Dutch Water Week in Almere: Highlights from Saturday, September 20

Follow the sailing races from the Esplanade
Today, the qualification races took place for the big finale of the Sailing Grand Slam, which will be sailed tomorrow on the Weerwater. From the Esplanade or Strand22, you can get a great view of the races, as the elite athletes pass just a few meters from you on their way to their boats before heading out on the water. For the Netherlands, sailing on an artificial city lake like the Weerwater is truly unique.

Mike from B&B Vol Liefde explores the Weerwater on an eFoil
Through Mike Verkoelen’s appearance on B&B Vol Liefde, both the visiting ladies and viewers of the show got to know eFoiling—a type of surfing where you don’t rely on wind or a paddle but control your speed with a remote. Today, he demonstrated his eFoil skills on the Weerwater. Even on the final day of Dutch Water Week, you can try this flying watersport yourself.

Olympic bronze medalist Luuc van Opzeeland flown in from Canada
Luuc van Opzeeland won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Marseille last summer. Most of the sailors competing on the Weerwater today and tomorrow learned to sail at a young age in an Optimist dinghy. As Luuc himself points out, there’s always room to polish his sailing skills… And sailing is exactly what you can learn at Optimist on Tour. Check out the video of Luuc at Optimist on Tour during Dutch Water Week!

Dutch 49er teams help test new formats
In the spectacular 49er class, only Dutch teams are competing this weekend. International sailors were unable to attend due to the World Championships next month. To still test new Olympic formats for this class, the Dutch teams offered to participate. Reigning world champions Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken are also back in action.

A spectacular Sunday with the Sailing Grand Slam finals
On Sunday, September 21, the top five sailors in the iQFoil and ILCA 7 classes will compete for the title, while all participants in the ILCA 6 class will race against each other. Starting at 9 AM, the races on the Weerwater kick off with ten Dutch teams in the 49er class. The winners will take home not only glory but also €1,500 prize money per person. You can follow all the races from the Esplanade!