(Stellendam, Netherlands)- With more than 120 boats on the start line, the Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta promised to have lots of action and fun for the offshore sailing season opener in the Netherlands. Traditionally, the event is marked by an enormous fish fry and beer party where the local fisherman host the event, cooking up all kinds of local delicacies, including even lobster! Plus, the sponsor Pantaenius ensure there's plenty of beer on hand for the sailors to wash down all the yummy seafood!
The predictions regarding the weather promised a weekend full of sun and plenty of breeze. Whether there would still be enough wind Sunday was the real question on everyone's minds as the weekend unfolded.
On Friday afternoon the Stellendam Marina slowly filled with all kinds of one-design class boats ready for a race weekend at the Haringvliet. For most sailors the regatta was a short drive, but the Van Uden Reco is worth it.
Despite
the crazy weather this year Saturday dawned quite warm, so woolly hats
were substituted with long shirts and caps to shield everyone from the
warm sun. It soon became apparent that the wind forecasts were wrong.
The prediction was a Force 5 11-15 kts wind. There was enough wind to
get off four races and the sun made it a perfect sailing day! After a
long, exhausting, but fun day on the water, the sailors all looked
forward to the massive outdoor cookout on shore with ham, hamburgers,
fish fry and plenty of beer. A good time was had by all as the sun sank
further behind the shed and the temperature dropped (it was freezing at
night!).In the IRC Class, the three J/111s made the best of the conditions, particularly on Saturday's windier day. As a result, finishing 2nd in IRC was XCENTRIC RIPPER- John van der Starre- sailing to a 2-1-1-2-5-5 record for 11 net pts. Also sailing but having a hard time on the super-light Sunday were SWEENY (Hans Zwinjnenburg) and LALLEKONING (M Sigg). For more Van Uden Reco Stellendam Regatta sailing information
