Hanging out with the big guns

X40 Team Holmatro train in Valencia

Last month, the Dutch Team Holmatro started its Extreme 40 training with BMW-Oracle in Valencia. The first session became a real challenge in wild conditions, as the breeze picked up to 40 knots at the end of the afternoon. The Dutch and American 40-foot multihulls stayed upright and showed some spectacular racing, closely watched by a BMW-Oracle delegation.

The following days were calmer, so the sparring partners practised around the cans in short courses. For Holmatro helmsman Andreas Hagara (AUT) it was the first time out on the water with his newly selected crew. In May, there will be two more training sessions in Valencia. The last one is an invitation regatta, organised by Team Alinghi.



In this year’s iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series, Team Holmatro line up with two Austrian and two Dutch sailors. The crew includes Andreas Hagara on the helm, Mischa Heemskerk (NED, main trim & tactician), Gerd Habermuller (AUT, mast man & grinder) and Sander Speet (NED, spinnaker & jib trim).

Heemskerk is a true multihull specialist, who just missed out on qualification for the 2004 Olympics in the Tornado class. He’s the current F18 European Champion and two times Round Texel winner.

Speet is already at the age of 23 a talented big boat skipper, trained by the late Hans Horrevoets on the Holmatro Grand Soleil 44R in 2003-04. In 2007, Speet skippered this racing yacht and won the Cowes Week. He and his young crew also came second at Spi Ouest (FRA) and the North Sea Regatta (NED).

Gerd Habermuller sailed in the TP 52 circuit and he crewed on an Olympic Star between 1998 and 2000.

The start of the season was not only impressive because of the rough conditions, but also because of the location. Team Holmatro was invited by BMW-Oracle and was therefore allowed to use the American base in Port America’s Cup. Heemskerk: “Their facilities are amazing. It is interesting to see how well everything is organized.”

According to Hagara, the difference in level between them and their professional host was obvious: “They already had 25 or 30 days of training on the water. We did not even have 25 days throughout the whole season of 2007. They are good sailors, who learn quickly and they have everything. That helps us to raise the level even higher, so it was a perfect chance for us.”

“Our first day was pretty tough and wet”, said Heemskerk afterwards. “We got completely soaked, but everybody had big smiles on their faces. Fortunately, the wind dropped and we had some great days of short course racing, so we could learn the dance steps on the trampoline. And especially within an international team, we have to focus on the communication onboard. In general, our boat speed is not too bad, but we need to work more on details and manoeuvres.”

Sander Speet calls it ‘one big learning process’. Multihull sailing is totally new to him, but he enjoys the opportunity very much: “Everything you do on a cat seems to be exactly the opposite from monohulls. It is very interesting to gain knowledge of a different discipline of the sailing sports. It is also a unique chance to work with multihull specialists as Andy and Mischa.”

Team Holmatro finished second overall in 2007, but the level and number of participants have increased for the 2008 season. Helmsman Hagara said of their chances of bringing the Cup to the Netherlands: “It is going to be really hard against the professionals. A podium finish would be a very good result. I think we will be able to achieve this goal after a few more training sessions.”

The second training session will be from May 7 until 12, followed by an invitation regatta from May 14-18 organised by Team Alinghi. The first event of the 2008 iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series starts on May 30th in Lugano (SUI).

Holmatro supply the Extreme 40 fleet with hydraulic mainsheet systems and custom designed winches.