Melges 24 A Hit At Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta

The North Sea Regatta (www.nsr.nl) played host to the first Melges 24 event in the Netherlands. Some great sailors from other classes were invited to sail on one of the two demo boats of Hein Ruyten. Totally four teams arrived at the Scheveningen coast on Thursday evening to rig the boats and set up their crews.

Two races were sailed on Friday and Monday, while Saturday and Sunday three races were scheduled. Totally ten races were sailed in perfect conditions with a lot of sun and a good breeze between 8-15 knots.

The organization was very pleased to have the Melges 24 on their program and it was great to see that many people and press were interested in the boat.

For most of the sailors it was there first time on the Melges 24. Everybody has its own idea on how to power en depower the boat. With four boats on the racecourse it was close racing from the beginning till the end. Everybody learned a lot and informed each other how to handle the boat in the best way.

Among the competitors Carlo Vroon was the most experienced Melges 24 sailor on the water and in the pub. He is a true ambassador of what Melges must become in the Netherlands; fun and good sailing. 

Melges at the North sea Regatta attracted experienced world class sailors, like Wietse Zetsema (Finn) Eelco Blok ( J22) and Nic Bol of Quantum sails (X35). At the end of the season we expect to have 8 or 10 topteams on the water.

Three out of four boats had won several races. Day four was D-day with a close win for team Ruyten.

1          Hein Ruyten                            NED 117         12 points
2          Carlo Vroon                             NED 569         12 points
3          Tjarco Timmermans               NED 112         18 points
4          Manu de Smet                         BEL 205          28 points