Last weekend at our 2023 Worlds venue in Scheveningen the SB20 Open Dutch Championship saw a remarkable triumph by Team Kesbeke of owner Eelco Blok, Ronald Veraar and Gonçalo Vieira Lopes. Competing against 15 local and international boats, including four Belgian and one Portuguese team, Kesbeke demonstrated exceptional resilience to secure victory after two days of strong winds and choppy waves. We decided to chat with Ronald about the key factors that contributed to this success.
Ronald and Eelco are long-time sailing partners together with another crew member Pim Mommersteeg, they have competed in the Melges 24 for over 10 years. Their notable success included top 5 Corinthian finishes and one Corinthian European Championship title. Having sailed together and against each other in the Netherlands two sailing friends Ronald and Eelco could finally celebrate a joint National title as the SB20 Dutch Champions!
Why did you switch from Melges 24 to the SB20?
Ronald Veraar: “Just before and during COVID our fourth Melges crew member stopped sailing, so we remained three in the team. Then, travelling became difficult not only because of COVID, but on the personal level. With most of the Melges events sailed abroad we looked at the local scene and found that the SB20 Class was prominent in the Netherlands, so we decided to opt for it”.
With the SB20 circuit not only they had a chance to race in the 2023 SB20 Worlds in home waters, but later travel to Dubai and do the Asia Pacific Championships and the World Championships 2024. The Asia Pacifics were so much like the North Sea conditions that they got hooked on the class!
Normally, Kesbeke would sail with three members: Ronald, Eelco, and Pim. Sadly, Pim’s mother had passed away just before the event and they had to quickly find a replacement for the Nationals. Gonçalo Lopes, the winning trimmer onboard Kidzink at the SB20 Worlds 2024 and the SB20 Worlds 2022 in Ireland is a very experienced sailor in our Class. Thanks to his last-minute availability he was able to join. Ronald acknowledged the impact of Gonçalo’s addition to the team, stating, “Gonçalo’s knowledge and experience in the Class was key for us to take it to the next level.”
The regatta presented challenging conditions starting from Day 1 with strong winds and big choppy waves, when four races have been sailed. Despite these hurdles, Kesbeke managed to maintain a consistent performance throughout the races. They focused on fighting for the best result in every race rather than aiming for the series win. This approach proved crucial, especially after a disqualification (DSQ) in Race 2. Ronald noted, “We were racing for the best result in every race and not for the Series.”
Their strategy of continuous improvement and fighting for every position paid off. Ronald highlighted their resilience, saying, “We never actually lost any places – it was always fighting.” This perseverance was particularly evident in the way they handled the boat downwind in the strong wind conditions, which played to their strengths.
Their main competitors included young team Skipjack led by Laser sailors brothers Auck and Finn Holtrop from Haarlem yacht Club and two crew members from other Dutch clubs – Lisanne Nijdam from DSWZ BROACH and Lotte Brasser from WV HELIUS; former Dutch Champion team MXTC of Marco van Driel, Joost Assmann and Martijn Worseling and the recent winners of the North Sea regatta 2024 – Vliegensvlugge Vlieg of Ko Stroo Stroo Ko, Koen Verhaeghe de Naeyer andRalph van Etten representing WV BRAASSEMERMEER. Despite Auck’s strong performance initially – they were leading after Day 1, on the following Day 2 after an unfortunate UFD in Race 6 they lost the momentum, which probably hindered their performance in the last three races. Kesbeke capitalized on these opportunities by adopting a more conservative approach, which ultimately secured their victory.
Reflecting on their performance, Ronald expressed satisfaction with how the event unfolded. He stated, “In these conditions, SB20 is a really nice boat!” Looking ahead, the team plans to compete in the Belgian Nationals on 5-7th July at the Royal North Sea Yacht Club in Ostend and potentially other local regattas, with an eye on the SB20 World Championships in Singapore in 2025.
In the final standings, Marco van Driel and team MXTC finished third with 31,5 point overall, Auke Holtrop and team Skipjack took second place with 19 points – just 2 points behind Kesbeke. They continued playing strong competition to Kesbeke, who remained unaware of their victory up until they reached the yacht club: “We didn’t know we’ve won until we hit the dock! We thought Auck (team Skipjack) has won it, because he was so consistent.”
The team whose name you will probably struggle to pronounce unless you’re Dutch – Vliegensvlugge Vlieg – translates much shorter – as Swift Fly, were 4th overall. The skipper Ko Stroo and his team sailed very well with one 3rd finish on Day 1 and 2 bullets on Day 2 and a couple of finishes out of Top 10, which wa not consistent enough to take them to the podium.
Joined forces with Jeroen van der Velden (former skipper of team 3J’s) and his usual crew Frank Dobbels, Martijn Buitenhuis on Buitenhuis Advies scored one bullet in Race 3 and with their worst result in 9th place they finished 5th overall.
On the international side four Belgian boats participated with two all-female teams of Sailing Betties. Difficult for the girls to keep up with the demanding physical sailing in 20 knots of wind, but they’ve done very well with sailing all the races and adding a bit of pink to the Championship.
Another notable international entry – team HELLONEXT from Portugal of Nuno Cabral representing Clube Naval de Cascais sailed with the 2023 Silver World’s helmsman Tiago Morais and one of the Cascais sailing legends Luís Guedes de Queiroz. Not often we see a team from the South Europe travelling to the North, but the magic of the North Sea calls best sailors for a challenge.
The event was not just about racing; it also featured a chill social program with happy hours sponsored by GT Yachtbrokers and Hein Ruyten One Design, followed by a three-course dinner served by Jacht Club Scheveningen, and the annual members’ meeting, which contributed to the great atmosphere the Dutch SB20 class is famous for.
A special thank you was extended to the providers of numerous nice gifts for the raffle preceding the prize-giving ceremony: Helly Hansen, Dubarry and Hein Ruyten One Design.
See you in Belgium on July 5, 6 & 7 for the Belgian Open in Oostende, but before the Maltese and the Portuguese fleets will crown their National champions in June. Check our events calendar and don’t forget to sail!