Mischa Heemskerk and Bastian Tentij on their new Challenge with the Cirrus ‘R’

I’ve seen some impressive wins and some dissapointments on these two guys careers, but one thing is for sure, besides being one of the best crews in the past years they are not afraid of new challenges and they keep going forward no matter what. Like them I can´t stay put in one place for much time, I need some new air and that’s why I changed work almost every two years when at office, and every single time due to a bigger challenge of course. Now? well I have enough daily challenges so I quite busy facing them…je

But mediocres look for comfortable and easy going lives, a so-so scenario with essentially no big changes or extreme goals, avoiding the unexpected , Mischa and Bastian are clearly beyond that personality, they keep betting higher and breaking barriers with pure attitude.
Best of luck to both with this new project.
————————–
Press release send by Mischa Heemskerk:
“We have a new goal, employer and racing boat,” Mischa Heemskerk said after final meetings with Emmanuel Boulogne this past week. This F18 catamaran sailor has sailed both the new Hobie Cat and Nacra designs as well as his own designs and boats in his career. The last three seasons Heemskerk sailed successfully together with crew Bastiaan Tentij on the Hobie Wildcat.

The Cirrus R prototype first launched at the St. Barth Catacup last November. The design and ideas originated from Boulogne Conception Marine as the next level Cirrus. Boulogne became a World Champion himself, together with his brother on the Cirrus Formula 18 in 2003. “Manu approached me on the beach in St. Barths to talk about a partnership with his new designed F18.” After a test sail in St. Barths, the ball began to roll . . .
Heemskerk was clear; “ I waited for answers from Hobie and sponsors, but when I knew that Hobie didn’t have a reasonable offer . . . I knew what I wanted to do.” The 3-year contract with Bulthaup kitchens and Hobie Cat had ended so Heemskerk had to plan his next goals.

Opportunity
The development of the F18 has been rapidly progressing. The box rule has kept all designs competitive but the progress has been thought to be positive for all sailors and businesses. The launch of the Capricorn in 2004 brought the first of the new “wave piercing” technologies from the old traditional hull shape. This revolutionary change has now transformed the idea of bouncing over the waves to cutting through the waves. The various brands launched their new ideas for developments of the F18. Heemskerk has been involved in a few of the new boat design launches and these projects are intriguing to him.

“There are many designers out there with new ideas. The boats need to be tested, explored and proven. There are positives and negatives of all the boat designs and I enjoy learning about the benefits of the changes and optimizing the performance with each design.” Heemskerk said about his career.

Challange
The development in the F18 class has progressed rapidly the last years. The introduction of the Capricorn in 2004 brought a change to traditional hull shapes. The birth of wave piercing concept set a new standard were others had to follow with new designs to match the speed. With time the other brands introduced their new designs and every time Heemskerk was involved in the important introduction process.

Boulogne looked from the outside to the developments around him and took his time to come with an answer. Heemskerk: ” I was involved in the final phase of the Cirrus-R project, which was a nice challange”. The five time Dutch Champion F18 has high expectations of the new cat:” I got to sail it in St Barth for an hour with 28knots of breeze. I was impressed with the performance and the construction of the boat. Later I had sailed an afternoon with Bastiaan in France with light conditions. That also felt good. We have not been able to measure against the other brands. But we are convinced the Cirrus-R will be just fine in the F18 racing scene.”

Photo: Pierrick Contin – Manu Boulogne at St Barths where all began.
Season 2011
The Dutch duo is one of four factory teams racing for Cirrus this year. Two from France, one from England and last one from Netherlands. Of course Boulogne is part of the team. Heemskerk:”We will compete in all the big events. This month we use to get up to speed, so we will be competitive at Eurocat in Carnac. That will be our real kick-off for 2011.”
Mischa Heemskerk and Bastiaan Tentij signed in principal for four years. Later more about this new F18.
———
www.MischaHeemskerk.com