Team DutchSail has welcomed its own Persico 69F and christened it last week in the presence of Olympic sailor Marcelien Bos De Koning and the whole team at the KNZ & RV Muiden. The 69F has been wrapped with the traditional orange lion on the hull and on the sail and is now ready to train for the next competitions.
“With this campaign we want to show that dreams can come true if you show entrepreneurship, dare to be innovative and show courage – said Coach Pieter-Jan Postma – Many thought that it was impossible when we started with a small group and a lot of ambition. But we did it, we are all here together. In front of us is our own boat, we have a team of eight super talented top sailors and behind us stands a broad base of organizations and companies. In my opinion, this is the way to run a contemporary and future-proof sailing campaign”.
Team 69F is proud to have DutchSail in the Persico 69F family and wishes good luck to the team for their training and next competitions.
Here is DutchSail’s press release
“The 69F of Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong was christened by Mayor of the North Sea Marcelien Bos De Koning, last week at the KNZ & RV Muiden. The multiple world champion and winner of the Olympic Silver in Beijing christened the boat “Janssen de Jong” and wished her a safe journey. This spectacular foiling monohull boat with typical Orange lion, is used by the sailors of Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong to prepare for the competitions that follow.
Entrepreneurship, innovative and courage
Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong is a unique collaboration of important Dutch sailing organizations and knowledge institutions supported by a broad base of companies led by main sponsor Janssen de Jong Group. The team is sailing under the wings of DutchSail on behalf of the Netherlands, in collaboration with Sailing Holland, supported by the Watersportverbond (Dutch Sailing Federation) and on registration from the KNZ & RV and KRZV De Maas.
Coach Pieter-Jan Postma describes the ambitions as follows: “With this campaign we want to show that dreams can come true if you show entrepreneurship, dare to be innovative and show courage. Many thought that it was impossible when we started with a small group and a lot of ambition. But we did it, we are all here together. In front of us is our own boat, we have a team of eight super talented top sailors and behind us stands a broad base of organizations and companies. In my opinion, this is the way to run a contemporary and future-proof sailing campaign.”
“The Netherlands is a small country, but we are big in sailing. If we work together and are willing to step over our own shadow, we can set up beautiful campaigns. Campaigns that have the potential to compete for the podium. Whether in the Youth America’s Cup, America’s Cup, an Ocean Race or in the new offshore Olympic sailing discipline. If we do things together as the Netherlands, we can do a lot. ”
Setting new goals
The temporary loss of the Youth America’s Cup due to the Covid19 virus, as announced on Wednesday, does not change the goals of Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong for the time being.
Sailor Ismene Usman: “Of course we were disappointed when we heard that New Zealand was not going through. That’s the reason why we put our other campaigns and commitments aside. The Youth America’s Cup was our common goal. But quite quickly we started to think in terms of solutions ourselves.”
Mainsail trimmer Rutger Vos adds too Ismene: “It is actually just like sailing, when the wind changes you have to adjust the trim of the sails or you have to change your course. We are now adjusting our trim, but remain on track to show great things with this team and to grow as a team but also individually.”
Postma: “As stated earlier this week, we are confident that we can quickly present a new goal. The telephone has been ringing off the hook for the past days and there has been a lot of international contact. The question for me at the moment is not so much whether but rather which event or events will replace the Youth America’s Cup. We are optimistic in that regard. As a team, we have to make sure we are ready when we need to be there. That is also what lives among the sailors. They have really become a team in the recent weeks and have not finished this journey yet. They want to continue; we want to continue and the companies that are here today want to make that possible. That is why we will continue to train for the time being and expect clarity about our new final goal within a few weeks. It is great that the boat is ready and that we can now start training here in Muiden.”
Spectacular boat, spectacular design
Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong sails in the 69F, this 40-square-meter one-design class has a length of 6.9 meters. The width of the boat is 2.1 meters without and 4.6 meters including foils. With a draft of 1.7 meters and a displacement of only 350 kg, the boat can reach speeds of up to 25 knots per hour, about 40 to 50 km / h quit easily.
Studio Bas made the design for the boat especially for Team DutchSail – Janssen de Jong. A fully integrated design between boat and sails, with a prominent place for the Orange lion, typical of Team DutchSail.”
