Fifteen teams started the Dutch National J/70 Sailing League against the skyline of Almere. In total, no less than 27 races were sailed during the first round of the Eredivisie Sailing 2018. At the end, the WV Almere Centraal Team fought off two very tough crews to mark their first win of the season. After a day’s sailing, the top three teams were all within two points of each other. After an early morning postponement, the participants started racing at 1300 hrs. The light, shifty winds made it a challenge for both sailors and the committee. The reigning national champion WV Almere Centraal started strong on their home waters. They closed the first day at the top of the ranking. One of the challengers this year was Jachtclub Scheveningen. In the very first race of the season, they convincingly sailing to victory. One of the eye-catchers of the field is, just like last year, the YC Amsterdam team SHE SAILS. This year they are sailing with five ladies in the boat, versus four last year. Large differences in pressure and wind directions marked sailing on Saturday. The variable conditions made the tactics difficult for many of the sailing teams, but this had no effect on the top three teams. Despite the shifty, streaky winds, WV Almere Centraal remained consistently at the top with 17 points. They were followed closely by the RR&ZV Maas & Roer Team and the Jachtclub Scheveningen Team, both only one point away from each other. WV de Meeuwen, KZ & RV Muiden and WV Brassermermeer shared fourth to sixth places with 24 points each. With 4 to 6 knots of wind on the final day, the teams all started on time. Shortly after the finish of the first flights, the wind suddenly disappeared, and the postponement flag was hoisted immediately. After half an hour, it was decided to send the boats back to the shore, hoping for the return of the wind. Despite strong attempts to complete a full series of three races, the weather was not favorable to the sailors. As a result, the only race on Sunday morning did not count for the rankings. Therefore, the scores at the end of Saturday’s racing became the final results for the first Act in Almere. “The weekend sailing in familiar territory has paid off. Our goal was to win this weekend, and we succeeded. Admittedly with a minimum margin, because it was very close racing. Three teams shared fourth place, so we are still getting strong competition this season. In any case, it was a fun and a great round to sail,” said team captain John den Engelsman. For more Netherlands J/70 Sailing League information, visit http://eredivisiezeilen.nl/.