For the third time in a row, Almere Centraal became the Dutch champion of the Eredivisie Sailing. The Veerse Meer in Zeeland was the playing field of a three-day battle for the national title. WV De Meeuwen (Leeuwarden) was able to take a fast start to second place thanks to the consistent results over the weekend. Only three points away, RR & ZV Maas & Roer (Roermond) took third place. This last round was an important moment for many teams, and it was a weekend where nothing turned out to be certain. Sailors were treated to wind speeds varying from 2 to 16 knots over the weekend. In addition to the individual rounds of play earlier this year, the winner of the general classification was also determined in Veere. Gaining a top four place in the general classification means a coveted start ticket for the semi-finals of the international Sailing Champions League in 2019. In the 2018 SCL Finals in September, three Dutch teams sailed on the mountain lake St. Moritz, Switzerland. Almere Centraal won the Championship for the third time with a total of only 105 points. The winning team captain, John den Engelsman, commented, “We have actually done everything we always do: good preparation, neatly mastered, do not take too many risks. As a result, we have been able to further expand our lead. The circumstances were not easy, but by paying attention to our opponents and the wind shifts, we were able to make it happen. We just have a good and reliable team that wants to train. In addition, we have often sailed the Champions League, where you learn a lot. If we can form a permanent crew, we participate and we go for a podium place.” In Veere, Almere Central managed to win 11 of 15 races in the regatta. For more Dutch J/70 Sailing League information, visit http://eredivisiezeilen.nl/.