The wind may be light but the sailing is intense.

The top ten competitors of this year’s Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta are strong. On Tuesday November 11th 2003, the gap between the numbers one and two overall decreased to one point. The British team Sunnucks/Self is still leading followed by the Dutch Formula 18 sailors Larsen/Pols and Graat/Koene. Nico de Jong and the international jury member Henk Plaatje, followed by Richard Allen and radioman Eric, won the special race for sponsors and VIP’s. Maarten Deutekom and Nico finished in third position.

After breakfast in sea-breeze on Tuesday November 11th, the competitors had to wait for wind. At half past ten, the postponement flag was taken down and the fleet left the beach for the starting line. Due to light winds, the course was short, but it still took small boats a long time to get around in the burning sun. Two Inter 20 teams, Breur/Buyse and Deutekom/De Vries, from the Netherlands were in the lead. They managed to stand the heat of the British Tornado’s and finished in the first and second position, followed by Sunnucks/Self. Team Larsen/Pols stayed close and got a third place on rating after the two Nacra’s Inter 20. Sunnucks: “Gunnar is very good. He’s always there. I think he will win.”

In the afternoon, the race committee decided to vary with an Olympic triangle course. The sea-breeze was still weak, but steady. Gunnar Larsen and Xander Pols sailed the alternative race very well. They finished 3 minutes 39 after Sunnucks and Self, which was enough for the victory on rating. For William Sunnucks it is the second time that he has participated at the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. He won in 2001 and got a free ticket for the year after, but he did not come. Instead, he competed in the Tybee 500, which is similar to the Worrell 1000. At the beginning of the nineties, he campaigned in the Tornado class, but he ended up in second position in the national selections. He continued his sailing career in the long distance race and with success, because he won the series in the last two seasons. Sunnucks says of his success this year, “I feel comfortable about beating Richard Allen, because I have won every time this year. Last time, we had a closer competition with him, but this year the thread is coming from Gunnar Larsen. He is a different class of sailor.”

Working for the perfect catamaran balance.

There were no races scheduled on Wednesday, but the Dutch Tornado team Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen offered the sailors a race clinic about starts and other racing tactics. Holiday Inn’s garden was crowded with interested participants, so the results are expected for the coming days. Booth and Dercksen are on Aruba for a photo shoot for the sponsors of their Olympic campaign. Meanwhile Gaastra sports wear also held a photo shoot on the beach in front of the hotel. The images will be used for a new Dutch catamaran magazine, called CATmagazine.


Top five places after 5 races and one discard:

1. Tornado / GBR – Sunnucks and Self, 8 points
2. Formule 18 / NED – Larsen and Pols, 9 points
3. Formule 18 / NED – Graat and Koene, 15 points
4. Tornado / GBR – Allen and Gummer, 19 points
5. Formule 20 / NED – Deutekom and De Vries, 22 points


Top five places for the Sponsor/VIP race:

1. Nico de Jong and Henk Plaatje
2. RichardAllen and Eric
3. Maarten Deutekom and Nico
4. WilliamSunnucks andEdwin Lodder
5. KarelBokma and Duncan

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