Following feedback form our owners and participants at previous X-Cups in both Holland and Belgium it seemed to be a wise decision for X-Yachts Holland and X-Yachts Belgium to join forces and co-organize the 2010 X-Yachts Benelux Cup in Wemeldinge, southern Holland.

After a weekend of racing, social festivities, great food and smiles on the faces of all competitors the conclusions could be only one: it turned out to be a great event.

Friday
43 yachts gathered in Wemeldinge on Friday the 4th of June, to register for the regatta and get a first look at the competition. In this area of confined tidal waters the bridges and locks are numerous, and maintenance of some of them meant some of the yachts had some more sailing to do to reach Wemeldinge, but in the end that is what the X-Yachts are for!

Saturday

Saturday morning brought everybody great weather with warm temperatures and loads of sunshine, the only thing absent at that time was the wind… Quite essential for sailing!

At the skipper’s briefing all competitors were informed of the courses to be sailed and were then sent out. Upon arrival at the starting area, the wind seemed to be quite thin indeed, and the postponement was set to await some more breeze.

Balloon fight
The organization had luckily foreseen the postponement and had handed out balloons to all participating yachts. It was not too long before those balloons (filled with water!) started flying from boat to boat in fierce battles. Perhaps the most hilarious action was a head-to-head confrontation between two yachts (X-46 Nerox and X-43 XO). Once ‘fighting’ all attention was focused on the opposition. A third yacht however, X-?? ???, crawled up behind the X-46 and absolutely surprised the crew, treating them to some direct hits and wet clothes!

Wind coming up
Finally some wind started coming up and the yachts were sent away. First off was the Family Class with 27 participating yachts, followed 15 minutes later by the Racing Class with 16 participating yachts. It proved to be fortunate that the X-Yachts are good light wind yachts, since the races were sailed in very light winds indeed. This combined with the current at the Oosterschelde race area made it challenging to finish at all!

 

Winner of the day in Family Class was the X-40 Ex-Leuver, closely followed by the Xc 45 Tenace and the Xc 42 Pepaju. Top three in Racing Class were X-41 Lender, IMX-40 Spookschip and X-40 Geluxvogel.

Party with live band
Upon returning to the marina the party tent was all set-up and drinks and laughter were quickly enjoyed by all. An impressive dinner followed later that evening, after which the daily prizes were awarded. To top it off, a live band joined to kick off the party, which continued to late in the evening.

Sunday

Sunday brought some different weather, cloudy with rain on its way, however still no wind. The race committee managed to find some breeze for the participants to start off and get on their way. Halfway the race course some rainfall came along, which also caused the wind to die almost completely.

Racing on tidal waters (with some strong currents) meant that at some times the fastest way to the mark was actually to drop anchor! Some yachts managed to fight the current and round the mark to take off again with the current, implying that in the end 11 boats managed to finish in Sport Class and just 4 boats made the finish in Family Class!

Despite this remarkable outcome the mood of the competitors remained positive, proving how sportsmanslike the X-sailors really are!

Victory in Racing Class on Sunday was once again taken by the X-41 Lender, now followed by a well-performing X-362 Sport Exolist and the X-40 Geluxvogel. The race in Family Class was clearly won by X-46 Wiper One (finishing a full hour ahead!), followed by two X-412’s, die Swaene and Blue Hopper.

The prize giving ceremony on Sunday afternoon was well attended again, and prices were awarded to the daily winners and the overall winners, being:

Family Class
X-46 Wiper One Robert de Jong
X-412 Blue Hopper Paul Vermeulen
X-412 die Swaene Jean-Marie Bolle

Racing Class
X-41 Lender Luc Meersman
X-40 Geluxvogel Bram van der Wal
X-362 Sport Exolist Thierry de Heyn

The 2010 X-Yachts Benelux Cup once more proved how much pride and joy there is among the owners of all participating X-Yachts.

 

Thanks to our sponsors, the volunteers in the organization committee and our participants, the event turned out to be a weekend to remember (although everyone agreed some more wind would be fine for the next event!).