Our circle of friends in Action4Europe came into play yesterday as I was contacted by the organisers of the Para Worlds in The Hague to say that one of the competitors had arrived with a 2.4mR that would not comply with OD measurement. One call to Henk van Heuveln resulted swiftly in a Norlin mk3 to be found, buoyancy tested, and on the road to The Hague. This is another example of friends on and off the water actively bringing life into the class.
All of this happening while Henk was participating in Sneek Week together with other Dutch 2.4mR sailors who were all getting good race time on the water ahead of the Dutch National Championships in 8/9/10 September on the Zuidlaardermeer. This looks like a great piece of water and very suitable for excellent 2.4mR sailing. For those who haven’t yet entered we can once again expect the same standard on and off the water that we have enjoyed so far this season at the European Circuit events.
Now on a serious note you may enjoy the pictures of Henk yesterday dipping his bow downwind and waving his rudder at the other competitors. You will see two things in the pictures. The first is that submerged his boat floats well enough to be recovered by the second point and that is the excellent rescue boat bringing him in to port. All well with Henk and only pride slightly dented.
I wish I could say the same things about my issue in the Nordic Championships. First day the wind increased during the day and together with the shallow lake the waves were short and high. At the end of the fourth race the wind had further increased and I took everything over the bow to be submerged just after the finish line. Finnish waters even in the summer are cold and the next time of over an hour was spent in the water drifting to what I hoped was our harbour. Only when I got close after a couple of miles did the starting boat appear but was unable to help. An aluminium boat then appeared which I rejected as being totally unsuitable to approach a 2.4mR and then it dawned on me that this was a continental championship where no rescue cover had been provided. The organisers then put in place rescue cover for the World Championships that followed but too late for me. I struggled with the practice race and then regrettably took an early flight home and I am still recovering.
Perhaps Henk and I should keep away from too many ‚pannenkoken‘!
Steve, thanks for the message
You can tell from my smile that everything went well, but again at the same time indicates the need for a good float test and resqueboot.
The boat from Sneek is here at the Paraworlds and measured and ready to race