As Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction say so eloquently below: “A lotta the same shit we got here, they got there, but there they’re a little different.”
Example – the Dutch aren’t blessed with the great sea breeze like San Francisco Bay. So – rather than not windsurf at all – they get their RIBs to push them down the lake – till they build up enough speed to make it over the ramp. Yes ladies and gents- this is lake sailing in Holland. The same but a little different!
After a bit of adjustment into the new Dutch life- I attempted my first regatta- the Dutch Formula and slalom champs in Almere on Sept 6-9- just outside Amsterdam where we’re living. Now normally this wouldn’t be a big deal (as a seasoned international competitor) but there’s something about being out of your normal environment that makes life a bit harder to deal with.
Sometimes having all the comforts of home (like a toolbox, cell phone, supplies and a car) makes it easier to cope with the small breakdowns and trials of a regatta. But coping- nonetheless- is something everyone has to do and those that do it the best- come out on top!
Being out of my usual element really put on the pressure: how to understand what’s going on at the skippers meeting (in Dutch); getting the start count down (in Dutch); and how to make an 11.0 work in 8 (Dutch) knots.
The same but a little different!
The regatta started as most European regattas do- with the postponement flag up- waiting for the breeze to fill. The Dutch do things a bit differently than us Yanks.
They begin to race formula in 7 knots and continue up to 15k. At that point- they switch to slalom racing. Back in San Francisco- we hardly begin to think about racing till it gets to 15k- knowing quite well if you wait till 2pm- the 20k+ sea breeze kicks in and you’ll be wound on a 10.0m2 rig.
Here you need one sail to stay powered from 7-15k- the 12.0m2 rig. With an 11m2 rig as my largest sail- I was struggling the whole regatta for speed and angle. I was just getting killed upwind and off the line. To say the least- this was going to be a tough transition from being overpowered most of the time to being underpowered most of the time. I did my best to take the flogging humbly- as they say – you can tell more about a person’s character in how they handle defeat than how the handle victory. I searched to find the small lessons out on the water and figured out a way to sail again in an oscillating lake breeze. (Tip- banging the right side usually works 50% of the time- but it also fails miserably the other 50%)
The Dutch have a great Formula racing scene with several World, European and Olympic champions in the fleet. More impressive was the youth fleet with several young sailors in the top 10.
The regatta was run over 4 days with 15 races- in what seemed like back to back light-wind conditions- ranging from 8-12k. 2006 RSX World Champion- Casper Bouman (NED 54) won regatta with a close push from Dennis Little (NED 13);Dorian van Rijselberghe (NED8); Adriaan van Rijselberghe (NED 2); Adri Keet (NED 34); Dirk Doppenberg (NED 51); Markus Bouman (NED 6) ; and Sean O’Brien (ASU 120)
Here are some photos from the event.
With just over 2 months before the Formula Worlds I Brazil- I’m looking forward to my 12.0m2 rig arriving via container and really getting into the racing here in Holland. Until then you can read my regatta reports online at www.stevebodner.blogspot.com
Steve Bodner – USA 4
