IMCA Holland - 2003 Annual Report

In recent years Moth sailors in Holland had to go abroad to do some serious Moth racing. Since dinghy racing is not popular in Holland, too few sailors are scattered across too many classes. This means that radical classes such as the Moth find it hard to organise events on their own. In order to have more Moth racing in Holland we decided to participate in the Dutch Skiff Sailing foundation. Apart from the Moth, the major skiff types are represented here such as Laser4000, RS boats, 29er/49er, International 14 and the 18ft skiffs.

The goal of the Skiff organisation is to promote the interest in skiff sailing by organising a skiff racing circuit throughout the country at attractive venues. This has worked very well for us. We had some good racing and at the event in Friesland (north of Holland) we had the single biggest class with some 12 boats (thanks to a strong German contingent). Richard Knol and Hubert Bakker went to the 2003 world championships at Les Sables in France, where Richard did quite well.

Having seen the impressive speeds which are possible with the new generation of hydrofoils, Richard has taken the plunge and ordered a set of hydrofoils from John Ilett. During 2003 the Dutch Moth web site (www.moth.nl) was revised. It has now become an important medium for communication with Moth sailors in Holland and Germany.

For 2004 we will compete in the Skiff circuit and some events in Germany. Now we have our events in Holland in place we will now focus on building the class, starting with the dinghy exhibition at the Friesland Boat Show in early February.

All the best,

Hubert Bakker
IMCA Holland

2003 Statistics

• Registered members in 2002: <5
• Active members in 2002: 2