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After coming back from the South African Hobie Tiger Worlds in March, there hasn’t been a dull moment in my agenda. I went from one job into the other. Sometimes next doors and sometimes away. I also planned my own F18 regatta’s at which I crewed for Stuart Gummer. That was my most important lesson from the season of 2007, in which I lost touch with my own passion for catamaran sailing. Now I am back in the circuit and still working hard as a nautical journalist and photographer.

The European season started with the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta in Scheveningen, Netherlands. The first starting gun was fired on Tuesday April 29 2008 for the traditional Vuurschepenrace for IRC and ORC yachts. This offshore of 110 nautical miles goes from Scheveningen to Harwich. On May 2 after a lay-day, the competitors continued with the North Sea Race of 185 nautical miles back to Scheveningen. The inshore races were sailed from Friday May 9 until Whit Monday May 12 off the Scheveningen coast. The fleet consisted of dinghies, beach catamarans, Olympic- and one-design classes, windsurfing boards, modern and classic yachts.

I took care of the press lobby, media contacts, web updates and daily press releases. I also contacted RTV West, a regional news channel, for a special about the biggest sailing regatta along the Dutch coast. Fortunately, they were positive about the idea. Editor Erik Kooyman worked out a format, in which he involved me as adviser in terms of the sailing sports. Erik did a wonderful job and produced a 45-minute interesting North Sea Regatta Special. After the start of the Vuurschepenrace, I drove to Carnac to compete in the annual Eurocat. I contracted Jacqueline Laumans to report on the finish and on the North Sea Race, which she did very well. This year, our aim was to be covered in a national daily newspaper and we succeeded. In addition to big articles in monthly sailing magazines, de Telegraaf published a small report on the North Sea Regatta. For more information about the regatta, please go to http://www.nsr.nl/.

Throughout the week, the conditions were mostly light and changeable. On Sunday May 25 2008, the remaining top ten sailors at the Delta Lloyd Regatta met windy and wet conditions in the Medal Races. The strong breeze and choppy IJsselmeer were challenging. The competitors showed spectacular battles with lots of capsizes around the course. The leaders tried to stay out of troubles and others had to take extra risks. Some gained and some lost. According to many Olympians, this year’s Delta Lloyd Regatta has been a good training for Beijing with an interesting end. To read more about the regatta, please surf to http://www.deltalloydregatta.org/.

I was there to report on the team’s first performances in the 2008 iShares Cup. In addition, I wrote a background article for Zeilen, one of the biggest monthly sailing magazines in the Netherlands. The story of this Dutch initiative will be published in the September issue. For more information, please go to http://www.teamholmatro.com/.

The Dutch Team Holmatro showed resilience in Hyeres (FRA) at the second round of the 2008 iShares Cup Extreme 40 series. After a dramatic capsize in a training session prior to the start on Friday June 13, mastman & grinder Gerd Habermüller (AUT) had to be replaced by Ed van Lierde (NED). Since Habermüller is exceptional strong, it took a while for the newly formed crew to adjust to the changed situation onboard. The heavy weather conditions did not make it easier, but as the wind eased on the third and final Sunday June 15, Team Holmatro made a striking comeback. They climbed on the leader board from the eight to the fourth overall position in Hyeres. Alinghi took the victory, which lifted them to a second place in the overall ranking so far. Team Origin is leading.

Only a few minutes prior to the start at 10 AM, a huge crowd of coloured sails gathered at the beach side of the starting line. As it was a beautiful sunny summer day, many spectators came to the Texel beach and witnessed an exciting set off. At five minutes, the race committee hoisted the black flag that was supposed to be hoisted at four minutes. Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse (NED), sailing an Extreme 20, pulled on their sheet with one minute to go. At that stage, the travelling reporters of Studio Sport (national sports channel) called me and asked whether half of the fleet would be disqualified. Fortunately, the answer was ‘no’. Since the flags determine the procedure, the Dutchmen could not be disqualified. The same is true for all the other boats, being pushed over the line early by the strong tide. By then, the north-eastern breeze was maybe five knots strong and started to pick up in the afternoon.

Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse were flying towards the VC-buoy, where they were first to hoist the spinnaker. According to the race committee on location, the blue Extreme 20 made a small short cut after rounding the VC. They were supposed to leave the two remaining yellow buoys at starboard, which they did not. Although they were first over the line, the Dutchmen got disqualified for not sailing the course according to the rules. Samama disagreed and handed in a protest, which they lost.

As usual, I wrote the daily web updates and press releases. And I was again responsible for the media contacts and press lobby. Due to the soccer Europeans and Olympic qualification series for the Dutch swimming squad, this year’s Round Texel Race raised less media attention. Nevertheless, Zwitserleven announced its continuation of title sponsorship for two more editions. For more information, please surf to http://www.roundtexel.com/.