The annual Curaçao Sail-In for open sailing boats was characterized by 15 knots winds and excellent sailing conditions. The Antillean Sailing Association NASAF organized the event that was held in Curaçao’s Spanish Waters on November 26th, an overtaking race handicapped by the start time.
54 Optimists, Splashes, Lasers, Centaurs and Ynglings sailed among each other in this unique race, which had a number of participants that passed 100 this year. Participation is still free and all sailing clubs of the island joined in as well as individual sailors. Starting point was Sailing Club Asiento from where all boats had to pass seven buoys in Spanish Waters before returning for the finish line.
The same course was sailed again in the afternoon. The fastest sailors made it within 75 minutes, showing their best tactics, zigzagging in between the anchoring yachts in the first and last miles of the race. Others just participated for the fun. The handicaps were well chosen—witness the fact that the first three boats finished within 15 seconds!
The participation of many youth sailors was most striking this year, not only in Optimists and Splashes but also in the more “adult boats” like the Sunfish, Laser, Centaur and Yngling.
The prize giving ceremony showed a characteristic and nice fraternization between young and old: the teenagers Nick van de Berg and Ard van Aanholt finished first overall in a Sunfish while the veteran couple Wim and Gonny van der Gulik took second place in an Yngling. Organizer of the Sail-In, Jan Ackermans, who is chairman of the NASAF, skipper of Chamba II, and chief of the Sea Scouts, performed the prize giving honors.
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