2008 Vintage Yachting Games


The 2008 Vintage Yachting Games was the first post-Olympic multi-class sailing event for discontinued Olympic classes. The event took place on the IJsselmeer of Medemblik, the Netherlands, from 20 September to 27 September 2008.
A total of 66 sailors in 47 boats from 17 countries showed up to compete in six Vintage Yachting Classes

Prologue

Bid process

Since the idea of the Vintage Yachting Games originated from the Netherlands and also the key project team members where living there it was an easy step to organize this event the first time nearby. So there was no formal bid process.
The city of Medemblik is since the early 1960s the main capital of the Dutch Olympic sailing community. The IJsselmeer of the coast of Medemblik offers mostly fair conditions for racing. The Royal Yacht Club Hollandia, the primary race organizer in Medemblik, however turned down the request of the Vintage Yachting Games Organization to act as the host club. A perfect alternative was found in the experienced Surf, Zeil & Watersportvereniging Uitdam and one of its founders Frans Bolweg. With Uitdam the Vintage Yachting Games Organization was ensured form a very professional host club with also many years of experience at the waters near the Medemblik coast. Uitdam co-organized for many years the successful SPA-regatta.

Kick-off and preparation

In order to realize the first edition of the Vintage Yachting Games in time and with the proper quality, a project team was put together with competence in areas. Besides the Vintage Yachting Games Organizations board, the project team consisted of Frouk Segaar, Lydia Verduyn, Peter Hoekstra, Mireille Zeeman and Martijn van der Driest, Menno Meyer, Robin Segaar and Frans Bolweg.
The two main issues of the project team was confronted with were:
Both issues were emphasized by the fact that this was the first time ever of such an event. Finally issues were resolved in time by the project team so that the quality of the event was according to the required level.

Costs

The financial strategy of the project team was that it must be able to organize a minimum event with high quality and finance it with the income of the entry fees. Funds and materials from sponsoring would be used to add quality elements to the event so that the sailors would get more value for money and the sponsors had more exposure a shore.
The total cost of the event was approximately €40.000. Because at the last moment there was quite a significant number of no-shows, the project team successfully adjusted the purchase of social events, and some sponsors contributed extra so that the financial aspect of the event stayed in the black.

Vintage

Organization

Venues

The Regatta Center in Medemblik offers suitable logistic and facilities for the organization of large International sailing events. The waters in front of the Regatta Center are capable for laying out several course areas. For the 2008 Vintage Yachting Games two course areas were used to cater for the Vintage Yachting Classes.

Wind conditions

The Netherlands in general and the northern part of the IJsselmeer in special has a typical sea climate. The wind is typically gradient driven. In the summer when there is a low tide in the afternoon on the Wadden Sea a sea breeze can develop from the north off the coast of Medemblik.
In September the temperature can vary from 10-30 °C. Occasionally a thunderstorm can develop in the afternoon or evening.

Calendar

The program of the 2008 Vintage Yachting Games was as follows:
DateMain activitySocial events
20 September * Registration
  • Measurement
21 September * Registration
  • Measurement
    		• Opening ceremony
  • Fleet review
  • Opening at the castle Radboud
  • Social event at the castle
    • 22 September Race 1Daily prize giving
    23 September * Race 2
  • Race 3
    		• Daily prize giving
    24 September Race 4* Daily prize giving
  • Mid-week social event
    • 25 September Race 5Daily prize giving
    26 September Race 6Daily prize giving
    27 September Race 7Closing ceremony
  • VIP race
  • Prize giving
  • Passing of the flag
  • Championship dinner

    • Competition

  • Szabolcs Majthenyi: Multiple World Champion Flying Dutchman
  • Gordon Ingate: Olympic participant 1972 in Tempest, long time involved in America's Cup sailing for Australia. Oldest participant during the 2008 Vintage
  • Keith Musto: Olympic silver medalist 1964 in Flying Dutchman

    Continents

  • Australia
  • Europe
  • North America
  • South America

    Countries

    • Vintage Yachting Classes

    Measurement

    Measurement during the Vintage Yachting Games was limited to safety equipment of the competing boats. The boats Flying Dutchman and Europe class were weighed and checked. The remaining sails, rigging and boats were just "stamped".
    No major measurement issues were found.

    Opening ceremony

    The opening ceremony consisted of the following elements:
    The closing ceremony started with the Vintage InterPares race in the 12’ Dinghies. This was followed by the prize giving. The prizes were handed out by the representatives of the International Class Organizations.
    During the closing of the event Rudy den Outer thanked the city of Medemblik for her cooperation. He also announced that “Multilario”, will be the host of the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games. After that the Vintage flag was received from the mayor of Medemblik, Theo van Eijk by the Project manager of the 2012 Edition of the Vintage Yachting Games: Pietro Adamoli. This next edition will be organized at Lake Como.

    Media coverage

    The official photographer of the 2008 Vintage Yachting Games was Marc van Oers.
    The event was covered by the media in several ways:
    Races in all events were sailed in a fleet racing format of seven scheduled races. The contestants raced around a course in one group, and each boat earned a score equal conform the bonus point system. The five best scores for each boat were summed up for the overall score. On Saturday 27 September the wind conditions did not allowed a valid race.

    Reports per event

    Per class separate pages reporting the facts are available.

    Report Vintage InterPares race

    By crossing colored ribbon Szabolcs Majthenyi, the responsible person of the victorious Hungarian Flying Dutchman, won the Vintage InterPares race 2008. In this race all winners of the Vintage Yachting Games meet each other in a battle between the classes. This race is held in the 12’ Dinghy, an Olympic class in 1920 and 1928. This class is still very active in 10 countries including The Netherlands, Italy and Japan. For privacy reasons the rest of the finishing order will remain a secret. The International Flying Dutchman class was “THE” Vintage Yachting Class till 2012.

    Medal summary

    Medals

    Vintage 2008

    Country Trophy

    Concerns

    of the regatta center. Felix was able to race due to the help of the Dutch O-Jolle class organization and Hendrik van Isselmuiden who lent out his O-Jolle.