International A-Division Catamaran Association

The opening day of the 4+ Nations Championships, at the Dutch cat playground of the Hellecat club, had been cancelled due to 35kt and more gusts, and the race committee sensibly cancelling the racing in good time rather than keep sailors at the club just waiting for the go home call. Therefore, Saturday was the first time competitors had a chance to race. However, many decided to sit today out too, as the 25-27 kt gusts forecast, particularly for the first two race’s time period, made the more cautious and risk averse sailors choose discretion over valour.

The start was postponed an hour or so to let the peak winds pass and get the racing onto the declining phase of the forecast which was sensible. So, those sailors who were comfortable with frequent near-death experiences set off for the race start area a mile or so downwind from the launch beach, positioned there in order to get a good 1NM beat without the top marks being in the big wind shadow cast by the surrounding d**e keeping out the waters of the North Sea. 9 Classics from 23 entered and 14 from their 26 Open boats arrived at the start.

Race one was go and it was immediately obvious that this was going to be a race in brutal, very top end conditions, 20-21kts with bigger gusts, combined with a short and vicious 0.75m chop. This made for enervating conditions, the Open fleet dialled their boards in to allow then to remain in contact with the planet surface, but the Classics just got going and bounced along at maybe 17-19 kts upwind. Downhill, for the Classics it seemed to be up one, through one as their bows found the backs of waves they were overtaking. The foilers seemed to remain broadly in control but incapable of steering a straight line, an alarming this to witness from a Classic as they were being overtaken. Many boats pitched in, but few were damaged fortunately.

Race two was in similar conditions. But the wind started to abate by race 3 and several more sailors decided to try their luck and joined in the later races.

Moritz Weis GER 121 was unbeatable in the Classic fleet with bullets in all 5, (THAT’S 5!) races, despite claiming he’d hardly sailed, what with his final year studies and all. Chasing was Sjoerd Hoeskra NED3, with four 2nds and a DNF, and Mark Van Cutsem BEL 331. Chris Stock GER 100 was a solid 4th, then the GBR trio of Owen Cox GBR 72, Mark Rushton GBR 101 and Ben Daigeneault GBR 70 who was ahead of the top woman, Astrid Janssens BEL 17 on count-back.

On the Open fleet, Robin Maeder SUI7 was blistering in the race, then going well in Race two with a second, but race three he struck an underwater wall by venturing inshore too much, splitting his port rudder casing. He had been battling with Michal Korneszczuck POL 111 and Thomas Paasch DEN 1 until then and retirement. Leaving the remaining races to be shared between them, and Michal leads by one point. Roeland Wentholt GER 95 and Vladi Ptasnik CZH 1 follow in 4th and 5th.

Once ashore, they were all handsomely fed and watered by the Hellecat club.

Sunday promises lighter, more benign conditions, so we hope to get full fleets afloat in this good tempered multinational event.

4Nations Championship results day 1 Quick report to follow

Get the Ch*****ne on ice, the forecast is distinctly sailable today at the 4+Nations Champs at Hellecat, following two days of 35ktn+ gusts.
Expected racing conditions we are told -

* 11:00–13:00: approximately 16–18 kt, gusts around 21–24 kt
* 13:00–15:00: approximately 14–17 kt, slowly easing
* 15:00–17:00: approximately 11–14 kt, with decreasing gusts
* Temperature around 18–19°C
* Mostly dry, with some sunny

At this stage, the forecasts point to good and raceable A-Cat conditions. The first races may still be quite demanding, particularly for the foilers, as the stronger gusts and changes in pressure can make stable foiling more difficult. The Classics may find the conditions somewhat more manageable, although the stronger gusts will still require care.

Italian A-Class National Championship – Gaeta.

Close racingLamberto Cesari reports.
The Italian A-Class Championship took place in Gaeta, between Rome and Naples, but the opening day was unfortunately lost due to the windless weather. Racing finally got underway on Saturday, when three races were successfully completed.

In the Open fleet, it immediately developed into a close head-to-head battle between Lamberto Cesari and Marco Anessi, with Cesari ending the day just one point ahead. In the Classic fleet, Marco Radman dominated Saturday’s racing with an impressive 1-1-1 scoreline, while Teo Di Battista kept the pressure on with three second places, setting up an exciting battle for the title on the final day.

Sunday’s first race made things even tighter. Cesari took the win in the Open fleet, while Di Battista won in the Classics with Radman finishing further down the fleet. Everything was therefore left down to the final race. With no discard available due to the number of available races, there was absolutely no room for error, and the championship turned into a thriller in both fleets.

In the Open fleet, a last place in the final race, due to a fishing net tangled in the rudder, dropped Cesari to the bottom of that race's results. Marco Anessi took full advantage, winning the race and with it the Italian Championship. Lamberto Cesari finished runner-up, while Paolo Penco secured an excellent third place overall.

The Classic fleet produced an equally dramatic finale. Marco Radman won the final race ahead of Teo Di Battista, but Di Battista was scored OCS for an early start, a costly mistake that ultimately ended his hopes of taking the title. Marco Radman was therefore crowned Italian Champion in the Classic fleet, with Roberto Casadei taking second overall and Teo Di Battista third.

A fantastic championship, decided only in the final race in both fleets, and a great event thanks to the excellent organisation in Gaeta.

In Sail-world.com.

European A-Cat sailors may be aware of next weekend’s event at the renowned Hellecat club near Hellevoetsluis. It is the 4 Nations Championships, and has attracted much interest from sailors within and North of the Alps, and now some 11 countries joining in.

The event was conceived back in late 2019 when the NED, GBR, GER and BEL associations started talking about holding a join National Championships to get more boats sailing together, rather than the mere 10-12 or so that they had sailing in their individual events. However, the dark days of COVID arrived, and stripped away first GBR, then other associations as their lockdowns took effect, and that was that.

But new life was breathed into the concept a few of years ago with a couple of countries getting together for an event. This year will be the first time all 4 original Associations will be coming together as their schedules were co-ordinated at last. This event now looks rather like a sort of baby Euros, and many of the Euro A-Cat aces are signed up in this 55 boat event.

For the 13 sailor home NED team, the DNA holy Trinity of Mischa Heemskerk NED 7, PJ Dwarsluis NED 28 and Thijs Visser, are turning up, all riding the DNA F1x, and maybe with their DN bendy rigs after it’s Euro race debut in the Open class back in Spain in June. They have analysed the performances and are understood to have tweaked and refined the bendy mast concept further. But a couple of other NED sailors will be keen to challenge, them in the persons of Rutger Krijger NED 14, DNA F1x, and Gert-Jan Kos NED 96, Exploder Ad3 and are both no slouches around the course. And over on the Classics are Former Champs Caroline Van Beelen NED 41, Nikita, and Sjoerd (Stuart to you and me) Hoekstra NED 3, Exploder Ad3, and both are fast in their favoured conditions.

For the GER team we will see a very strong bunch, again of 13 sailors. The likes of Rainer Bohrer GER 6, Exploder Ad3, Roeland Wentholt GER 95, DNA F1x and Klau Raab GER 5, Ad3 in the Open fleet, and with Mortiz Weis GER 121, Ad3, and Christian Stock GER 100, DNA in the Classics. All fast and will be pushing. The Germans also have a woman sailor, Katrin Brunner GER 15 F1x. She is an experienced sailor and another well-known in the fleets and beware if the wind is lighter.

The BEL team is an all Classic bunch featuring some fast guys and girls. Multiple National Champ Michel Warlop, BEL 9, is rather fast on his Nikita. But chasing could be the popular and likable veteran Phil Muyzers BEL 54, Flyer and maybe Jan Verlinde BEL 20, Nikita. Their woman sailor is the wonderful multilingual expletive expert Astrid Janssens (BEL 17, Ad3). Just don’t get in her way, wherever you come from.

The GBR team is headed by Owen Cox, GBR 72, Scheuer G8. This will be his first regatta on a brand-new boat, so try and keep clear of the Ferreri red one please, but he could do well as it’s been set up by Robin Maeder. Mark Rushton GBR 101, Tool and Ben Daigneault GBR 70, F1x will also be battling each other. And then there is your correspondent Gordon sailing GBR4, on his Marstrom M5 Moby and getting into trouble on the course as a sailor for a change. The GBR team is also the only team with no woman sailor, so we do have a vacancy.

Aside from the 4 nations sailors, other sailors include the class travelling mascot, Vladi Ptasnik CZH 1, Ad3. We have a trio of Vikings with Thomas Paasch DEN 1, Jan Saugmann DEN 3 and Christian Nygaard DEN 8, and the Polish travelling sailor Michal Korneszczuk POL 111. All top and very fast foiling sailors. We have Micky Todd, ESP 7, who is far from home and his local classic fleet. We have the Hungarian pair of Sander HUN 18 and Peter Roka HUN 001. A brace of French Classic sailors, with Eric Girardin FRA 26 and Géraud Ballage-Ajassi FRA 669, and three Swiss with National Open Champ Robin Maeder SUI 7, Patrick Gugerli SUI 78 and Benjamin Oudot SUI 69.

So, the biggest international fleet outside a major event this year and it could become a pattern other class fleets could follow, especially if they tend to have smaller National fleets yet fancy sailing in a much larger one. It all starts on Friday, the weather, now the vicelike grip of those unusual 5 successive heatwaves and associated droughts has finally been released, we are expecting a rather more exciting weather pattern to take over, so there could well be something for everyone next weekend.

But whatever, it will always be a great Euro sailing party.

Cagliari, at the southern end of Sardinia, has been chosen to host the 2027 A-Class Catamaran World Championships.

With racing on the warm waters of the Gulf of Cagliari, this spectacular venue has already hosted many major international sailing events, including the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta, and is well known to Nacra 17 and 49er sailors.

The World Championships will run from 19–25 September 2027, with a warm-up event taking place the previous week.
It’s a great opportunity for the A-Class community to discover a new venue and race at one of the world’s iconic sailing destinations.

More details and ferry discounts will follow as soon as they become available. See you in Cagliari!