New recruits for Hydros C-Class campaign

Dutch D18 aces join Swiss C-Class campaign

Two teams representing Switzerland will compete at the International C Class Catamaran Championship to be held in Falmouth at the end of September.

Dutch F18 champions Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij have joined the crew comprising Billy Besson and Jérémie Lagarrigue, and are embarking on a period of active training at La Grande-Motte in the south of France.

"We are proud and really happy to welcome these top-class sailors", said Jérémie Lagarrigue, head of the Hydros Project. "Mischa and Bastiaan have been sailing together for six years in sports catamarans and are among the best performers in this discipline. They will undoubtedly bring a lot to the team."

In 2011, the two Dutchmen finished second in the Formula 18 World Championship and last year were fourth. Heemskerk also won the A-Class World Championship in 2012. Having started sailing multihulls aged four, Heemskerk was 12 when he won his first European championship title. He will helm the catamaran while Tentij will be responsible for adjusting the wing mast. Both men are also engineers and passionate about the advanced technological development of their vessels; a crucial advantage in an extremely high-tech project like Hydros.

"Hydros aims for perfection in terms of research, design and materials, and that's what I like most about this project", said Mischa Heemskerk. "I like technological challenges; this team wants to use our sailing skills but also our brains. Our objective will be to convert our feelings as sailors into concrete facts that the design team can use."

The first crew of the Hydros team comprises Jérémie Lagarrigue and Billy Beson. A multiple medal winner at French, European and World Formula 18 Championships, Lagarrigue has already competed in the latest World C-Class championships on board Patient Lady VI, while helmsman Besson is one of the world's leading experts in sports multihulls.

The two crews are now training intensively on board two Nacra F20 catamarans, one of which (provided by H2O Sensations) has been equipped with experimental foils designed by Stéphane Dyen and the Hydros Design Team, and built by Yvan Ravussin. The lessons learned during these next few weeks of sailing will then be transferred to the team’s C-Class catamarans, and in early March, the first one, which is currently under construction in the Décision SA boatyard, will be launched.