Team Boskalis fourth team selection completed

by Marjolein Brandt on 23 May 2012 Team Bosklais fourth team is completed with the selection of Jolbert van Dijk (18) and Niels Kleijweg (21). After a thorough selection and a selection day on the water these two sailors came out best. Half of the more than fifteen sailors who were invited to the selection day were women. In view of the new mixed Olympic multihull class in 2016 not so surprising, but ultimately Team Boskalis chose two gentlemen.

Although Jolbert van Dijk sailed for the first time on a catamaran during the selection day, team captain Gunnar Larsen sees a lot of potential: 'I expect a lot of them. Jolbert has a lot of racing experience and can boost Niels in racing. Niels has extensive experience in sailing multihulls and can teach Jolbert a lot in that area. The characteristic of talent is that these sailors can peak. Although they can't control yet when to do so. I think they can peak in light weather and moderate winds. But they will also experience deep valleys. Mentally and physically they are a perfect match and it is interesting to follow this team.'

Individual approach: In 2012 Team Boskalis focuses more on the individual teams. Logistically it appears to be difficult to train with all four teams, so this will be more individually addressed. Each team has made a sports technical plan that will be evaluated regularly. Larsen: 'This allows us to create a frame of reference. For 2012 we want the teams to get the best out of themselves and their boats, because this has a positive effect on Team Boskalis. We all as a team need to get better in sailing. We do this by sailing together and sharing knowledge, but also by a more personal approach.

Although it still is early in the season, two Boskalis teams already gained good results last weekend at the Dutch Championships. In the Nacra Infusion and F18 class Gunnar Larsen/Niels Kleijweg became first and Jorden Veenman/Frank de Waard second. Earlier this season Gunnar Larsen/Sam Frank became third at the Eurocat in Carnac and Jorden Veenman/Frank de Waard eighth. For the rest of the season the schedule is the North Sea Regatta (May 25 - 28), Nacra Championships (June 6 - 8), Round Texel Race (June 9), the world championships in Los Angeles (September 7 - 15) and several class events.

Gunnar Larsen/Sam Frank: 'To do ordinary things extraordinarily well.'

For team captain Gunnar Larsen 2012 will be a strange season. Sam Frank has a job in Hong Kong by Mid-June, so Larsen has to continue with another sailing partner by mid-season. Larsen and Frank will still sail the Nacra Championships together and the Round Texel Race. Anyway, the sailing season in 2012 is quite interrupted, because the boats are shipped in a container to Los Angeles by the end of July to sail the World Championships September 7 through 15. After that the boats won't be back before October. Larsen: 'Sam and I have a good cooperation and are a well-oiled machine. We refined the sailing and are not getting any worse. With a new partner I have to rebuild that, but for Sam it is fantastic that he has that job. For this season our motto is to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.'

Froukje Feenstra/Mischa de Munck: 'To keep learning and keep improving.'

Froukje Feenstra and Mischa de Munck are sailing with Team Boskalis since last year. They recently switched to the Nacra Infusion. Feenstra: 'It takes some time to get used to the new boat, we still are working on how to be faster. We would like to learn a lot and get better. By training very much we hope to become faster. At the World Championships and the Round Texel Race we want to sail in the lead. This spring we have trained a lot at Muiderzand. That was good. In the area of cooperation we still have much to improve, especially in the field of communication. We have guidance from a trainee sports psychologist. The tips we receive make us think a lot. Our motto for this season is that we want to keep learning and to keep improving.'

Jorden Veenman and Frank de Waard: 'The race is never decided before reaching the finish line.'

Also Jorden Veenman and Frank de Waard are sailing with Team Boskalis since last season. They have made good progress and got to know the boat and each other. De Waard: 'On the last events last year we really sailed in the lead of the fleet. We had a break in the winter and that was good. As of March we started again and we already made quite a few hours on the water. The events we sailed so far went very well. Carnac eighth, the first class event third and the second class event even first. We expect much of this season and have set our goals. Last year there were to many new things so we didn't make targets, we just wanted to sail a lot. Now we know what we can achieve and what we can do to make progress. We are becoming to get used to each other more and more and there is a good click in the team. Cooperation is very important. We can make the boat sail very fast and we are good on the tactical side. Our motto for this season is that the race is never decided before reaching the finish line. We have experienced that even if you're next to last in the fleet you still can win a race, so giving up won't happen this season.'

Jolbert van Dijk and Niels Kleijweg: 'The best motto is no motto.'

Jolbert van Dijk and Niels Kleijweg didn't know each other before the selection day, but expect to cooperate well as a team and to especially learn a lot this season. Kleijweg: 'We are going to see how far we can come, we don't know yet were we stand. We only have trained together for one weekend and we had to get used to each other and the boat, but it went okay. That weekend gave many new impressions, we especially have to try to become attuned to one other.' Van Dijk continues: 'I didn't expect to get selected, because I thought that Team Boskalis would choose a girl. But concerning my resume I knew I had a good change. That's why I applied. I have a lot of racing experience in the Optimist, Laser 4.7, Laser Radial and lately in the 49-er. I want to sail at a high level and in Holland you can't do that in the 49-er class. That's why I chose to switch to the catamaran class. I want to achieve a lot and luckily Niels also. We are going for it. Our motto this season is that we don't have a motto.'

About Boskalis: Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a leading global services provider operating in the dredging and earthmoving, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors. We globally provide creative and innovative all-round solutions for infrastructural challenges in maritime, coastal and delta regions including the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land reclamation and protection of coastlines and riverbanks. Through SMIT we supply a broad variety of maritime services. We also have strategic partnerships in the Middle East (Archirondon) and in the offshore services (Lamnalco). Boskalis has approximately 14,000 employees, including its share in partnerships. We operate in over 75 countries across six continents. Our versatile fleet consists of over 1,100 ships and units of Team Boskalis website