Actualités
Hydros poised for competition with two revolutionary boats and outstanding crews.
Two crews competing for Team Hydros will be representing Switzerland during the C-Class World Championship – also called the Little America’s Cup – starting in Falmouth, England on Sunday, September 22.
The four sailors of Team Hydros as well as the technical team have been training for over a year for the C-Class World Championship, catamarans that “fly” above the water using wingsails at the forefront of technology. The level of the competition is extremely high, including Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas and the most recent Little America’s Cup winner, Fred Eaton from Canada. The Swiss team’s goal is simple: to beat the nine other teams.
Hydros is among the favorites and the boats appear to be fulfilling their potential. In training the two catamarans were foiling at speeds of 26 knots (48 km/h) in just 8 knots of wind, or more than three times the wind speed. They also reached a top speed of 34 knots (63 km/h). Note that the America’s Cup AC72 class yachts foil at twice the speed of the wind.
“Above all, as project manager, I want to show the work achieved by Hydros,” said Jérémie Lagarrigue, project leader and sailor. “Winning the Little America’s Cup would be an amazing reward for the team’s hard work.”
Jérémie Lagarrigue, Billy Besson, Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij, the four crew members, were the first competitors to settle down in Falmouth at the beginning of August. They have been able to train at the Little America’s Cup venue with both boats and make the final adjustments.
“We will only be able to compare our opponents’ boats on the day of the race,” said Billy Besson, skipper of one of the Hydros catamarans.
“We’re confident because both of our teams have had time to train in ideal conditions,” added Mischa Heemskerk, skipper of the second cat’. “We’ve been able to compare the performances in order to make improvements.”
Sponsored by Lombard Odier & Cie, drawn by the Design Team of Hydros in co-operation with designers Hervé Devaux Structures, Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, this revolutionary catamaran, built in the Décision SA boatyard on the shores of Lake Geneva, is the first constructed in TPT - Thin Ply Technology.
“We’ve worked on all the aspects of the boat and the race with a very efficient team and today we’re capable of flying at impressive speeds,” said Bastiaan Tenitj, crew member of Hydros. “It was built with the lightest materials using the most modern technologies. It’s undoubtedly the most impressive boat I have ever sailed.” Eleven teams, representing seven nations will meet in Falmouth Bay from September 22 to September 28.
Source: Hydros
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