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Tornado breaks Round Texel Record


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The First Finishers

Texel | 11-06-2005 15:26:00 | By: Louise van der Sluis

Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen on their Tornado have set a new Round record in a marvelous race. They passed the finish line in two hours and ten minutes, which is twenty minutes faster then the previous record from Hans Bouscholte, dating from 2003. The team stranded at the VC-buoy breaking their rudder. “ Luckily we had brought some rope with us, so we could fix it to function” says the thrilled Samama. Having passed the VC–buoy it was a matter of jibing and speeding. In one straight we could race to the point. The first finishers, who have been sailing for two and a halve years together, where surprised by their spectacular finishing time. “Only in the end we thought that we could do it”. The couple was honored the minute that they had arrived on the beach.

The Overall- Winners

Texel | 11-06-2005 15:25:00 | By: Louise van der Sluis

Mischa Heemskerk and Sander de Boer are most likely the overall winners of the 28th Round of Texel. The team (that sailed together this year for the first time) finished in second place, was widely distanced from Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen. We started of carefully because of the wild sea. After that we just hit it! We could take second position because the two Formule- 18 boats that were in front of us flipped over” says de Boer. Heemskerk tells that the first part was hard work because off the strong wind and the powerful waves. “ We sometimes sailed threw four meter high waves. That is super intense!” He described the race not as extremely difficult. “It was tough but I have been through worse on a Texel’s round”. Even though the official results are not known until nine pm, Heemskerk has no doubt about his victory. “We are the winners!”

The Koog | 11-06-2005 13:08:00 | By: Louise of of the lock New official Ronde-record, which were sailed today Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen, have been determined on 2 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconden. Mischa Heemskerk and Sander passed the farmer after 2 hours, 16 minutes and 35 seconden between the finishboeien. The third boat which came in, was which of the texelaars Eduard Zanen and Willem Houwing. They passed the finish in 2 hours 19 minutes and 1 seconde.

Round Texel web site - http://www.roundtexel.com/index.asp?ID_Language=2&ID_Group=2

Wild Pics - "]http://www.photoos.net/cgi-bin/phts.sh/b/bevewthumb.p?bevec=rot05&besen=35&xmlac=nl&tpl=[tpl]

[This message has been edited by tornado (edited 12 June 2005).]

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News BoatingOZ.com.au

June 12, 2005

SAMAMA/VAN LEEUWEN SMASH RECORD WITH ALMOST 20 MINUTES

Spectacular 28th Zwitserleven Round Texel Race

Den Burg / Texel

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.”

Heavy first leg As usual, the helicopter gave the starting signal at 10:00 hours AM. The fleet went off reaching with a rough North Sea and strong wind. Team Samama/Van Leeuwen took the lead and was first to set spinnaker after the light house. Samama: “We hit the ground before the VC-mark and damaged our rudder. We fixed it with a rope and continued.” According to Willem Geijssen, who finished third overall, this part of the race was the most exciting. “The water was so shallow that many teams capsized or their rudders went up. Gunnar Larsen damaged his bow and was out of competition for the victory. Jacco Salman broke his rudder and had to give up.” The race committee did not expect the fleet to be that fast, so the participants entered the Wadden Sea a little bit too early. Remko Kenbeek and Paul Brouwer flipped over after the VC-mark. They were heading directly to Oudeschild, as Heemskerk/De Boer choose for a course closer to the shore. Repeat Team Geijssen and Van Capelle followed them. Geijssen: “We wanted to stay close to the leader of the F18’s. In case he would capsize, we could take over the first position, but it turned out to be a wrong decision. Kenbeek and Brouwer had more wind and passed us.” Meanwhile, Heemskerk and De Boer extended their lead and passed the second Tornado of Eduard Zanen and Willem Houwing, who finished third. Wouter Samama and Jeroen van Leeuwen flew after 2 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds over the finishline. An absolute record. Samama: “I think this one will remain a while.” The winners of the 1997 Round Texel Race needed 2 hours, 30 minutes and 36 seconds. Hans Bouscholte and Ruurd van Wieren were 11 seconds faster in September 2003, but that is all history now.

The battle for the second and third F18 (also on handicap) was still going on. At the Razende Bol in the south, Kenbeek and Brouwer capsized again and Geijssen/Van Capelle almost. Geijssen: “At that point I really thought that we would beat Remko, but he just got us.”

Close finish The French Nissan team Mourniac/Citeau and Repeat Team Huntelman/Van der Kamp fought for the fifth and sixth position overall. Herwin van der Kamp: “We were fast beating upwind at the southern point, but a wave knocked us off the hull. It was very exctining as we were heading towards the finishline with three boats: Mourniac/Citeau, Flier/Krijthe (NED) and us. The gap between Mourniac and us was only six seconds, but he won.” Jean-Louis Flier and Chris Krijthe were disqualified, due of a early start. The same happened to Hans Bouscholte and Ruurd van Wieren, winners of the line-honours in 2004. But most of the 120 disqualifications were caused by a wrong passage of the gate at the light house in the north.

Sportive women's competition There was another battle going on, because two F18 female teams were aiming at the Women’s Cup. Wampe van der Poel and Marieke Engelsman sailed out first, but capsized in the surf. They came back safely and did not want to go out anymore. Until they saw the other girls leaving. Van der Poel: “We decided to try again and we made it.” Kathelijn de Bruijne reached the light house as first female crew. After the VC-mark the female Repeat Team flipped over and Van der Poel/Engelsman passed them. At Oudeschild both teams were knocked down by a huge gust of wind. De Bruijne took over the lead and finished as first women team, but they were also on the dsq list. De Bruijne: “We passed the mark and went back to sail through the gate, but we could not convince the jury.” As a result, Van der Poel and Engelsman won the Women’s Cup, but they did not accept that. At the prize giving ceremony, they gave their Cup away to the team of De Bruijne. Van der Poel: “We do not like to win a race this way. The girls sailed correctly and we will beat them next year.”

Winners’ party The prize giving ceremony became a great celebration. All winners were honoured on stage. Champaign flew plentifully, TNG Swiss Watches were handed over and flowers were thrown into the crowd. Heemskerk and De Boer won on handicap, followed by Kenbeek/Brouwer and Geijssen/Van Capelle. All F18-teams. The Zwitserleven Round Texel 2005 event ended with a fantastic sailor’s party on the Texel Beach. There was more good news, because title sponsor Zwitserleven announced a prolongation of the sponsor contract with two more years.

Top five (on handicap) Zwitserleven Round Texel Race 2005:

1. NED - F18 – Heemskerk / De Boer, 2:16:35 hours

2. NED – F18 - Kenbeek / Brouwer, 2:20:57 hours

3. NED – F18 – Geijssen / Van Capelle, 2:21:46 hours

4. NED – Tornado Spi – Samama / Van Leeuwen, 2:11:11 hours

5. FRA – F18 – Mourniac / Citeau, 2:23:13 hours

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 11, 2005

SAMAMA/DE BOER BREAKS RECORD IN ZWITSERLEVEN ROUND TEXEL RACE

Tough surf claims many victims

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.

‘Zwitserleven Gevoel’ from the hammock

This morning, title sponsor Zwitserleven surprised the spectators with hammocks on the beach. They were placed last night, to enable enthusiasts to enjoy this year’s spectacular race. Semi-live images were broadcasted on a television screen on the beach. People stayed infromed about the interim scores with the help of Official TNG Timekeeping System. This evening, the prize giving ceremony will start at 21.00 hours in the party tent.

In addition to Zwitserleven, the event is sponsored by TNG Swiss Watches, Repeat Sales Promotions, PWN Waterleidingbedrijf Noord-Holland, W&H/Liebherr, Software AG, LinkinMedia, Nissan, Teso, VVV Texel, TROS, RoT Events en de Mondriaan Onderwijsgroep.

www.roundtexel.com

Diana Bogaards

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