Anyway, the course is not 54NM but 35NM. We had this discussion all weekend, I measured it on the map and it really is 35NM .The leaders must have averaged around 17kts, who says tornados are dated?
See number 10 in the Round Texel Sailing Instructions below.
10. The course 10.1. The course is clockwise around the island of Texel and has a length of approximately 60 NM. Marks are (large) cylindrical regatta buoys. The course is shown on a separate page with the sailing instructions.
.The leaders must have 
