| TEXEL, NETHERLANDS-(23-6-2003) Many participants at the Zwitserleven Round Texel 2003 looked somewhat desperate at the high surf on Saturday morning June 21st. About half past ten the first teams ventured into the white water. Others followed their example, so pretty soon 538 catamarans were lined up on the one kilometer starting line. Due to a moderate west wind, an unprecedented number participants finished the 26th edition of the long distance race around the island of Texel. The women fleet was bigger than ever. It also had a high level with two Olympic female teams. The Dutch teams Larsen/Pols and Vink/De Laaf rewarded the audience with a thrilling final. Peter Vink and Sven de Laaf passed the M20 of the favorites on the finish line.
On Friday June 20th, a strong onshore wind from the west caused high breakers with lots of foam. For a while it looked like the 26th edition of the Round Texel could not be sailed, but on Saturday morning at 10:00 hours the Race Director Jaap Tirion told sailors that the race could go on. Although the organization feared many accidents in the surf, there were only a few problems.
Chaotic start
The start passed on chaotically. At least fifty catamarans were fighting for every millimeter next to the starting ship on sea. The Northern current pushed the fleet slowly over the starting line, with lots of shouting and small accidents as a result. Favorites Gunnar Larsen and Xander Pols parked their M20 hundred meters below this packet of boats and were able to start with free wind. Immediately after the start, they formed a leading bunch with the teams Den Hollander/Mulder (Inter 20), McMillan/Leigh from Great-Britain (Torndao) and Huntelman/Van Harskamp (Hobie Fox). Last year’s winners Sven Karsenbarg and Mischa Heemskerk from the Netherlands, did not have a good start, but they managed to close the gap with the leading boats pretty soon. At the light house, Larsen/Pols already had a lead of two hundred meters. It was there that team Karsenbarg/Heemskerk got a problem with their spinnaker. It exploded. Heemskerk tied up the ripped parts and they put up the spinnaker again. Unfortunately, it exploded for the second time and that was the end of their spinnaker. Although their chance of victory was gone, they continued the race.
Exciting duels
Meanwhile the Formula 18 teams Booth/Dercksen and the Australians Bundock/Howden were close on each others’ heels in the sub-leading bunch. The Australian Cavin Colby and his Swiss crew Cori Camenisch followed in small distance. The Dutch Olympic 470 female team Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout already took the lead of the women fleet at the light house. The Tornado of McMillan and Leigh passed the VC-mark in first position, closely followed by Larsen/Pols. Gunnar: “It was there that we realized something was wrong with the Tornado team, because the camera crew kept on following us and not the leading boat. But of course you never know.” Peter Vink and Sven de Laaf caught up on the two leading boats directly under the coast. They took advantage of more wind and a favorable wind shift. Team Larsen/Pols reacted by tacking towards the coast as well. The result was a battle between the Tornado of Vink/De Laaf and the M20 of Larsen/Pols. The same scene was enacted at the Hobie Tigers of World Champion Tornado Darren Bundock and of the Australian Mitch Booth who sails for the Netherlands.
Thrilling final
Larsen/Pols entered the Marsdiep in first position. They were able to remain in the lead until Paal 15, as Vink/De Laaf passed them. They took back the first position and built up a lead of thirty to forty meters. By means of a last try to catch the victory, a spinnaker appeared in the Tornado mast. Larsen/Pols reacted directly by putting up the spinnaker as well, but the fall got stuck. The Tornado flew past them and finished nine seconds ahead of the M20. The audience on the beach witnessed the thrilling final hearable. Team McMillan/Leigh passed indeed the finish line in first position, but due to an early start they were disqualified. On their way back to the beach, a huge wave threw them upside down and their mast disappeared as a cracked match under the trampoline. The sensation was still not over, as the next combating catamarans were heading to the finish. Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen were leading with their Hobie Tiger. Only hundred meters before the finish line, their coach Will Howden passed them with his skipper Darren Bundock.
After the processing of the Texel rating, three Formula 18 teams won the overall podium positions. Darren Bundock and Will Howden won the Zwitserleven Round Texel 2003. Fellow country-man Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen ended one step below, followed by Cavin Colby, again from Australia, and Cori Camenisch. First finisher Peter Vink and Sven de Laaf got a fifth position overall. Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout finished as first women team, which is a great achievement as debuting catamaran team. The Dutch Olympic Yngling duo Janneke Hin and Margriet Samama crossed the finish line as third women team after team Tobias/Bogaards. 538 Boats started the race, of which eleven teams were disqualified. Finally 462 catamarans finished in accordance with the regulations. That is a much larger number than in the last couple of years, therefore the organizations speaks of a successful Round Texel 2003.
Top five of the overall results:
1. Darren Bundock – Will Howden, Australia, Formula 18
2. Mitch Booth – Herbert Dercksen, Netherlands, Formula 18
3. Cavin Colby – Cori Camenisch, Australia, Formula 18
4. Hugh Styles – Marcus Lynch, Great-Britain, Formula 18
5. Peter Vink – Sven de Laaf, Netherlands, Tornado
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