ and party in the fishing harbor and kaaiplein of Nieuwpoort. Fun for the youngster, committee, volunteers and parents assured. Let’s hope it will be of no influence for the sailing of tomorrow

Luc Geirnaert

Day 1

International Nieuwpoort Week : splendid start during first weekend.

The 21ste International Sailing Week in Nieuwpoort had a marvellous first weekend. A big fleet of 110 Optimist-sailors, 51teams in 420, 25 cadet’s, 35 Splashes, 15 Laser 4.7 and 15 Europe-sailors are battling on two races courses. The first day is always a bit special, a nice openingceremonie and the first launch to discover the local conditions. One heat for all classes with testing conditions, a lot of current and fluctuating wind between 6 and 12 knots, veering and backing between 310° en 350°. A hard job for the sailors and the race committee.

On the race course west the Frenc h teams showed domination in the 420 class, before a real armada of English talent. Matthieu Van Schoote and Sébastien Devos scored a good ninth place, they are new in the class and full of ambition. The Splash fleet knew a Belgian leader at the first mark but after that the Dutch took a full podium with Bob Van Hoogen on the first spot. The Europe class was won by Bart Decoutere, with Emma Plasschaert as the first girl. Margot Audenaert dominated the Laser 4.7 fleet.

On the race course east for optimist and cadet the fleet was devided in groups. The first heat gave a Belgian victory for Robbert Lerno in optimist, a splendid result. The second group was dominated by a British youngster, Scott Willis. In the cadet class Tom Alleman and Joke Lakiere showed great confidence, in an interview for Belgian television they declared “we are here to win, nothing else”, very tricky but they won the first race before a British and Dutch team.

Sunday Sailing! Beautiful sailing in building conditions.

At ten o’clock the fleet left the dock for a first start at 11.30 hr. Light wind from the west for the first heats but by the end of the afternoon the conditions became very testing with steep waves due to the adversity of wind and current. A lot of smiling faces on the water but at the end the energylevels became low with a lot of Splash and Europe sailors. A day of hard work on the water but splendid conditions for the athletic sailors.

On the races course east, the optimist left their defensive strategy and attacked at every start, the committee had to use the black flag to calm the fleet down. The first races where sailed with 10 knots ever building through the afternoon. The UK sailor Oliver Grogono scored 1,2,3,4 and is the strong leader, Robbert Lerno being the best local sailor on the 8^th spot. The last race saw a very daring starboard start of a dutch sailor before the whole fleet. Benjamin Wempe (NED) won the race. In the Cadet class the Belgian team stayed on course with a win in the first race of the day but another Belgian team making a lot of ground, Toon De Munck and Eline Spitaels scored a 2,3,1 narrowing the difference to just one point. But the English and Dutch competition is not far away. A fierce battle to come.

On the western racing zone the French took place one to four in the first race of the 420 class, but the English came forward as the wind was building. The French duo, Pirouelle/Sipan are the comfortable leader. Their discard being a black flag as the starts become hotter with several general recalls. The best Belgian team is Quintens Lootens/Stijn Van Hooye on the fifteenth spot. The heavy conditions saw some bended masts. In the Laser 4.7 Michiel curvers adored the heavy conditions and the male Europe sailors loved the ever building wind, but Maité Colombie won the first race of the day. Nicolas D’Hondt is the comfortable leader. The splash class is almost all dutch race with Nienke Jorna as a strong leader.

The conditions for Monday will be a bit lighter and after that Belgian summer will strike again. The BBQ for the sailors and fiesta will take place on Monday evening.

Luc Geirnaert

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