Thibaud, Ben and Manu relax in the Dutch Sun in Aalsmeer after their three “Bullet’s”..
It was another great day for Dragon Sailing on the lake of Aalsmeer for the 21 boats competing in the Grand Prix Easter Regatta. Although the day was again dominated by BEL 80 “Blackout” helmed by Ben Cauwenbergh, crewed by Manu Hens and Thibaud Den Hartigh. The racing was very close and exciting with the first 4 boats crossing the finish line within 30seconds of each other and the whole fleet finishing only 2 minutes behind the leading group.
The day started with the wind around 10 to 12 knots but built steadily through the day to 20 knots with gusts of 24 knots. This lead to some excellent racing and the Belgium Boys were pushed to the limit in all three races. GBR 585 “Full Speed” helmed by Martin Payne and crewed by two local’s Rudy and Gabor managed to keep Ben within their sights and record three 2nd places despite some real pressure from NED 402 Jan Bakker who finished with 3rd, 3rd, 4th. Also getting into the top three yesterday was GBR 784 “Tigger” helmed by Tim Tavinor, crewed by his daughter Emma and Thomas Wilton.
My 1992 Petticrows GBR 585, was originally a Danish Blue, now Full Speed…..
It was fantastic to race on flat (non salty) water, with big sustained shifts allowing the sailors to really hike hard whilst watching carefully for the next header. With three more races today it looks like the Belgium Boy’s have it in the bag.. but we all know it’s never over till it’s over……
Top three boats: BEL 80 5pts. GBR 585 10pts. NED 402 14 pts.
Higher, Faster, Longer…………. Stavros.