Round The Dam 2026
Two weeks ago, Saturday it`s the second edition of Round the Dam – Brouwersdam . A round of around 35 km crossing the bay of the Brouwersdam, Netherlands. Round the dam marked my first competition of the year (and also the first one of the Dutch wingfoiling scene, due to lack of wind earlier comps). The competition turned out in one of those days that have everything; rain, sunshine, wind, no wind, fish crashes, pumping and powered riding.
Last minunte I signed up, the same morning I decided to join anyway , whatever happens. I packed my one and only race wing ( the famous 6m – not my best friend yet), winter wetsuit (!) and was ready for some fun. That`s what it`s all about these days. 😊
After the skippers meeting it was a gamble (business like usual) , not completely clear when the rain would actually come or how the wind would behave, the safest choice was wetsuit on and go for it as soon as the start is given. It made it easy for me with only one choice wing. Wing pumped up and a rare occasion were my race foil actually gets a proper clean.. Something I somehow only manage to do when there is a competition involved. (But it does make a hudge difference – to answer all your questions).
The first round started in light wind – definitely not my strongest skill (Yet). Starting from the water, as we were planning to do a beach start I never brought a starting watch (offcourse) – I can see the car coming without a countdown…
Meanwhile on the water; I had absolutely no clue what was going on, I couldn`t figure out the flags…when to start, where.. Untill at some point everybody came straight at me already in racing mode like “OK its go time” . A quick U – turn was needed to make my way back to the starting line and play a fun catch up (there is gonna be a time that I nail it at the start…. ….)
The first mark and the second mark were easy to reach, than the wind decided to play a game in cooperation with some fish (which make you unexpectedly crash). Well , it definitely kept thing interesting this way. And I still do wonder how it looks for my foil when these encounters happen…. After every crash it was a gamble, is there a gust for me to start or not. It quickly became a game of persistence, pumping and avoiding wind holes were possible. The crashes didn’t exactly help me race, but at that point they did help to get some life back into my frozen fingers. ( I know – Hard to imagine a week later with temperature around the 28 degrees). Meanwhile a seal popped up next to me and stared for a bit, figuring out wat I was doing there.. at that point I also didn`t know, just remembered that I hate light wind and the starts. In good company of the seal, who was definitly reading my toughts, I waited for the next gust to move on again.
The wind turned, the rain passed. Eventually I made it all the way to the far end buoy. Here I turned around, felt a small wave switched my feet and … the wind completely disappeared. And my left- foot pumping skills were instantly exposed. Sitting in the waves also didn’t make it easier to get going again. We waited, waited and waited – until the moment came we all had to go back to shore, boat ride back it was.
The moment we came back to shore (2.5 hours later), it seemed to be really windy all of a sudden or better said, as it always does in a unexplainable way. Without knowing the plan I pumped my wing again to get warm. From that moment one it became better and better; The sun came out, the sky cleared and suddenly it looked perfect out there.
Round two was about to start. With a beach start and a run and start kind of vibe – I instantly forgot about the cold and was off racing. The second round made up for everything, fast, sunny and fun all around the course. Apparently the fish weren’t done with me tough, near the finish line they gave me another surprise encounter. In the end I managed to pass the finish line in 5th overall and 1st woman.
The 6m felt a bit big (but hey, I won`t lie – it`s exactly how I like it – easy starts and no pumping or waiting for wind) , and I definitely had a few moments were I questioned my life choices out there – using mostly one arm. But in the end the conditions turned out to be absolutely perfect for my “one size fits all” approach. Powered, fast , and just on that edge were everything feels a bit sketchy but also exactly right! 😊
One thing I always like about competitions is that results not always are about who has de best skills , but often who keeps going no matter what. Especially in difficult conditions like these, persistence can make up all the difference. Just going. Everyone has difficult moments out there, but it’s the people who keep going, keep pushing that stand out in the end,
Considering the lack of winter training , the in between exam decision, one wing approach, still not having proper tacks dialled in and probably riding more one hand than two handed –
A good day on the water!
After this race its time to switch back to study mode and my wing finally gets to dry … two weeks after the fact. Sometimes it just be like that.
It was never about perfect training or flawless execution. It was about showing up, taking part and enjoying the ride – even when things dont go or are perfectly. Races are like a reminder, you don`t have to be fully ready to have a good time on the water. Sometimes just being there is enough , don` t let the “not ready yet” keep you on the shore!
See you the next round,
