2B Sailing News Article
FEMALE "LIGHTWEIGHTS" CREATE HISTORY IN SEASON OPENER
Two former round-the-world team-mates have written a new entry in sailing's record books with with Carolijn Brouwer and Liz Wardley the first all-female crew ever to win the famous Eurocat regatta in Carnac, France.
Barely 120 kilo dripping wet, the catamaran lightweights excelled in a variety of conditions to claim the 16-foot division in a Viper they had raced together for the first time just three days earlier.
Brouwer, from The Netherlands, and France-based Australian Wardley, finished no worst than 3rd over the entire weekend with their discard result following some equipment problems and Wardley falling overboard in the final race of the regatta in Carnac.
"That was cool. We had heaps of fun out there. We had a smile from ear to ear all weekend long and we still can't wipe it of our faces," said Brouwer, a former world Europe dinghy champion and Tornado medallist who last raced with Wardley as part of an all-female crew in the 2001/2002 Volvo Ocean race on Amer Sports Two.
"What was also really pleasing was the fact that despite being so light, we are barely 120 kilos together, we were able to handle all the conditions at the Eurocat regatta. It was light the first day and obviously that really suited us but on the last day it was 15 to 20 knots but we still got a second and first in the races that counted. The only reason we did the last race, which we didn't need to do because we already had the win, was because we were having so much fun out there.
"There have been mixed crews in the past but no all female-crew has ever won here so we are stoked about that as Liz hasn't raced on a catamaran for five years and we had never sailed a Viper together before the regatta.
"I thought it would take a lot longer for us to get it all together but we just blended. We are over the moon.
In an impressive result for the 2B sailing team of multiple world Tornado champion Darren Bundock and partner Brouwer, the two-time Olympic medallist from Australia and British crewmate Will Howden claimed a second place in their Eurocat divisision on the C2 Formula 18.
Like Brouwer and Wardley, the pair went into the regatta with no previous time sailing the catamaran but emerged with an impressive podium placing.
"While we finished second overall we are still really, really happy, Bundock said. "We had 100 odd boats in our fleet and even then our worst result was a fourth.
"Their regatta was a real test for the C2 Formula 18 because we got a bit of everything out there weather wise. But it came up trumps across the board.
"Downwind the boat was phenomenal in all conditions. Upwind I think the boat was also quite quick once we got used to it."
The next event for Brouwer on the Viper is the North Sea Regatta. Bundock's next event on the C2 Formula 18 is Round Texel, the world's largest catamaran race.
