Dirk Hilcken is Sales and Underwriting Coordinator at Pantaenius, Europe's leading provider of yacht insurance, and in over 20 years he has seen a lot of things that float and that owners would like to have insured. Finding the right assessment is only possible with personal experience on as many keels as possible. Having grown up on his parents' sailing boat, Dirk was long fascinated by the big-ship regatta sailing in a team. After an interlude that took him to the USA and the Caribbean with a big engine, the Hamburg native can now often be found on classic regattas with the Pantaenius safety RIB. And in an emergency, the wooden Opti built by his father is always ready to sail in the cellar.

Sebastian Wache, graduate and media meteorologist. As an experienced weather router for countless yachts worldwide, he has made a name for himself in the sailing scene. Especially in October 2023, when he was one of the few to warn of the impending Baltic Sea flood early on and thus helped to prevent further damage to boats. In addition to the weather on Schleswig-Holstein Magazin (NDR), he is also particularly active on social media, where he explains complex weather situations in a simple and understandable way.

Marcus Warnke is a dedicated cruising sailor and has been Chairman of Trans-Ocean e.V. (TO) since 2022. In his role, he drives the further development of the association. Trans-Ocean supports long-distance and blue-water sailors with (online) seminars, worldwide bases and a lively community and promotes young talent in offshore regatta sailing. It is the initiator of the cooperation with GEOMAR.