Did you know that in English there are no separate words for sailing (with sail) or sailing (in motorboat)? Well today during the second Nestor race in Rotterdam we did neither. The best Dutch word would have been ‘dobberen’, but I have yet to find a good translation for that. Wind/jokes aside, we had another great day in the winterseries. We managed to get a full team (!) of (old)-aqua members to battle for the eventual wintercup. And an epic, slow battle it was! This time against R.S.Z.V., Broach and Blauwe Schuit.

What a fun day we had: we gathered around 11.30 to have a little briefing and course explanation. Aqua was yet again the final team to board the ships, so we had a little break. Rodin and Miguel spend this time in a very productive manner by exchanging strategies and tactics, the rest of us prepared mentally by chilling in the sun.

When it was time to board the ships there was a wind force of four knots, very scary. The first match was still really fun! There was just enough wind to sail, and we were actively batting our opponents. We got 3rd and 4th again, but it was actually pretty close. For the second lap I decided to put my Strava on and well, you can see the picture above.... After thirty minutes of ‘dobberen’, whilst not even reaching the other side of the course, following matches were cancelled. Some teams decided to pump their way to the harbour (team Miguel), but some of us (team Rodin) were enjoying the sun too much and ‘dobberd’ till we got rescued by the motorboats.

When we reached land again after the intense sailing, we unrigged the boat and could rest whilst having some broodje knak and very strong hot chocolate until the final briefing.

All in all, it was yet again a very fun day. It definitely didn’t feel like ‘winter’sailing as we all got a nice tan. It was nice to meet other sailors from different associations and get a(nother) small taste of competitive sailing!

If this sounds fun to you as well, feel free to come along during the final race on the 28th of February. You can join the groupchat (Nestor winterserie) by sending a message to one of the board members (even if you are not sure whether you can make it or not). It is only €15, lunch is provided and everything is finished before dark. Perhaps we will even get some wind next time!

~Elena

*Team Miguel with Maaike, Olaf and Janne

*Team Rodin with Jette, Javy and Elena

The new Zeilcie calendar for 2026 is out!! Check it out for all the organized sailing weekends and summer sailing week dates! Also don't forget about experience day, the very fun non-sailing activity the zeilcie organizes ;). The calendar is also available on a postcard so you can hang it on your wall!!

On the 21th of December aqua went with a team of eight to Rotterdam for the Nestor Winterseries. This was the first out of three races where we sailed against other student sailing associations. This time we battled during teamraces on J22’s against Histos, Broach and Rszv. It was a stunning sunny day with perfect wind which made it a fun experience!

So Teamsailing? What does that mean? Well, I am not an expert but in Niek’s words, our biggest goal was that none of us ended last. We were sailing with four boats at a time, divided into two teams, in our case aqua and some other association. It was a very fun way of sailing as you are constantly trying to hinder the other teams and trying to claim the right of way. If you or the other team fails to give right of way, the umpires (referees) would tell you to do a penalty round. This was also the case if one team would be significantly ahead of the others, which strangely was never a problem for us.

What did the day look like? We all went to the station separately, either by train or by car. Luckily Niek was able to drive by the station to pick up all public transporters and we arrived right on time for the briefing, which started at 11.30. Coffee/tea was provided and they explained to everyone how team sailing works and how the course would look like. Then the first teams went and made their boats ready, we however were scheduled late and played some games together.

Then we did our first races, which we all, well, lost, but I’d like to say we were definitely improving after every one! It was sunny and there was a nice breeze. The wind was so that you could sail nicely but could still be silly. After a couple of races against all other associations we had a quick break with hot chocolate and ‘broodjes knakworst’ before going back again for one more round against every association. Whilst we didn’t improve our results, we did improve again and almost didn’t finish last on the final round!

Afterwards we had a little briefing with an opportunity to ask any questions you might have after the race. Then the boats were taken out of the water (where we supported greatly from inside with hot chocolate) and afterwards we said our goodbyes. We headed into the city to eat pizza with our aqua team before heading home again.

All in all it was such a fun day. It was a nice way to get to know people from other associations and exciting to sail even in wintertime! If this sounds fun to you feel free to join the upcoming races on the 17th of January or the 28th of February. We are still looking for some people to join the 17th so if you are interested, you can join the groupchat (Nestor winterserie) by sending a message to one of the board members (even if you are not sure whether you can make it or not). It is only €15, lunch is provided and everything is finished before dark.

Special thanks to Yves and cameraman Koen who made our group of six a complete team of eight.

~Elena