Mischa Heemskerk of the Netherlands dominates 2012 A-Cat Worlds

2012 Ronstan A-Class Catamaran Worlds day 2 © Sam Moore

The 2012 Ronstan A-Class Catamaran World Championship was an event that tested the mettle of all involved. Competitors arrived on site at Islamorada Florida's Islander Resort as early as a week in advance and were treated to a complete lack of breeze of any kind, but forecasts looked ideal heading into the week of racing, calling for 12-15 knots from October 22nd-26th, the five days slated for the event's 10 races. The practice race went off on Thursday in slightly over 15 knots, with Australia's Jack Benson leading throughout and getting the gun. However forecasts rapidly worsened as the 22nd approached, and with high wind speeds expected to reduce fleet numbers Principal Race Officer Billy Richnow was forced to modify the racing format, switching from a group stages elimination approach back to a traditional fleet racing.

Three races were held on Monday the 22nd in difficult conditions, with high wind speeds and the nasty Islamorada chop putting an emphasis on seamanship. 2011 World Champion Steve Brewin of Sydney, Australia seemed well positioned for a repeat performance after taking Race One in convincing fashion despite American Ian Storer port tacking the fleet at the start, and then edging fellow Australian Brad Collett at the finish of Race Two. However Brewin ran into trouble in Race Three when, after sitting second for two laps behind Andrew Landenberger, he mistook the finish line for the leeward mark and gave up considerable ground. Landenberger got the gun followed by Mischa Heemskerk of the Netherlands and Collett with Brewin finishing ninth, putting Heemskeerk in command after three races having taken a third and two seconds.

The A-Cat fleet had begun launching on the 23rd for their 11a.m. first signal when, with about twenty boats in the water including Heemskerk and Landenberg, sustained wind speeds above the class limit of 22 were reported at the windward mark, forcing Richnow to abandon morning racing and hold the fleet on the beach. When conditions failed to improve throughout the day Richnow had no choice but to declare the entire day a wash. By this point Hurricane Sandy was parked over Cuba, and with winds of 30-40 knots expected in the next few days regatta organizers realized that the only way to get the five races required for a World Championship in might be to squeeze two races in on Wednesday morning before the conditions became un-sailable.

Richnow moved Wednesday's first warning signal up to 9 a.m. in order to get the series in before the full force winds arrived. The A-Cats launched as the sun rose over the Islander, and in Race Four it was Nathan Outteridge winning the start and holding a sizable lead at the first windward mark. Heemskerk closed on the 49er gold medalist on the second beat as the two pulled away from the pack, but at the bottom mark Outteridge ran into a similar problem to Brewin on Day One. Mistaking a blue pennant on the committee boat for a shorten course alert Outteridge sailed to the finish, followed by Collet who had been sitting fourth at the time, with neither realizing their mistake until a number of boats had overtaken them. By this point Heemskerk was well out in front, getting the gun easily. Outteridge was able to climb back through the fleet by heading out to sea on the final run, gybing well out in the right hand corner of the race course and sailing a hot angle into the line where he squeaked past New Zealand's Murray Philpot for second place. Collet was not so lucky, getting edged at the finish by Brewin for the second time in four races and stuck with an eighth.

In Race Five American Lars Guck got in on the action, owning the pin at the start and trailing only Heemskerk at the windward mark, who was simply dominating in the high winds. Heemskerk rounded first followed by Guck, Philpot, and Outteridge, however by this point sustained breezes above the class limit were being reported at the windward mark, forcing the race committee to shorten course and finish the competitors after only one lap. Heemskerk got the gun and secured the Championship, finishing with only nine points in five races. The next closest sailor turned out to be Landenberger, who moved past Brewin and Collett on Day Three by taking a fourth and fifth while Brewin and Collett went seven-eight, and eight-eleven respectively. Brewin took third on the strength of the two photo finishes over Collett, giving him 24 points to Collet's 26. Philpot rounded out the top five with 39 points after scoring a second and third on Day Three. By this point gale force winds were in full force and, having gotten the series in, regatta organizers decided to abandon the remainder of racing, crowning Heemskerk 2012 A-Class Catamaran World Champion at the awards ceremony held that evening.

The conditions did have an effect on the results as not only were a number of top competitors forced to drop out of races due to breakages, they were unable to reach the six races required for a throw-out. ISAF rules mandate that five races must be scored for a World Championship, but A-Class class rules require six for a throwout. As a result top sailors like Guck, Outteridge, American Matt Struble, Australian Steve Brayshaw, and Qiwi Blair Tuke were all forced to carry DNC's when they suffered breakages on Day One. Outteridge and Guck never finished outside the top ten in races they completed, and Tuke's lowest finish was an 11th in Race 4, but due to the lack of a throw-out they wound up 16th, 20th, and 19th respectively.

Yet while competitors were disappointed not to get more racing in, there was no doubt that a deserving World Champion was crowned at the end of the day. Of the 113 sailors at the Islander for the event not one demonstrated as much command of the A-Cat as Heemskerk. Many sailors found themselves in survival mode due to the extreme conditions but Heemskerk, nicknamed "The Dutch Honey Badger" by Guck, simply wasn't bothered. Racing was incredibly tight at the top, with top competitors finishing all over the top ten, yet Heemskerk never scored lower than a third. The regatta did not go according to plan but a tropical storm showing up in the middle of an event is not exactly something regatta organizers have a contingency plan for, and it was incredible effort by all involved just to get the regatta in. The conditions were about as difficult as possible, yet the support staff headed up by Islander Water Sports did a masterful job getting every competitor to the beach safely, and no injuries were sustained apart from American Matt suffering a few minor scratches in Race One after a collision.

All involved with the regatta came up with super human efforts to get the series in, Heemskerk dominated, and sailors are now looking forward to New Zealand, 2013.

Overall Results: (no discard)

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