F18 Argentine Nats: Team Boskalis Report

Photo: Marcela Zapiola

Press release by Diana Boogards—
“Last weekend, Team Boskalis Larsen/Frank won theF18 Argentine F18 Nationals 2011 in Buenos Aires. The decision came only on the last day,when the Dutch catamaran duo scored two bullets in a row and built up a fourpoint lead. In the spirit of Team Boskalis, the reigning Dutch F18 championsgave a clinic the evening before racing started at the Rio de la Plata, showingthat the project’s distinctive experience is not limited to the Boskalis teamriders.

Sharing knowledge is the basic principle of Team Boskalis since thefirst years. This means that within the squadexperienced catamaran sailors share their knowledge with ambitious and talentednewcomers. The master/trainee concept made that work. However, with the trip toArgentina this model was first conveyed to another continent.
Larsen: ‘OnThursday evening, we have been talking about the starting procedure for about ahour, Sam from his role as crew and me as a helmsman.

That included topics as preparation,boat handling, strategy, time management and the actual start. It was really fun to do and the South Americans are absolutely coming. Five years ago, we would have won the championship with all bullets and now we were only fourpoints ahead of the runner up.

‘Full on championship’
The F18 Argentine Nationals 2011 were held at the local cat club along Nautico San Isidro in Beunos Aires. The championship began on Friday, November 25 and ended on Sunday, November 27. In these three days, the23 teams completed nine races with diverse conditions. In addition to the locals, the fleet included the North American champion Hunter Stunzi, whocrewed for Sergio Mehl from Argentina.

France also was present with Pierre LeClainche and Antoine Joubert. ‘On the first day, we had to ‘warm up’ a bit”,said Frank Frank. ‘We scored a 4-3-2, so it was an upward trend. We missedsome speed. The next day there was a little more breeze and we could double trapeze, fantastic.’

At the dawn of the final day, it was very close between the podium candidates, with the Dutch sailors in second place.In the first race on Sunday, Larsen and Frank delivered a heated battle with the Argentinean/American duo. ‘There were large shifts, so it was exciting. You had to constantly search for wind patches, which we did manage well.’ At the finish it was close, only a few seconds in favor of the Dutch. The second bullet was easier to score and the Argentinean F18 title went to

Larsen and Frank.Podium F18 Argentine Nationals 2011:
1. NED- Gunnar Larsen & Sam Frank, 12 points
2. ARG- Esteban Blando & Nicolas Aragones, 16 points
3. ARG- Juan Faustin & Lucas Gonzalez Smith, 17 points

Early 2012 Team Boskalis will be back in actionat the inaugural Thailand Regatta from February 4 to 10 in Pattaya on the Gulfof Thailand.
www.teamboskalis.com