Team Hydros win the Eurocat

by Bernard Schopfer on 3 May 2013 In one of the most important competitions for catamarans, the Eurocat in Carnac, France; Switzerland was extremely successful against 80 other teams . The Swiss Hydros 1 team with Jérémie Lagarrigue and Billy Besson won the Formula 18 race. Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij with Hydros 2 followed close behind and came in fourth.

The four sailors of Team Hydros that will represent Switzerland at the Class C World Championships this summer placed first and fourth at one of the largest regattas for catamarans in Carnac, France.

Jérémie Lagarrigue and Billy Besson were in 33rd place after the first round, far behind the lead pack. However, they really turned things around after that and won three of the next five rounds. The overall performance was good enough to earn first place in the final standings. 'We haven’t sailed in the Formula 18 for a long time,' explained Lagarrigue. 'That’s why we needed some time to get the boat and its processes under control. We then showed the other 80 competitors that the Swiss sail splendidly in rough seas!'

Hydros 1 sailboat 'SUI 1796', named after the main sponsor of Hydros, the private bank Lombard Odier which was founded in 1796, also dominated the other Swiss HYDROS team: 'We had a nice duel going with Bastiaan who was also part of the lead pack. But they had some technical difficulties, so they just missed the podium.'

Teams Jérémie Lagarrigue / Billy Besson and Mischa Heemskerk / Bastiaan Tentij are normally stationed in Grande-Motte, in southern France. They are there to train and prepare for the Class C International Cup in Falmouth (UK) on a catamaran named 'Nacra F20'.

'The Nacra F18 is very similar to the F20, with the difference being that it has no foils,' explained Jérémie Lagarrigue, project manager of Hydros. 'For this reason we needed some time to adapt to this boat.'

The success demonstrated by the two HYDROS teams in Carnac is very encouraging with the world championships in Formula 18 coming up. The competition takes place in Italy in July and is considered the final test before the Class C World Championships in Falmouth, the most important objective for Team Hydros this year.
1. J. Lagarrigue/B. Besson SUI    (33) 1 1 6 1 3 = 12

2. H. Styles/R. Mason GBR            9 (12) 10 3 3 4 = 29 

3. F. Gabart/M. Vandame FRA      3 8 7 (DNF) 5 6 = 29

4. M. Heemskerk/B. Tentij SUI      19 10 (OCS) 1 2 1 = 33