yacht news

Hyde Sails at METS - stand 03.103

2010-11-16T04:05:00.000-08:00

Hyde Sails will be exhibiting in the UK Pavilion at METS this November, where you can meet the team and find out more about Hyde's and what makes their sails such a strong brand.

You can meet the team, including Sales and Marketing Director Richard Franks, Technical Director Mike Lennon and various members of the Hyde distribution network on stand number 03.103

As one of the largest volume sailmakers worldwide, Hyde currently produces some 45,000 sails a year for a range of dinghies, one-design keelboats, custom racing and cruising yachts. The company is also the supplier to a number of boat builders including LaserPerformance, LDC Racing Sailboats, Northshore Yachts, Cornish Crabbers, Hanse and Rustler Yachts as well as being the official sail supplier for the Clipper Round the World Race.

From its strong UK network, Hyde Sails has been busy expanding its famous brand to key markets around the world and has distributors across the globe, ranging from the USA to Australia, Spain, Denmark and New Zealand.

The Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) runs from November 16-18, 2010 at the RAI exhibition centre in Amsterdam.

'Black Diamond's' Solent Series success

2010-10-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Mark Brown's Hyde-powered Beneteau Figaro 'Black Diamond' takes first place in class and second overall in the recent Solent Points Series.

Over 100 boats took part in the Solent IRC series, which is now in its fifth year. Racing in four classes, the series took place mainly on Saturdays over a period of month, tagged on to various Solent club weekend regattas to add up to a seven-day series. Having finished fifth in class last year, Mark Brown and his crew were hoping to improve on their performance. The first day saw three races completed in light winds, and the crew made their mark, winning the first two before weed on their prop foiled their chances of a hat trick, dropping them to fifth in the day's final race to post a second in class for the day. The following two days of racing didn't go quite so well for the team, finishing fifth, then sixth, before lifting themselves to post a fourth and two seconds, and finishing on a high winning the final day. It was enough to give them class series victory, and second place in the series overall.

Mark Brown bought 'Black Diamond' - the first Beneteau Figaro 1 to be built - in 2009, getting her new sails from Hyde just before Cowes Week, where the team got a seventh. Mark explains his reasons for choosing Hyde: "Hyde and Paul Austin had been making cruising sails for my charter yachts and I knew they were making fast sails for 40.7s and knew Paul would be a key ingredient in getting the sail plan verses handicap that we wanted. The sail we love best is the big Hyde runner (big bertha) as we know we can always gain some places when going downwind."

In reaction to the Solent Series result, Mark said: "I'm chuffed that our good crew work and tactics have paid off. This will give us a reminder that we can go out and keep winning knowing the yacht can do it and all we have to do is make sure we change gear for the current wind strength, which is where we have been going wrong on the not so good
results."

He added: "We have been struggling when wind picks up to number 3 weather so have just had Hyde 3 built but have not had a chance to use it so we are expecting great things for next year!"

For more information, contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458). paulaustin@hydesails.co.uk

Hyde’s Portuguese distributor reports a good season, with new sails performing across the region...

2010-09-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hyde Sails has had a very successful season in Portugal this summer. The Hyde Sails-powered Dufour 45 'Blue Energy', in just their first year of campaigning, had a very good summer. Competing in the Generali Trophy, ORC Nationals, Quebramar Trophy and Principe de Asturias Trophy (Spain), she was third in class in her first event, the Generali Trophy, second in ORC450 in the ORC Nationals, which was enough to give her second overall, and posted fourths in the Quebramar and Principe de Asturias Trophies. Delighted with her results and the team is looking on building on its success in 2011.

The ORC nationals was a good event all round for Hyde-powered boats, particularly in class ORC610, with the First 36.7 'Ideia Fixa' taking first place, the Dufour 40 'Super Açor' fifth an the Grand Surprise 'Terra IncÓgnita' sixth, while in the Quebramar Trophy the First 40.7 'Bora Bora' was sixth in ORC A and the Dufour 40 'Super Açor' second in ORC B.

For more details on Hyde in Portugal go to www.hydesails.com/portugal

RBIR Finale

2010-09-06T00:57:00.001-07:00

At 12:59:28 on Sunday September 5, Peter Robson's First 40.7 'Playing Around Logic' finished the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race in an elapsed time of 12 Days 22 Hours 59 Minutes and 28 Seconds, giving them third in class and ninth place overall.

RBIR Nearly there!

2010-09-05T02:43:00.000-07:00

'Playing Around Logic' is nearly home and should be in by lunchtime today.

Yesterday they continued their yo-yoing with 'British Soldier' as they fought up the English Channel, with light headwinds and very strong tides.

A frustrating night followed, with slow speeds and rain, but day break has seen them speeding up as they head home.

RBIR Day 11, staying in touch

2010-09-02T03:46:00.001-07:00

Playing Around Logic' has put in another solid performance overnight and has stayed in touch with 'Encore', which again has been sailing exceptionally well. 'British Soldier' has eaten up the deficit between themselves and 'Encore' and are now ahead of them on the water, for the first time in over five days.

After Iain's stint on the helm of 'Playing Around' yesterday afternoon, we wonder if Roger has been allowed back to his position of helmsman or is having to swap roles and now become a bowman – not sure if this is really his speciality! Everyone is having a blast on board 'Playing Around', they are in good humour, good spirits, and are determined to keep 'British Soldier' at bay and close that deficit between them and 'Encore'.

RBIR Day 10, Fantastic 24 hours

2010-09-01T03:06:00.001-07:00

'Playing Around Logic' is now well and truly up the leader board. The team has had a great 24 hrs, and the boat has stormed up the rankings into eighth place overall. The boat is ahead of 'British Soldier' on handicap, and we are hoping beyond hope that the team can stay in second place (or better!) and keep 'British Soldier' in third.

All is well onboard 'Playing Around', and the team now have the bit between their teeth. Skipper Peter is treating each day as an inshore race, so the crew are working extremely hard concentrating on boat speed, boat speed and boat speed. The wind is a little fresher than yesterday South-Easterly 15-20 knots. Class leader 'Encore' is sailing an exemplary race, and seem to get better every day.

The majority of the remaining race fleet are now at various points along the west coast of Ireland, and all are experiencing similar conditions. The weather systems are very static at the moment which means that there are no major developments in the weather forecast for at least the next 48 hours. This means unfortunately there is little opportunity to tactically do something different from the others and take a gamble. However, as mentioned previously, over a long race such as this, even half a knot difference in boat speed can make a huge difference in mileage over 24 hours, so there is still everything to play for. At current speeds, a rough estimate of eta for 'Playing Around Logic' is the early hours of Saturday morning.

RBIR Day 9, The wind lottery

2010-08-31T07:28:00.001-07:00

The good news is that it was 'Playing Around Logic' made up the most ground overnight, taking some 11 miles off 'British Soldier' and 3 miles from 'Encore'. The yachts to the east of the course are now travelling quickest, but this will probably steady off as they near the next mark of the course, when the yachts from the west converge and all yachts have a similar wind.

During the night 'Playing Around Logic' had a slight technical issue with their engine – it is working fine, but their system alarm keeps going off when the engine is on, which means that anyone down below off watch trying to get some sleep, has to bury their head with hands over their ears to stop the noise.
The engines are allowed to be used so long as they are not put into gear to propel the yacht forward. The engine is needed to charge the onboard battery system which in turn powers all the instrumentation, navigation lights, interior lights and the essential water-maker.

The teams have now been at sea for nine days. It is about this time when everyday tasks on board, and the watch system is becoming second nature and the thought of getting up at 2am to do a three-hour night watch is just routine. Gone at the moment are the fierce weather conditions they encounters three days ago, and they have beautiful sunshine, flat seas and glorious sailing, Peter Robson, Skipper of 'Playing Around' has said that they have been accompanied by dolphins for most of the sail from Muckle Flugga, and that they have watched them endlessly 'playing around' in the bow wave of the yacht. We can think of no better sight!

RBIR Day 8, 29/08 View from onboard

2010-08-30T05:07:00.001-07:00

Peter shares the thoughts from on board 'Playing Around Logic'

"What can we say? 24 hrs go we we're just surviving, changing helms every 30mins, everyone down below. Now we're using our brains and top sailing skill to escape the clutches of this incoming high, extracting every last ounce of speed from 'Playing Around'. At one point down a very large wave we hit 19.9 knots on the GPS. Not that we were tying to go any faster at that point. We even had a warp trailing...

"The sleigh ride down past St Kilda was beautiful, crew slowly making the transition from survival to racing. We deliberately put the jib-top up early (from storm jib) to shake ourselves out of our previous thinking.
Quite hairy as we were over-canvassed in the big waves, but made a difference to our speed by almost two knots.

"You can probably see our strategy now is to go far east, and like buffalo bill, go 'round the outside'. We can see those who went west have slowed, and we don't think will get going for some time. it won't look good for some time on the skeds, but watch our boat speed and let's see the result in 24 hours.

"Mood now is one of intense concentration, the crew have been superb in knuckling down, everyone doing there bit on what ever they can. The top sailors have spent more time on deck firstly on pure survival now top trimming and strategy, while others have made sure the running of the boat, food etc has been as smooth as possible. Total team work, and everyone has pushed their corners of endurance and performance.

"We're thinking about whether our dear old no3 should be given a true sailor's burial at sea with honours, or brought home in its bag.

"There is so much of this race left to go. Now we're flying along on large A-sail and full main with 7-10 knots of breeze at 5-7 knots. The sea has warmed up thank goodness. Thermal layers are being discarded, not just because they are wet!"

RBIR Day 7, 29/08 Washing machines

2010-08-29T06:41:00.001-07:00

According to 'Playing Around Logic' this morning, this is how the yacht has been feeling like all night. The wind filled in very quickly as expected later on yesterday evening, culminating with them having gusts of up to 43 knots (Force 8). Although their point of sail is ultimately a reach, the confused state of the seas (coming in at three different directions) meant progress was slow and very uncomfortable over night.
Peter called this morning to say that the wind was decreasing a little, but they were still sailing with two reefs in the mainsail and a no 4 jib, and still making good speed at over 7.5 knots. The washboards are in to prevent water going down below and those off watch in their bunks or navigating have described the feeling as been inside a washing machine and tumble dryer! I am sure you can understand the analogy! However, all is well onboard however even after a broken jib halyard meant the loss of their No 3 headsail, which was so damaged by flogging itself to death before the crew could get it on deck, that it has gone to a watery grave.
'Playing Around' is doing really well still third in class but ninth overall, and gaining at every schedule over 'Encore which at one point got away by over 40 miles. The deficit is now just 32 miles at 1100 BST.

RBIR Day 6, 28/08 Muckle Flugga

2010-08-29T06:39:00.001-07:00

During the night, 'Playing Around Logic' went past Muckle Flugga and the eight hours previous to that clawed back some astonishing mileage against 'Encore' and 'British Soldier'. Unfortunately as these two went round, and 'Playing Around' was still heading to the tip of the Shetlands, they once again increased speed, so this morning 'Playing Around' is about 34 miles behind 'Encore' having being just 14 miles at 10pm last night. Peter called in last night to explain that they had been 'Sailing their socks off' during the day and it certainly showed with the gains that they had made. All is well onboard, they have had their first dehydrated meal last night, and the comments were favourable – 'not as bad as we thought' was probably the best comment heard!

The conditions at the top of the British Isles at the moment are superb – light winds, clear blue skies, a little chill in the air but most importantly, superb sunshine. Peter commented that the sea was virtually flat calm as they headed towards MF, 'like sailing in the Solent on a beautiful summers day'.

RBIR Day 5, 27/07/10 Polar bears and penguins…

2010-08-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

A 1pm call from Playing Around Logic this afternoon finally made us realise that they are all quite, quite mad! Peter explained that they were having the best sail ever, under beautiful sunny skies, whooshing along in a good 11-12 knot north-easterly breeze, with dolphins playing around the bow, everyone back on top form after seasickness, and that the day was good. He then went on to say that they had seen albatross and penguins but hadn’t spotted the polar bears yet! I will let you draw your own conclusions to all of that! But what it does mean is that everyone onboard 'Playing Around' is having the best of times, and thoroughly enjoying every second of it. The yacht had a good night and made some small inroads into the leading two yachts, 'Encore' and 'British Soldier' and put more distance between themselves and fourth place 'Cheeki Rafiki', so that is good news. They are now, at 1700 hrs BST, still rolling along at 6.5 knots and have only 35 miles approx to go before they round Muckle Flugga.

RBIR Day 4, 26/08

2010-08-27T01:06:00.001-07:00

Today's developments at the top of Class 1 find 'Encore' being headed but 'Playing Around' and 'British Soldier' able to keep their rhumb line course direct to the next mark. This means that although 'Encore' is 22 miles ahead of 'Playing Around', if they cannot sail directly towards Muckle Flugga with the wind that they have, then the others will start to catch them quickly.

The crew blogs that have come from the yachts today have been extremely interesting and very moving, It is often difficult to imagine what life is like onboard a racing yacht in a race such as this. It is three times the distance of the Sydney-Hobart Race and also three times the distance of the Fastnet Race. It is the longest offshore race in the world that doesn’t cross an Ocean….Life onboard becomes a routine of sleeping, eating and sailing, and then it all repeats itself, again, and again, and again!

We are sad to hear of another retirement today which means that they are only 22 yachts still racing after 28 started.

Day 3, 25/08 It’s Cold Up North!!

2010-08-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

As the south of Britain descends into Monsoon like conditions, the yachts in the Round Britain & Ireland Race were having relatively better weather.

'Playing Around Logic' is now listed in Class 1, where it should have been since the start of the race – it was an error of the Race organisers which had them on the incorrect handicap. Now all is resolved and the team are battling it out with 'Encore' and 'British Soldier' for the podium positions in Class 1.

Peter called to say that all is well onboard and that they are working hard to go as fast as they can. Morale is high, but they say it’s cold up North….. The wind has dropped further since this morning which can be seen by the drop in boat speed by all in Class 1.

The weather forecast is looking very interesting. 'Playing Around' has moved further east and have come away from hugging the coast and re-joined the main pack on the rhumb-line to Mukkle Flugga. 'British Soldier' is now ahead on the water and on handicap.

Southampton Boat Show

2010-08-25T06:01:00.000-07:00

Your chance to get a fantastic deal on your new Hyde sails

Wandering around the forthcoming Southampton Boat Show (September 10-19, 2010), you’ll spot the distinctive Hyde logo on a wide range of boats, from dinghies to cruiser-racers. While you might not be ready to buy a new boat right now, investing in a suit of sails can give your current craft a new lease of life.

If you would like to talk to meet with a Hyde sails representative during the Southampton Boat Show to discuss a new or outstanding quote then we have people on hand during week. Rather than operating from a dedicated stand, with all its associated distractions, we have always chosen to use the time to sit down individually with our customers.

Not only is a great opportunity to get some expert advice about your existing sail wardrobe and your plans for the future, but it's also your chance to benefit from Hyde's amazing winter deals.

So why not book an appointment for a chat? Appointments are available Monday-Friday,and all you need to do is call +44 (0)7764 933 894 and speak to Wooderz to arrange a time.

The latest from the Round Britain and Ireland Race

2010-08-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

The latest from the Round Britain and Ireland Race, in which the Hyde Sails-clad 'Playing Around Logic' is still battling away, while numerous boats have been forced to retire.

Day two 24/08/10
An eventful start to the Round Britain and Ireland Race continued through the night. At one point in the early hours, 'Visit Malta Puma' were 2nd overall in the race and 'Playing Around Logic' was biting their heels in 3rd place overall.

The weather continued to act as forecasted, with conditions at the moment 25 knots westerly which means that the yachts are now reaching, and will either have their Jip tops up or gennakers. 'Playing Around Logic' called in during the morning to say that all was very well onboard and everyone really enjoying the very close racing, They had Incisor of Wight off their starboard side and could see at least four other yachts around them, including Puma. At 8.20am they had sailed 170 miles from the start which means they have averaged 9.5 knots over the course to date, which is very good. Mate Graeme has the speed record for surfing downwind at 15.3 knots, and were rolling along at 11 knots of boat speed. They unfortunately are not going to be able to repair the torn A Sail from the start yesterday, but Skipper Peter is confident that it will not affect their overall performance!

Day three 25/08/10
'Playing Around Logic' has lost a little ground overnight but it still heading exactly on the race rhumb-line to the next mark. They are currently adjacent to Sunderland/Newcastle area and will be in Scottish waters very shortly. All is well onboard although there has been a few bouts of seasickness amongst the team due to the stiff breeze and short, choppy seas over Dogger Bank. They found a stowaway yesterday, an electric kettle, not the most useful piece of equipment on a yacht with no domestic power! Yesterday's weather was very challenging for all the yachts with consistent 35 knots of breeze with squalls recorded at 50 knots – not particularly pleasant for anyone.

News from the fleet is that 'Tonnerre de Breskens 3' has taken over the overall lead from TP/52 'John Merricks', and the leading yachts (the two Volvo 70s) are just 100 miles from Muckle Flugga, the northern-most part of the course.

‘Playing Around Logic’ heads round Britain

2010-08-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Peter Robson's Beneteau 40.7 ‘Playing Around’ has joined forces with Sailing Logic for the forthcoming Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race, which starts on August 23. We found out about the team’s preparation ahead of the event...

The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is one of the most challenging races in the world and for the 2010 edition, the non-stop race has attracted 28 entries from a diverse range of ocean-going yachts.
Among the entries is the Hyde Sails-powered 'Playing Around Logic'. 'Playing Around's owner, Peter Robson, explains how it all came about: "Following a successful Fastnet campaign with Sailing Logic last year, a few of the crew expressed interest in a greater challenge. What could be greater than the iconic Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland race? Several sailing friends also expressed interest, in particular Graeme Castle (many years ago Mirror World champion, Captain of BUSA, Miracle national champion) and Roger Yeoman (FD Olympics 1984). The seed was sown, and by Christmas the idea had germinated - we were going to do it. "We decided to work again with Sailing Logic, as their ethos and values matched ours. We wanted to put together a highly competitive team, one that would gel together and work to achieving this goal. Heavily oversubscribed (later Sailing Logic entered 'Puma' as well), Allie did a fine job of whittling down the CVs and selecting the seven crew to join Peter, Graeme and Roger. First up was Jon Barnes, an RBI veteran who loved doing the Fastnet on 'Playing Around', followed by Ian Randall, Gareth Thomlinson (both having done Fastnet previously with Sailing Logic), then Rebekah Adey, Richard Field, Lousie Scanlon and Elaine Maslin."

Preparing the boat and crew
Peter explains that when it came to preparing the boat, sails were obviously a key consideration: "We looked at average wind conditions for the time of year, and came to the conclusion that we needed make amendments to our sail wardrobe. First in was a new Hyde 119sq m A-sail, designed for beam reaching in 5-15 knots, but which could also be used for light wind running when a chop on the water might not allow a symmetric kite to fill properly. This was used to great effect in the RORC Cherbourg race, winning class and third overall. Second was a new Hyde heavy weather sail, a flat yankee-cut #4, in case we get horrendous conditions when sailing so far north. Next up, we replaced our long-lasting Hyde GPL mainsail and heavy #1 with some new Hyde string sails, the new mainsail with Taffeta backing, to reduce
stretch and sail weight.
"Finally, we put a watermaker on board, to again reduce the weight of the water we would otherwise have to carry. Some of the crew are commenting that 'Aqua d'Playing Around' tastes so much better than the bottled water with some French-sounding names!"
"Our sailing programme centred around the RORC offshore races," explains Peter, "using them as practice for as much as trying to win them. This, with some tight inshore races really honed the crew. A second overall in the Nationals in May, and then just a few weeks before the start, 'Playing Around' started to reach peak performance, beating all other top 40.7 crews to First place in Cowes week.
"Aside from being one of the great Yacht Races of the world, the SRBI is also quite unique in that all the rounding points are rocks! There are many headlands, tidal gates to negotiate, and of course the great British weather is there to throw in a few challenges. There are few other long distance races that present such challenges as this one.

You can follow our progress on the RORC website and twice daily updates from Sailing Logic.

Hyde Sails at Hamilton Island Race Week

2010-08-12T06:13:00.001-07:00

Hyde's sails are set to make their presence known at one of Australia's top regattas, the forthcoming Hamilton Island Race Week.

Hamilton Island Race Week, which starts at the end of August, is sailed around and amongst the Whitsunday Islands in North Queensland. This is a must do regatta for all racing enthusiasts owing to the warm climate, excellent race organisation and fun appeal. Hyde Sails in Brisbane have supplied a new mainsail, three headsails and three spinnakers for a Jeanneau 49i commissioned by Ross Perrins late in 2009. This beautiful yacht will be named 'RawHyde'.

Ross has had great success in previous yachts entering in all the classic ocean races on the Eastern seaboard of Australia. This will be the crews' first race series aboard 'RawHyde'. While this is a relaxed affair, 'Perro' has gathered an experienced crew including Peter Cavill, Andy Ogilvie (ex Farr Design) and Rick Byerley from Hyde Sails. Expect to see this yacht racing for line honours in her division.

Menawhile, Russell McCart's Farr 40, 'Night Nurse' will sport a new carbon mainsail and two spinnakers supplied by Hyde Sails in South East Queensland. For them, the first leg north will begin with the Brisbane to Keppel Isles Race beginning early August. On board are experienced sailors, Greg Torpy, Peter 'Scallops' Jones and Andrew Wilson. Peter and Andrew are from the Hyde Sails SEQ loft. Rick Byerley is also on board for this race.

‘Sea Badger’ RTI success

2010-07-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

'Sea Badger II' is awarded the Discovery Trophy for the second year in succession.

Mike Brooke’s Cape Cutter 19, 'Sea Badger II' took the Discovery Trophy for
winning her class (Spirit of Modern Gaffers) for the second year running.

Despite a very early 0515hrs start, Mike tells the tale of a highly enjoyable race.
"It started with a wonderful gennaker leg from the start to the Needles during
which we opened up a good lead. Then into the 'car park' beyond the Needles,
before fetching all the way to St Cats, on the wind up to Bembridge and a very
close tussle with the final Shrimper whilst dicing across Ryde Sands in not a lot
of water... as two different RNLI Inshore Lifeboats tried to encourage us to tack out. But I reckoned that we could cope, albeit well heeled over, in the same water that they were drawing with their engines fully down!" The tactic paid off and Mike was delighted to have successfully defended his title.

'Sea Badger II' is a Cape Cutter, a 2000 design by Dudley Dix. The first 50 boats were built in South Africa with the licence being bought by Honnor Marine in Rochdale in 2004, which is where they are now built, with their number up to 115. Mike says: "It's a great, tough little boat which I sailed round UK for charity in 2008 taking three months. Although now into their third season (including the Round Britain trip), our Hyde Sails obviously played an important part in defending our trophy."

For more information on Hyde Sails or discuss how to adapt your sail configuration for shorthanded sailing contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458)

Hyde Sails success in Palby Fyn Cup

2010-06-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hyde Sails boats win two classes in Denmark’s largest regatta, with a host of other successes...

The Palby Fyn Cup is Denmark's largest regatta. A 140-mile dash round the islands, this year's event saw 383 entries, although with a windy forecast just over 350 actually made it to the startline.

Winds in excess of 40 knots meant there were many retirements along the way, but first boat across the finish line was the multihull 'Angel' and fastest monohull was Swan 60 'Nanoq/Emma' with skippers HRH Crown Prince Frederik and Kill J Inge. Group 2 winner was the Soren Juel's Hyde Sails-powered Albin Express 'Explorer' with an elapsed time of 22:52:13, which was also enough o take eighth place overall.

Group 8 was also won by a Hyde Sails-clad boat, Niels Dolberg's Dynamic 35 'Anna', taking 18th place overall. In group 32 Erik Jørs's 11m One Design took third place.
Meanwhile, not sporting a complete Hyde wardrobe, but using a range of Hyde sails in combination with other brands, group 12 winner, Remi Provost’s Elan 31, was sporting Hyde headsails and spinnakers and group 22 winner Alex Toksvit’s Dehler 34 also had Hyde sails in their armoury.

'Playing Around Logic' on winning form

2010-06-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

The Hyde-powered 40.7 finishes first in class and third overall in the RORC Morgan Cup

Peter Robson's Beneteau First 40.7, 'Playing Around Logic', sporting a full suit of Hyde sails, took the Queensborough Cup for best yacht in IRC One at the recent RORC Morgan Cup event. Finishing as first Beneteau 40.7 the result was enough to give her third place overall, just behind John Loden's HOD 35 'Psipsina' and Piet Vroon's Ker 46, 'Tonnerre de Breskens 3'.

Peter Robson explains: "Partnering with Sailing Logic, we used the Morgan Cup as part of our training for the Round Britain & Ireland Race, which is due to start on August 23. We're delighted with the class win, especially with such intense competition. The crew worked really hard to keep the boat moving in the light breeze both at the beginning and end, and the navigation proved to be spot on. With Spring tides it is essential to plan your course and arrival at Cherbourg carefully - you don't want to end up down-tide in a fading wind.

"We've invested in some new downwind sails from Hyde this year especially for the event, particularly a large reaching A-Sail. This proved invaluable on the fetch across the channel to Cherbourg."

The boat is now focused on a busy diary ahead of the Round Britain and Ireland, which it is competing in with Sailing logic, including the RORC St Malo and Channel Races as well as Cowes Week.

Hyde Sails racing round Britain

2010-06-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

The doublehanded Shetland Isles Round Britain and Ireland Race gets underway...

The Royal Western YC's doublehanded Shetland Isles Round Britain and Ireland Race started on Sunday in impressive style.
The fleet includes Mike Wigmore's Corsair 31 'Freebird', which is sporting a new suit of Hyde Sails for the race.

With an 11 knot wind, the multihulls went out first followed by the monohulls which were led right from the start by Alex Bennett from Devon and Malcolm Dickinson in Fujifilm. As the boats cleared the breakwater, the sun burst out from the clouds to give them a spectacular send off.

Sailed by Mike Wigmore and Grant Kelly, 'Freebird' is one of the smallest boats in the race, but is capable of 20 knots on flat water. The boat has been upgraded for Cat 2 racing as well as having some cruising creature comforts added so it offers the best of all worlds.

Mike is a 54-year-old construction consultant. Over the years he has raced most types of boat from windsurfers to yachts. Dinghy and board campaigns have given way o dayboat racing at Itchenor and various offshore cruiser racer multihulls. His Co-Skipper Grant Kelly is a GP who has sailed since the age of six and a strong cruising and racing background.

Mike said, "This will be the biggest challenge of my sailing career. To get round the course will be a big achievement in such a significant classic that goes only once every four years. I am happy to endorse Hyde sails who also make my championship-winning Swallow sails and compliment Rob Lark on his great support."

Every boat in the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race is fitted with a satellite tracking device, so you can follow the duo's progress in real time.
Go to www.rbandi.com/tracking/ to follow the race.

Happiness is... being a Hyde customer

2010-04-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

A new suit of sails should be a joy, giving you that extra boost in performance and pride in your boat… as many customers of Hyde soon discover…

As well as the skills of its workforce, Hyde prides itself on its customer service, and it's always satisfying when yet another customer goes away happy. Michel Zuffellato and Victoria Kuzyk, from Canada, were so delighted with their new sails that they sent us a host of photographs together with their thanks, enthusing: "The shapes are perfect, but what impressed us even more was the superb workmanship, with much attention to detail."

Michel added: "Doing business with Hyde sails was a total pleasure, starting with quick and efficient communication with you, a very competitive pricing, prompt delivery as promised, perfect sail shapes to fit our boat and finally flawless workmanship, exceeding our expectations."

Michel and Victoria's 39ft 'Neige D'ete' is a Corbin 39'. She was designed for long distance cruising, since her launch in 1991 the couple have sailed over 50,000 miles, flying back home to Canada in the summer months. Michel explains: "One of my recent modifications, was to add a second Harken furler up on the bow so we can use two headsails wing on wing with spinnaker poles, during long downwind passages. This was the reason for ordering two Yankees. One light Yankee of 125 per cent, used up front for very light wind conditions and also furled a little to match the size of the working Yankee, while downwind. The regular Yankee is on the second furler, just behind the light Yankee. I found that all three sails have an excellent shape and I was able to point closer to the wind compared to our previous sails."

Michel and Victoria spent the first 10 years they had the boat in the Caribbean waters visiting the eastern US, the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico and more. Then in 2001 they set sail for Australia via the Panama Canal. Michel recalls: "After three weeks in the Galapagos Islands, we departed for the 3,000 mile South Pacific crossing. After three months around the French Polynesian waters, we headed for New Zealand with many stops along the way. Our next visit was Australia where we ended up staying a couple of years. Next destination was South East Asia, including Indonesia, Singapore and finally Malaysia." This year they are planning to sail mainly in the two Malaysian provinces of Sarawak, while next year they plan to explore more of the north and eastern part of Borneo island and some of the Philippines.

Hyde's Paul Austin said: "It is always nice hear comments from happy customers especially when you have never met them, or even seen the boat until you get a photo of it using our sails. This order was dealt with purely by email with, I believe, just one phone call to Malyasia. It proves that Hyde Sails' technical experience, efficient communications between staff and the sail loft and our commitment to customer service all works extremely well."

For more information on Hyde Sails and what they can do for you, contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458) or email:paulaustin@hydesails.co.uk

Hyde sponsors Tasman challenger

2010-02-17T02:02:00.000-08:00

Hyde Sails New Zealand is sponsoring Auckland's Trish Lewis in her challenge to cross the Tasman Sea in her 25ft boat, 'Wishbone'.

For the first time in 35 years a New Zealand woman will race solo across the notorious Tasman. Trish is one of only two women in the 2010 Fitzroy Yachts Solo Tasman Challenge and will spend up to 20 days alone at sea, sailing her 25ft Reactor 'Wishbone', the smallest boat in the race.

The 1,283-,mile race to Mooloolaba, Australia, leaves New Plymouth, New Zealand on April 4, 2010. First sailed in 1970, it has always attracted an international entry list of adventurous sailors wanting to test themselves and their boats against the notorious Tasman Sea.

Trish a nutritionist and international speaker has won a number of shorthanded races in recent years. In the 2008 Coastal Classic from Auckland to Bay of Islands, 'Wishbone' was the smallest boat to finish when only 83 out of 229 starters completed the race. She was placed second in the two-handed division of the offshore White Island race and was overall handicap winner of the 2008 Auckland to Tauranga race.

"When it came to selecting sails for 'Wishbone', as a newcomer to offshore sailing good advice was as valuable to me as good sails," explained Trish. "Ken Fyfe has been a great help, putting a lot of thought into a Hyde Sails' furling genoa, which is slightly smaller than my old genoa so it will keep its shape better when partly furled and be easier to pole out, and a furling Code Zero sail for light airs. The furlers fit well with advice to keep off the foredeck as much as possible, and preserve energy. "Getting 'Wishbone' and myself ready for the Solo Trans Tasman race has been a huge challenge and the support of sponsors such as Hyde Sails and Fyfe Sails has been a key factor in ensuring I reach the start line fully prepared for whatever the Tasman has in store for us." For more information on Hyde Sails in New Zealand, see www.hydesails.com/newzealand

Keeping the Clipper fleet racing

2010-02-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

Hyde's sails have been powering the 10-strong Clipper fleet as they race around the
world, and at each stopover, the Hyde team has been on hand to help deal with the
inevitable wear and tear...

The race is hotting up as the fleet approaches Qingdao, the end of Race 6 and the midway point of the race. The Clipper fleet might be down to nine for the time being, with the unfortunate ‘Cork’ lost on a reef in the Java Sea, but a replacement boat will be ready when the race reaches Panama. Hyde is manufacturing the spinnakers for the new boat and working closely with Clipper to ensure her sail wardrobe gives her the same advantages as the other nine yachts.

Waiting to meet the fleet in each stopover to help with the punishing wear and tear a round the world race delivers to the boats and all their equipment, the Hyde Sails team has been busy ensuring that the driving force behind each yacht is checked, repaired and ready to continue the long journey home. Hyde's Martin Newman was out at the Cape Town stopover, ensuring the boats were ready for Leg 6.

Repairs by the crews

Pushing too hard, or messing up a drop can easily result in damage, but the crews have been trained to cope with this, Each boat had their own sailmaking training. Martin Newman outlines some of the work the crews undertook themselves... “Australia damaged the upper luff of her mainsail . An ingenious and rather impressive ‘get you home’ repair was performed by the crew on the leg (using bits of batten, nuts and bolts and some hand sewing).

"Other general work done by the crews during the race and at the end of the leg included replacing worn or missing mainsail slides, checking all slide webbings for wear and replacing as needed; replacing worn or missing headsail hanks, in some cases strapping luff slide eyes using webbing and hand sewing thread; checking for chafe from rigging and deck damage, patching using sticky or sail cloth and hand sewing thread."

Hyde on hand in Cape Town

Martin explains: "The boats were berthed at the Royal Cape YC for most of the stay, which supplied their regatta room for crews to check over sails and for Hyde and Clipper to assess any damage that may need to be professionally repaired. As much work as possible was done by crews with advice when requested from myself, a local loft was used for any thing that could not be done by crews, however any prep work that could be done before sending the sail into the loft was done by crews so as to reduce loft costs - all boats have a limited budget for repairs in keeping with the 'amateur' ethos of Clipper. Any over spend results in points deductions.

"A replacement medium spinnaker was waiting in Cape Town for Cork , their original sail had been damaged on the way to Rio and Gareth Heel (Hyde service manager) had declared it beyond economical repair. A new sail was manufactured during Leg 5 and shipped in time to meet the boat. Singapore blew out their light spinnaker on the final run in to Cape Town, with a large portion of the sail left behind in the ocean, this was a major repair done by the local loft.

Pipped for the podium

2009-10-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt and Cape Breton Island finish Leg 1 in fourth place...

"So here we are! Cape Breton Island Clipper has finally arrived in Rio de Janeiro! We finished fourth overall at 0505 (Rio time) at the line due south of the headland at Cabo Frio in a fickle breeze with Cork chasing us hard all the way to the line, they only finished about 10 minutes behind us. It was an agonising finish to the race with us mainly drifting in the tide over the line only making about 2 knots boat speed with sails flogging as we rolled in the swell. We were so pleased to have finished inside the time limit set by the race officials, if we had not finished by 1200 UTC then the positions would have been taken as the nearest to Rio, the satisfaction of actually crossing the line was great! After the finish was a 6 hour motor sail to Rio itself, this was due to light and flukey winds on the approach to Rio, it made sense to finish us on the headland were we could race in a better breeze.

"On arrival to the Rio de Janiero Yacht Club we had a quick beer before getting on with the menial task of cleaning the boat, all the boards came up, the bilges cleaned, and everything wiped down with antibacterial spray. I have serviced most of the winches on deck yesterday and today, getting rid of all the salt and other matter that end up in the cogs, it needs a good memory to put all the bits back in the correct place, only once did I end up with a bit left over!

"At the moment all the sails are being cleaned, mended and re-flaked with Hyde Sails adjusting all the light weight spinnakers by chopping a good few feet off the bottom, this is due to it catching on the forestay and the pullpit and ripping all the time, rumour has it Team Finland only used their heavy weight spinnaker never hoisting the medium or light.

"Once all the work is done today we are get time to relax and enjoy ourselves out and about in the city until nearer the start of the next leg where more boat preparations begin. I fly home tonight to a very autumnal England, I can't wait!"

In 'stealth mode'

2009-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

From twisters, to daydreams of a Cornish pint, Tom Gruitt shares the story from Cape Breton Island, which is currently in 'stealth mode' and battling for second place.

"Sorry for the lack of communication, we've all been busy sailing trying to catch up the miles on Spirit of Australia and put extra miles on Jamaica. Currently we are in stealth mode, so none of the fleet know where we are. We are in stealth mode for 24 hours, this will end at midnight tonight unfortunately, but hopefully we will have been gaining on the boats ahead of us.

"Due to very unpredictable light winds near Rio the race has been shortened to a headland off of Capo Frio, this is roughly a 6 hour motor sail from Rio and we should be finishing in 3 or 4 days, depending on the wind. It's looking like it's going to be a close finish between us and Spirit of Australia for second place, we have a slightly different tactic that we are sure will pay off in the long run, keep watching the tracker to find out!

"Just a few minutes ago we sailed under a lot of grey clouds and even saw a small twister reach down to the water. I grabbed my shower gel in anticipation of a nice freshwater wash on deck but was sadly denied as only a gentle spit of rain actually fell on the deck, what little rain fell was refreshing all the same.

"The temperatures here are almost unbearable, the sun feels like it penetrates through any layer of clothing and no matter how much sun cream you apply shade is needed readily. We are all glad the watermaker is still working as we are drinking litres of the stuff every day, I just long for the taste of some orange squash in my water, pure water does get boring after a while.

"On board we have mainly been talking about all the things we are looking forward to back on land and the people we want to see. The main things seem to be steak and chips, a full English breakfast and to have the option not to eat angel delight nearly every day (it does get rather sickly when you have no fridge to set it in). I think the thing I'm looking forward to most is a nice pint of Cornish ale down my local and some cheese and crackers, we only had cheese on here for the first few days before it was quickly demolished. Fresh fruit and veg all rate pretty highly among the crew, along with having a bath and sleeping in a bed that doesn't wobble from side to side. On board we only have 7 different menus for food, this means that cous cous comes up much too regularly for my liking, I always look forward to the beef stew with mashed potatoes and the Thai green prawn (from a tin) curry, it tastes better than it sounds honest! Lunch mainly consists of bread and soup, or tuna, salami or corned beef rolls. A highlight from the night watch last night was that we found a few bags of M&Ms in the cupboard, eating nice chocolate again was a luxury, but it soon disappeared and we were left with the cardboard muesli bars that no one likes.

"Hopefully my next update will be about the close of the race near Rio!"

In the Southern Hemisphere!

2009-10-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt crosses the Equator.

"One of my sailing dreams came true today, I sailed into the Southern Hemisphere! We crossed the equator at roughly 0100 on Monday 12th, with strangely dressed people and a bar set up down below with rum, gin & tonic and one bottle of pear cider we had a small party on the boat. There were glow sticks a plenty and some of the guys dressed in leotards, tight vest tops and Phil dressed in a pink cowboy hat and a blue towel/skirt. I shall spare you all the photos. We all cheered and celebrated the crossing of hemispheres before listening to Jan make a little speech about how Neptune was so kind to give us wind all through the doldrums, for this we gave him a few gifts including a nice measure of Benromach whisky.

"Soon enough it was back to the reality of sailing after letting our hair down for an hour, oh how those rum and cokes went down nicely after being at sea for so long! A close battle with Spirit of Australia is on at the moment with us in second place only one nautical mile ahead, we believe we are in a far better position than them so should start to put the miles on them soon. Poor California is about 900 miles behind the leaders, Finland, and making slow progress. I can't bear to image what life on board that boat is like, the morale must be at a complete low. Contrary to this, life on board the 'Big Blue Canoe' that is Cape Breton Island Clipper, is great, there seems to be a great sense of harmony within the crew with hardly any arguments or bad words said and our skipper seems to be able to rest easily (this means generally he is in a good mood and does fewer Meer Kat impressions sticking his head up through the hatch!).

"Today I was on mother watch with Rob, I think we were dealt a little bit of a bad hand with the food bags, we had soup for lunch which seemed only enough to feed about five, so this had to be bulked up with water and sachets of powdered soup, mushrooms and some paprika. For dinner we had cous-cous, a blank canvas for attaching many flavours, the only this is that we had a limited amount of flavours to add that didn't involve more Salami. Peppers, tomatoes, apricots, pine nuts and raisins did the trick and people didn't seem to complain too much. Dessert came up trumps though, chocolate brownies served with the best custard I have ever made, at one point it rivaled the adhesive properties of Sikaflex but this was soon rectified to allow it to actually flow out of the jug and into the bowls!

"Cooking for 20 hungry sailors isn't easy, but the hardest part is doing all the washing up afterwards and all the general cleaning of the boat throughout the day, cleaning the heads at 0700 in the morning certainly wakes you up! Mother watch starts at 2100 and ends at the same time the next day, this means you have plenty of time the evening before to prepare any food, such as soaking beans or chick peas, neither of my favourite foods despite their liberal use for the last three weeks. The freshwater shower at the end of the day makes it worthwhile.

"A strange thing happened today, Luke logged onto the communications computer to send a few emails and we realised the screen had turned upside down! We are not sure if this is a direct effect of crossing the equator or someone sitting on the keyboard at some point after the party, whichever it is, it's making it hard to type this blog and I'm sure to develop a crick in my neck pretty soon, so I shall make this the end for now. We estimate only six days until we reach Rio, I can't wait!"

Hyde dominates Beneteau 40.7 Euros

2009-10-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hyde Sails-powered boats win every race, and take the championship crown!

The 2009 Beneteau 40.7 Europeans was run by Britannia Events under the burgee of the Royal Southern YC, with overall victory going to the Hyde Sails powered Beneteau 40.7 'First Challenger'.

In the four-race series, 'First Challenger' posted three firsts and a third to score a decisive victory. Another Hyde Sailspowered boat, Peter Robson's 'Playing Around' was the only other entry to score a race win, making it a clean sweep for the premier sailmaking brand.

Gareth Williams has owned 'First Challenger' for five years now. He explained: "We won the first race by a long way, and this settled us into a confident crew to go on. We had a great crew and that is why we won the event, they are all great sailors who work as a happy team with no heroes. It was a true team effort."

Commenting on the sails, he added: "They are very light and give us great acceleration. The masthead spinnaker is a must on the 40.7 in light winds and our 0.5oz runner is superb." Runner-up in the overall championship was 'Addiction' with 'Tarka' third.

For more information on Hyde Sails or to discuss your sail requirements contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458) or see www.hydesails.com

Follow Hyde Sails as they race across the Atlantic

2009-10-11T12:34:00.001-07:00

Hyde's sails are currently powering the 10-strong Clipper fleet as they race across the Atlantic. You can follow their progress through the eyes of Tom Gruitt...

The Clipper fleet started its Transatlantic leg from La Rochelle to Rio de Janerio on Tuesday September 22. On board Cape Breton Island, photographer, Tom Gruitt will be sharing his experience along the way as he completes his first transatlantic crossing - you can follow his progress at www.hydesails.com/clippe

Before he set off Tom explained: "Sailing across the Atlantic has always been a bit of a dream for me. My leg gives me the opportunity to sail the North and South Atlantic, and there is even an equator crossing in there too. It will take roughly four weeks to get to Rio, the longest I have been on a boat is about five days!"

The start
"We set for a spinnaker start at 1000, but the wind that was there for the parade soon died away to nothing, we averaged under one knot of boat speed for a few hours, but have now completely stopped. We have completed 2.7 miles in two and a half hours, pretty slow and frustrating going. The light wind start has seen many different sail combinations, main with kite, windseeker with mainsail, and someone has even tried just hosting a spinnaker with no mainsail, nothing appears to me much better than anything else! The forecast is for light winds for a few days, but let's hope at least some sea breeze sets in soon."

First night at sea "Our first night at sea was a quiet one, still with light winds but coming further behind meaning we hoisted our lightweight kite. We had a good little battle with California but as soon as we hoisted we left them for dead. Winds at the moment are still fairly light, with about 10 knots from behind meaning we are running at a speed of about seven knots towards Finistere. In a few hours we should be putting a gybe in to cover the leading pack. We are hoping for more wind as we near Finistere, we have heard it could be up to about a F5 rounding there in the next day or so. We seem to be slowly catching the leading pack and pulling away from the people behind us, Hull & Humber are only 20 miles ahead which is nothing when we still have more than 4,000 miles still to sail."

Tom took part in all the Clipper training in the lead up to the race, you can read about all his experiences as well as finding out more about life on board by signing up to the blog at www.hydesails.com

Hyde Sails set off around the world

2009-10-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

The 10-strong Clipper race fleet sets sail from the Humber

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race started from the Humber on Sunday, with the 10-strong fleet heading for a pitstop in La Rochelle before continuing on their first ocean leg, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janerio in Brazil.

More than 100,000 people lined the banks of the Humber to watch the start and as the cannon fired, the ten internationally sponsored yachts crossed the start line at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) to the roar of the crowds at the beginning of their 35,000-mile challenge

'Edinburgh Inspiring Capital' led the charge across the line, followed by the Irish entry, 'Cork', and 'Spirit of Australia'. The first race takes the fleet from the east coast of the UK to La Rochelle, France. The northerly breeze at the start and the weather conditions forecast for the next few days indicate that the 780-mile race will be a fast one.

By the time the fleet had rounded the second mark Cork had overtaken the Scottish boat, Team Finland had moved up from sixth place to second and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital had dropped back to third.

Hyde's Sales and Marketing Director, Richard Franks was there to witness the 10 yachts, all powered by Hyde's sails, make their way out of the Humber. "It was an amazing sight," he commented. "We're delighted to be the fleet's sail supplier, and it was good to see the boats setting out on their challenging journey with Hyde Sails providing the power to get them round the world. The turnout to watch the start was very impressive, it was fantastic to see the whole city getting behind the race."

As the official sail supplier for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, Hyde has been closely involved with the boats as they prepared for their round the world test, helping the crews to train in sail repair and maintenance, which will be a necessary part of their trip. Hyde Sails will power all ten of the Clipper yachts as they race round the world. Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean. As well as the benefits of the highest quality workmanship, skippers will receive personal training from Hyde's skilled staff, and specialist support at key stopovers.

Tom Gruitt will also be sharing the tale of the first leg as he races from La Rochelle to Brazil, with his camera in hand, you can follow his blog on the Hyde Sails site, www.hydesails.com/clipper

Doldrums, what doldrums?

2009-10-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt tells the story from on board Cape Breton Island as the crew manages to catch the weather window that sees them in the leading bunch of boats...

"Our skipper Jan Ridd prepared us for the doldrums, saying that huge gains and losses could be made and that sailing just a few miles a day could see anyone gain the lead.

"In my line of work I get to talk to a lot of people from cruisers to professional round the world sailors, they have all said basically the same thing, the doldrums are tough and really test your patience. Imagine our surprise as Jan popped his head through the hatch saying he reckoned he had found a way through without sailing into a light wind area! He explained that we needed to catch the next weather system to get us across, so to the hour we got there, completed a really slick spinnaker drop and hoisted the Windseeker. An hour or so later the wind built and we hoisted the staysail and the Yankee 2.

"The relief on Jan's face was visible. Still sailing upwind the breeze built on the nose to 27 knots apparent meaning two reefs were needed for a while, nothing like what any of the books have mentioned! About five boats have got through and the other half of the fleet are stuck, with Qingdao doing 1.5 miles in 6 hours in the wrong direction! The next big highlight of the trip is the equator, we are about 160 miles away so will hopefully cross on Monday.

"We all feel pretty lucky to have sailed through the doldrums without dropping below 5 knots of boat speed, this will be story for all of us to tell back at the yacht club bar for a long time to come!"

Will Sayer wins OSTAR

2009-10-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hyde-powered entry takes overall victory in this classic singlehanded transatlantic race.

29-year-old Will Sayer took overall IRC victory in the singlehanded OSTAR race from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island. Sailing the smallest boat in the race, his Sigma 33c, 'Elmarleen', Will crossed the finish line in Newport in 16th place on the water to win his class win and take top spot overall.

It was a nail-biting finish for Will as he spent hours stuck in a wind-less hole within sight of the finish line. He explained: "I have learnt quite a few lessons about life through sailing and one of the most important ones is, it's not over till it's over." Will describes that last night as the worst of his life: "Very tired and after 23 days of leading the race I panicked. I looked at the grib files, that made it worse as there was very little wind forecast. It was my idea of hell. I cut up a cupboard door and attached it to a long pole I use to make my lee cloths. I drilled holes in the door, and cable tied it to the pole and started to row. Autopilot on, I paddled and rowed and then looked at the boat speed. The boat speed went from 0.9 to 1.1 - rowing wasn't worth the effort. I tried rowing again as if my life depended on it and I made next to no difference. This carried on until sunrise, by which time I had reduced the distance by a mile or two. But then the little breath of wind that there was changed direction. It was now on the nose. The tide was starting to turn and with the finish in sight all I could manage was to reach on either tack parallel to the finish line.

"Then as the UK woke up, the text messages started to fly in - 'Will have you won?' 'Where are you?' It was awful so I turned both my mobile and sat phone off. Then as I hand steered the boat I felt a chill on my face and the direction of the wind changed, I was knocked. Tacking within a few minutes, I then I got the lift of my life - I could lay the finish! I burst into tears and just prayed it would stay. I sailed into the mouth of Newport. I could see both ends of the finish line and I started the short tacks up the eastern side towards the Castle Hill light house. Taking much bigger risks than I ever would normally, sailing within a boat length of the shore, I felt 'Elmarleen' and I were invincible. I crossed the line at 1300 UT." It was enough to give Will not only the class win, but overall IRC victory.

The OSTAR
The OSTAR is the only Oceananic solo race open to amateurs in standard boats. A race with an impressive pedigree, previous competitors have included Ellen MacArthur and Mike Golding. Will says: "The OSTAR is the only option for a sailor wanting to compete in a solo offshore race, without huge financial backing - we race under IRC. It's also has got a very long and interesting history with a real Corinthian spirit." Will's campaign was a true Corinthian effort, he bought Elmarleen in 2001 and spent five years rebuilding her, eventually leaving his position with electronics company Raymarine in order to compete in the race.

The sails
Obviously Will's sail choice was crucial; not only was he after race-wining sails, but he needed something he could rely on. What made Will choose Hyde Sails? "Compared with other sailmakers I have dealt with, Hyde's customer service is fantastic. I am not a big customer, I own a small boat, but I always feel important to them and they always answer my calls quickly. Paul [Paul Austin, Hyde's Sales Manager] helped me customise my sail wardrobe to suit my sailing and budget and it worked."

De Guingand win for Hyde

2009-10-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

cover both racing and chartering objectives. After getting advice from the professionals and fellow class racers we just tried to buy as broader wardrobe as possible for flexibility. We undoubtedly can optimise further, but at the moment just find it a thrill to know we have choices of what sail to use."

Having put in a lot of work on the boat over the winter, Graeme and his team are focused on doing more than just getting around the rock in this year's Fastnet, and he has already penciled in the 2010 Sydney to Hobart, which he describes as, "almost inevitable given a boat full of antipodeans!"

For more details contact Paul Austin (T: +44 (0) 7801 907458).

Roasting in the doldrums

2009-10-08T00:56:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt celebrates reaching half way in leg 1 of the Clipper Race aboard Cape Breton Island.

"Just a short one for today as not too much has been happening down here. We are doing pretty well and making good inroads into the doldrums at the moment, but we still have wind! Team Finland have parked up and are less than 60 miles ahead in first place at the moment, the longer we carry on like this the more their lead is in jeopardy. When we get the 0600 schedules we will find out how we have done overnight against them, let's hope we are now right on their tail.

"We are currently running with the medium weight spinnaker as we had up to 24 knots of breeze in the night, although this has dropped off somewhat now. Again I find myself working at 0400 in the morning so this gets posted on the morning internet connection (our email connects four times a day). Last night we were followed by dolphins again, but this time I was trying out a new technique to photograph them, flash! They didn't seem to mind and even more grouped round when they realised they were having their photo taken, they are the vainest creatures in the sea by a long way.

"We are just over half way in distance now which brought a big cheer amongst the crew, but we are well over half way in terms of time. Once we get the other side of the ITCZ we can make great progress towards Rio on the trade winds, which can sometimes get pretty strong but are normally in the right direction. The doldrums are going to be the hardest part of this leg of the race, even just doing a few miles a day can gain you a huge lead on the other side.

"As the sun went down we saw some large storm clouds brewing on the horizon, they didn’t seem to come to much and all we had were a few spits of rain. We are waiting with anticipation for the tropical rainstorms to come so we can all stand on deck and have a shower without using lots of our freshly made water. Making water on board is a daily routine, the generator gets fired up early normally waking me up as it gets going, then the water maker is turned on and let to run through for a bit before the fresh water is directed into the tanks. It makes about 30 litres of fresh water an hour from the 300 litres of salt water that it takes in, a time consuming process when you have a large tank to fill. Other daily duties include cleaning the boat and heads and making sure all the food is out ready for the next day. Deck and rig checks need to be done often to reduce the risk of any major failure, also halyards need to be adjusted a few times a day to make sure that the load is spread over a different place to stop chaffing.

"It's not long until the schedules need to be done so I had better send this before the skipper takes over the nav station for a while, let's hope our overnight effort had paid off."

Wildlife spotting

2009-10-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

On Cape Breton Island, Tom Gruitt had been wildlife spotting, both on and off the boat!

"We have been on a charge downwind for a few days now, it's 0400 and I've just got off the helm after some epic sailing. We are currently getting surfs of near 20 knots with the medium weight spinnaker. There are some great waves out there that just take you faster and faster until you plough into the next one! I was rudely awakened early this morning by a wave breaking into the cockpit and coming through the small hatch near my bunk, it was quite refreshing though. As the last few schedules have come in we have been making more miles per 12 hours than any other boat, this means we are catching up pretty quickly and are constantly pushing hard to gain as many miles as we can. Life down below the boat is getting really hot, sleeping at night is hard in this heat and many people are starting to look a little weary. Simon and I were just chatting on deck saying how strange it is to be hundreds of miles out in the ocean at night just wearing shorts and t-shirt and still being too hot!

"On this trip we have seen a lot of wildlife, some off the boat and some on it! We usually get our nightly display by the dolphins, lighting up the water with the phosphorescence, it's a truly magical experience to watch them play, I'm still not bored of it. I can happily sit on the foredeck watching, hearing them click and squeak as they jump a good six feet out of the wake. Yesterday evening we had a pretty close encounter with two whales, we spotted them crossing out bows and were on a collision course but they seemed to know the rules of the road and as they were on port they slowed down and gave way! We passed about 20 feet in front of them and they blew spray in the air and all over the boat.

"I think the closest encounter with ocean wildlife was with the flying fish. I was on the coffee grinder trimming the spinnaker as we surfed downwind and to my surprise a flying fish flew out of the water straight into my face, it took me slightly by surprise and actually hurt quite a lot! We were doing about 15 knots at the time and it must have been flying at 20, that's quite an impact speed! I am now tempted to put the helmet and goggles on when I return to deck, just in case. They are mad little things, always trying to get on deck and often ending up flying down one of the open hatches into the galley or saloon down below, it's great hearing the reaction as one lands on the table! Other sightings include bats, they sometimes stop and cling to the guardrail for a rest. We have had a couple of birds land on the spreader too hitching a free ride south, they don't seem too worried by the 6ft high eagle on the side of the boat's hull!

"With the only noise out here being the water rushing past the hull and general boat noises, Morgan and I have realised that a lot of things on here sound like animals too. We have a spinnaker halyard that sounds like a cow, mooing is way downwind, accompanied by the port primary winch that sounds like an elephant roaring when the sheet is eased through it. Recently the boom has started sounding like a dawn chorus of toads and crickets each time we roll over a wave (it does honestly!). The latest addition to the Cape Breton farm is a donkey. We can hear it on the foredeck somewhere but are still not sure exactly what is making the noise, as I sit here now I can hear it gently eeyoring away, we shall investigate when it gets light."

Finally the breeze fills in

2009-10-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Tom enjoys some champagne sailing on Cape Breton Island as they reel in Jamaica Clipper...

"Hurrah! Finally we have wind and have left the Canary Islands. Last night we hoisted our windseeker and slowly but surely started to move away from the Canary Islands, with the wind only getting up to about 4 knots it was hard work. As the wind came forward we decided to get further South, so hoisted our lightweight spinnaker, strapped it in pretty hard and got the apparent wind going. Slowly the wind built and came round until this morning we were making about 11 knots in the right direction. We have just peeled to our medium-weight spinnaker as the apparent wind has built up to about 14 knots, we are now charging down Jamaica Clipper at about 11 knots on a nice hot sunny afternoon, champagne sailing for sure!

"With the wind forecast to build slightly we should be able to make back a few places on the boats in the West who are sailing upwind and still have to sail through a light patch of breeze, we should be able to hold this downwind angle for a few days, possibly even to the Equator.

"Life on board is getting a little tougher as we run out of fresh fruit and vegetables, creating something interesting for lunch and dinner is proving a little more difficult. Fresh bread baked daily makes nice toast for breakfast, or to go with lunch. Cooking for a crew of 20 isn't easy, it takes a lot of planning and quantity control is pretty much guesswork. I have never known anyone to gauge the quantity of rice for a meal correctly!

"I am now pretty used to the lack of sleep and am amazed how little I now need to function properly, once I have washed and done some work or sent a few emails I'm left with about three hours' sleep per off watch. Then it's up again for another four hours on deck, I have one watch from 0300 to 0700, which is my least favourite, waking up enough to sail is hard at that time in the morning. The worst thing is when you wake up and are confronted with a spinnaker that needs re-wooling or you need to do a sail change.

"All in all we are pretty happy here on Cape Breton Island, and we just hope we can pull back a few more places in the next few days..."

Passing the Canary Islands

2009-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt has been finding things hot on Cape Breton Island... and enjoys pushing it a bit with some close-reaching under lightweight kite...

"Days and nights are getting hotter, last night I helmed for a few hours just wearing shorts and a t-shirt, this was about 0100 in the morning. The whole crew are very glad of the newly installed fans around the boat, they are making life down below a bit more bearable during the day.

"Since leaving La Rochelle we have only had hot days with sunshine, winds have been up and down and we are currently making about two knots through the Canary Islands, passing pretty close Grand Canaria. There are so many wind holes that we have been stuck in around here. Last night I was on the helm making great progress for a few hours, close reaching with the lightweight kite, which is rated for 10 knots apparent. The wind kept building and we were hitting about 11 knots of boatspeed with 16 knots of apparent, after holding this for a while our Skipper Jan popped his head up through the hatch and told us to put up a smaller spinnaker.

"With winds looking fairly light for the next few days, we are just keeping the boat going forwards and sailing towards the patches of wind we can see ahead. Other boats around us seem to be having the same difficulty is moving at any great speed towards Rio, some only making 10 miles in six hours. We look forward to more wind soon to hopefully drive us towards the equator and to try and catch up with the boats ahead."

Dolphins and being 'mum'

2009-09-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

On Cape Breton Island, Tom has just passed Maderia...

"With winds dropping for now we have hoisted our lightweight spinnaker, the repairs seem to be holding well. Over the last few days we have been sailing hard downwind in the light conditions to keep speed on as get as low as possible, with low pressure expected within the next 24 hours we are preparing for high winds and fairly rough seas. There seems to be a split of the fleet East and West, so we will see what pays soon enough.

"The weather has been great for the last seven days, hot days and sunshine but cooling off to make sleeping a bit more comfortable at night, I suspect that this will change as we near the equator. We have just passed Madeira to the East and are midfleet heading down to the rhumb line to prepare for the strong winds forecast.

"We have seen dolphins, whales and turtles, with sightings becoming more frequent as we dive South. We have even had squid land on our decks, as we found out when our Skipper Jan stood on one with messy consequences!

"Today I am doing my day of mother watch, this involves catering for everyone with breakfast, lunch and dinner and also cakes and plenty of tea. Also part of the duty is to clean the whole yacht top to bottom, and clean the heads twice a day with magic anti bacterial spray."

Powering towards Maderia

2009-09-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy few days for Tom as he heads for Maderia. The crews have been pushing the boats hard, and on Cape Breton Island this has meant some more work for the sewing machine, but they have also managed to move up the leaderboard, as Tom explains...

"Over the last two days we have had some great sailing here on Cape Breton Island Clipper, charging downwind through the Bay of Biscay under spinnaker or poled-out headsail. I had a good time helming last night, surfing down the waves in excess of 16 knots seeing no further in front of me than the mast, I really don't want to know how big the swell was!

"Our great efforts of pushing hard overnight meant we have overtaken Cork and are up into 6th place and fighting to get into the leading pack.

"Another good night of sailing could easily pull us up a few places if we can catch up with Singapore who are a little way ahead but a long way west of us, crew morale is high and we are getting better and better at helming and trimming as the days go on. It looks like we will carry on sailing downwind for another few days in great breeze making great gains towards the equator where we will inevitably park up for a few days.

"Unfortunately this morning some of the hanks on the Yankee 2 headsail broke forcing us to drop it, the sharp bits of the broken hanks then ripped three holes in the sail, we are just hoping for a day soon where we don't have to make any repairs. Katherine and Rob did a sterling job putting new hanks on and sewing strong patches over the rips so that we can use the sail again immediately.

"We are currently on a course towards Madeira, our current position puts us to the west of Portugal and we are about to get the latest position updates of the fleet. A few whales and dolphins have been sighted around the boat, but were a little too far away for any meaningful photos. The weather has been great over the last few days with plenty of wind from behind and lots of warm sunshine, night times have still been fairly warm with the temperature dropping off in the early morning. It's been so hot today that I haven't managed to sleep, instead helping out on deck, taking photos or relaxing reading a book. Phil and David have just knocked up an amazing dinner for us, I had better go and get some while there is still some left!"

A wrapped kite and a repair - all in a night's work

2009-09-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt and the crew on Cape Breton Island have been busy with the sewing machine... fortunately all the crews received special training from Hyde Sails before they set off so they were fully prepared to complete the task...

"Well, last night was all going very well, boat speed was great and we were doing great on the leading boats until we tore our lightweight kite. We were running doing about eight knots when after chafing on the forestay the sail gave way with an almighty rip. With a slick bit of crew work in the dark, the sail was dropped and a new one hoisted within 10 minutes. Unfortunately due to the fairly light winds and a bit of swell we managed to get our medium weight kite wrapped three times around the forestay, and in doing this put a few holes and in that kite too! Overall a pretty bad night, even one of the toilet seats has broken!

"The medium kite has been repaired and as I speak the lightweight is having the foot sewn back on (see portrait pic). A great effort has been made by all with most having little sleep and some of us feeling a bit a bit ill bobbing around on the foredeck retrieving pieces of spinnaker or being down below sewing the thing back together again. We now need to get back on the ball and start chasing down people ahead as we round Finistere and head further south towards Rio.

"Due to a few people being ill today I have been doing a bit of freelance motherwatching, I cleaned the heads and changed all the bins, it's always good to keep everyone happy as they'll be the ones cooking your food next!

"I think everyone is settling in to their watch systems well, I have a different watch system to Watch A and Watch B, my watch (which only contains me) overlaps the last two hours of one watch and the first two hours of the next, this brings great continuity between the two watches and means I can pass on all the info from one watch to the next. Another added bonus is that I get plenty of time to do my media bit as I'm not needed all the time so can pop off for a few minutes to write this or take more photos of things happening on deck. Sleep is short, only 4 hours before you have to get up again and if like me your bunk is right next to the generator it's a pretty poor 4 hours sleep. Sleep is getting more and more important as more mistakes will be made when the crew are tired, anyway all this talk of sleep is making me yawn! Goodnight, or should that be good morning?"

First night at sea

2009-09-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt shares the story of his first night at sea...

"Our first night at sea was a quiet one, still with light winds but coming further behind meaning we hoisted our lightweight kite. We had a good little battle with California but as soon as we hoisted we left them for dead. Winds at the moment are still fairly light, with about 10 knots from behind meaning we are running at a speed of about 7 knots towards Finistere. In a few hours we should be putting a gybe in to cover the leading pack. We are hoping for more wind as we near Finistere, we have heard it could be up to about a F5 rounding there in the next day or so. We seem to be slowly catching the leading pack and pulling away from the people behind us, Hull & Humber are only 20 miles ahead which is nothing when we still have more than 4,000 miles still to sail.

"So far food has been great on board, with porridge for breakfast, a nice beef stew with potatoes for dinner and today I've just had a fantastic vegetable omelette for lunch! It's getting hotter and hotter as we cross the Bay of Biscay, and will continue getting hotter the further south we head. The electric fans on the boat are now starting to come in very useful, especially while sleeping. It's now time for me to sign out and get my head down for a few hours."

The start of the leg across to Rio

2009-09-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt set sail today aboard Cape Breton Island, bound for Rio in Leg 1 of the Clipper Round the World Race as the 10-strong fleet, powered by Hyde Sails, headed for the Bay of Biscay, This is his first report from onboard..
"After an early start to get out of the marina in time for the tide we all paraded around outside of La Rochelle being let by the yacht Joshua, this boat came second to Sir Robin Knox Johnson when he was the first person to sail singlehandedly around the world non-stop.

"We set for a spinnaker start at 1000, but the wind that was there for the parade soon died away to nothing, we averaged under one knot of boat speed for a few hours, but have now completely stopped. We have completed 2.7 miles in two and a half hours, pretty slow and frustrating going. The light wind start has seen many different sail combinations, main with kite, windseeker with mainsail, and someone has even tried just hosting a spinnaker with no mainsail, nothing appears to me much better than anything else! The forecast is for light winds for a few days, but let's hope at least some sea breeze sets in soon."

Last night in harbour for Hyde Sails

2009-09-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tom Gruitt shares his thoughts ahead of the start of the transatlantic leg to Rio, in Brazil... which will see the Clipper fleet, all powered by Hyde Sails, battling it out to win the first leg of the 2009-10 Clipper Round the World Race.

"As we approach the last night in harbour until we reach Rio last minute changes and tidying up is going on aboard most of the boats. The atmosphere here seems jubilant, but there is also a sense of anticipation of what's to come. We're having our crew briefing this afternoon in which we will be organising the watches for the rest of this leg. It looks like I'm not going to be assigned to a specific watch, but will participate in both so that I can always be on hand with my camera to get the best shots, whether this will be easier than having just one watch, I'm not so sure!

"The weather forecast for the next few days, when we'll be sailing across the Bay of Biscay, is mainly light winds, increasing the further we sail out into the ocean, so it should be a fairly smooth ride for us all to get our sea legs on again! We leave the dock in La Rochelle at 0630hrs tomorrow for the race to start at 1000, you can track our progress on the Clipper website tracker at www.clipperroundtheworld.com.

"The next report I will be sending will be at sea, let's hope I can remember how to use the computer on board!"

We'll follow the progress of Tom on board Cape Breton Island and Hyde's sails over he next four weeks as they cross the Atlantic.

Hyde Sails poised to race across the Atlantic

2009-09-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Clipper fleet is due to start its transatlantic leg from La Rochelle on Tuesday September 22 and Hyde's sails will be powering the fleet on its way to Rio de Janerio, and on Cape Breton Island,photographer Tom Gruitt will be sharing his experience along the way as he completes his first transatlantic crossing.

Tom looks forward to taking part in the first leg of the Clipper Round the World race. "Sailing across the Atlantic has always been a bit of a dream for me. My leg gives me the opportunity to sail the North and South Atlantic, and there is even an equator crossing in there too (must think of a gift for Neptune!).

"It will take roughly four weeks to get to Rio from La Rochelle, the longest I have been on a boat is about five days, the fact that I can't get off until I get there hasn't quite dawned on me yet, but I'm sure it will soon. I think the bit I'm most looking forward to is being on the boat as a photographer, the chance to capture stunning images as the action happens and send them back for the world to see really excites me. I think the watch system will be tough to start off with, the guys on board have already settled in to it on the trip down from Hull to La Rochelle, but I'm sure after a day or two it will become easier."

Keep checking Tom's blog to read Cape Breton Island's progress, and to see the photos he will be sending back every few days.

Part C: training on the raceboat

2009-09-19T02:00:00.000-07:00

Ahead of the leg from La Rochelle, Tom Gruitt explains the final stage of his training...

"Part C training is completed on the boat that you will be competing in the race on, this gives a bit more time for the crew and Skipper to bond. I will be sailing with Jan Ridd on Cape Breton Island, by far the coolest looking Clipper 68 in the race!

"The main aim of the final week of training is to create a slick racing team that can perform every manoeuvre quickly, efficiently and of course safely. Our skipper Jan ran through a lot of techniques for reefing and the best way to change headsails, and we all talked among the crew about the way we thought is best to carry these things out.

"The main part of the week was spending 4 or 5 days offshore racing against the other Part C 68s. The race started in the Solent with a bit of round the cans stuff before we headed out past the needles to take Alderney to starboard, a mark off of Dartmouth to starboard and a finish back in the Solent.

"Everything started well with us making good speed upwind out into the channel, although when we got near Alderney it all started to go wrong for me. The wind kept picking up and the sea was building, I managed to eat a bit and felt fine but after a trip down below to get to bed I had to reach for the bucket. The silver, slightly metallic looking bucket became my best friend for the next 10 hours or so as I wallowed in my own self pity down below (I wasn’t the only one though). I can’t really tell you what happened after being near Alderney, but I woke up and we were moored just outside of Poole Harbour, I think we stopped there due to the crew attrition rate being quite high.

"Later that morning we set sail to meet all the other boats on the South side of the Isle of Wight for the Clipper photoshoot, we all had to sail in formation pinching hard well over pressed which isn't easy, it was worth it though, the photos are great! The photoshoot was the start of another practice race to Portland and back, I helmed a lot upwind to round the mark at Portland to starboard, although Edinburgh seemed to think it was a port rounding, this kept me on my toes as we met at the mark! Spinnakers were hoised and the chase of Cork for 1st place was on, we spinnakered through the night and were taking huge chunks out of Corks lead, finally gybing inside them south of the Isle of Wight to take the lead, crossing between the forts not long after for the win! I know it's nothing in comparison to racing round the world, but a win early on is always a good moral booster!

"Sailing with some of the crew I will be on the boat with for Leg 1 was great, it really brought everyone together into a great time. I am looking forward to the race a lot, although am slightly nervous too. The challenge of sailing the boat and having to take stunning photos to send back will be a big one, but one I can't wait to complete. "

Tom flies out from Southampton tomorrow to join the fleet in La Rochelle.

Part B: training on the Clipper 68s

2009-09-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

After Part A, there was more intensive training to follow for competitors before they can compete in the Race itself, as Tom Gruitt explains...

"For the Part B Clipper training we were on the Clipper 68s, the same boats used for the race. My skipper this week was Eero Lehtinen on Team Finland.

"The race boats are only eight feet longer than the 60s but feel so much bigger down below, the flat wide deck also makes it a lot easier to move around. We came back to shore every night on our Part B, we were mainly doing tacking and boat handling drills all week to get used to the different layout of the race boats.

"The Part B training really built upon the skills that were taught in the previous course, it also applied them more to the racing side of sailing rather than just making the boat move. Again there were lectures in the evening recapping all of the days activities and learning rules of racing.

"Another highlight of the week was learning and practicing how to do a Le Mans start, this is the type of start used in the race quite often. It means you all line up close hauled with the mainsail up, the staysail and yankee lay rigged on the deck ready to be hoisted. On the word 'GO' everyone rushes to their pre assigned stations to hoist the foresails as fast as possible. The crew to get them up and sheeted in the fastest pulls away pretty quickly.

"All of our racing knowledge was put to use on the last day with us racing againt other Part B crew from Gilkicker Point, around the Nab Tower and back again, a mandatory reef in the mainsail had and a headsail change from the No2 to the No3 had to be completed at some point in the race, this was great practice of a sail change under pressure.

"Again the week culminated with a deep clean of the boat, still not my favourite task, I'm sure I'll get used to it though!"

Tom Gruitt joins the race in La Rochelle on Sunday September 20th for the start of the leg to Rio in Brazil.

Beneteau 40.7s perform in Spring Champs

2009-09-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a successful start to the season for Hyde in the Beneteau 40.7 class as Hyde-powered entries took the class win, and the runner-up spot in the Warsash Spring Championships.

First place in this competitive class went to Andrew Iyer's 'Portia of Hamble', while second place went to Peter Robson's 'Playing Around', which finished three points behind. Nicolas Gaumont-
Prat's 'Tradition Philosophie IV' was third.

For 'Portia' the path to victory started with some promise as she posted 3,1,2 on the first day of racing, just two seconds adrift of 'Playing Around' in the third race of the day. However, on the
following day 'Portia' had to settle for two thirds, leaving 'Playing Around' at the top of the leader board.

Peter Robson commented: "The first Saturday was light, and our two-year-old GPL sails were built for heavier conditions for the Fastnet in 2007. They have seen a lot of duty, however we still managed to hold our own in the light air. Racing was intense - there was very little between the boats. Considering the age of the sails, they performed admirably. On the Sunday the wind increased a little, and we managed better results, as the heavier and stronger material came into
its own. The special Hyde’s kite, a 0.9oz runner with ultra large shoulders gave us a stunning edge downwind."

Andrew Iyer added: "In Sunday's stronger winds the sea state was lively which made for challenging kite work at times for all of the boats. We are pretty comfortable in stronger winds and 'Portia', as a heavier 40.7, goes fairly well in the breeze. She is less quick in very light winds, but we are trying to work on that."

The following weekend delivered testing, shifty conditions and a first race win for 'Philosophie', 'Playing Around' third and 'Portia' fourth. However, 'Portia' found her form in race two, finishing six seconds ahead of 'Playing Around', with the two rivals swapping places in race three. Andrew Iyer explained: "The Saturday of the second weekend was probably our best all round day. With so many races across the Championship, consistency is vital and we were trying to finish in the top three in each race." 'Portia finished the day leading by one point from 'Playing Around'.

'Playing Around' took the penultimate race with 'Portia' pushed down to third by 'Tarka', but in the final race, a win for 'Portia' secured the championship victory, while 'Playing Around' had to settle for fifth, to finish second overall.

Andrew Iyer tells the story: "We knew we had to race smart in the final race. We started with a port flyer from the pin end, which saw us lead the fleet. There was a very tight and exciting upwind dual between 'Portia' and 'Philosophie', where the boats paced each other in tight formation neck and neck, But we read the shifts pretty well, left the other lead boats and found more wind. This lifted us into the windward mark with 'Genie', which we managed to pass to round the penultimate windward mark in the lead. During the run we managed to pull away putting vital seconds, but then the wind stared to fill in from behind the fleet and we could only watch as the other boats' kites started to fill as they began to catch us up. Working to protect our lead whenever we could, we gybed, dropped the kite and came hard
up onto the wind for the final beat. The fleet behind us had closed the gap but hiking hard and still trying to follow the shifts we managed to nibble back a few boat lengths on the final beat to the line. As we crossed the finish line in first place we looked back to time the other boats in. After two minutes we were still the only finisher and at that point we were pretty sure we had won the Championship. All of the races were close! Exciting stuff.

Looking to the season ahead on 'Portia', Andrew Iyer explains: "This was our first event with the new Hyde sails. We are still tuning the boat and getting used to the new mainsail in particular. We think we can find more pace as we settle into the new sails. We have a busy season planned; 40.7 Nationals; IRC Nationals; RTIR; Beneteau Cup, Cowes Week and some corporate events including The Lutine Cup (which we won last year and will try and defend); the Financial Services Cup plus a few others, before the Winter Series at the end of the year."

For 'Playing Around', their season includes a new name. According to Peter Robson: "This year we will again be doing an RORC Offshore Series with Sailing Logic, the boat for the season being rebadged 'Playing Around Logic'. We will be starting with a novice team, training and educating them to 'mix it' with the best. We hope to maintain the high standard the regular crew achieved in 2007!"

Pre-race training: Part A

2009-09-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Before anyone can take part in the race, they need to take part in Clipper's training programme. First off: Part A - the initial stage of training, which takes place on Clipper 60s - the boats that were used for the race in 1996/7, 1998/9, 2000/01, 2002/03 but are now just for Clipper training. Tom Gruitt recalls his experience.

"Life on board the Clipper 60s is fairly cramped and the bunks are pretty narrow too! The first night aboard was a long one with lots of snoring by a few and many people only getting an hour or two sleep!

"The aim of Part A is to get everybody familiar with the functions of a racing yacht, bearing in mind a lot of the crew on board have never been on a boat in their lives. The first day or so was used to demonstrate how to use winches, cleats and safety on board, lots of drills tied up in the marina had to be completed before we were allowed out into the Solent.

"On our first trip out into the Solent we were greeted by 32 knots of wind, more than enough to test a novice crew! After a long day of sailing we came back into Gosport for the night, dinner was served and followed by lots of theory lectures before we could finally go to bed.

"The main sailing of Part A was an overnight sail from Gosport to Portland Harbour. We established a three-hour watch system for the sail to Portland, after a nice sail out of the Solent we got to St Catherine's point and parked for a few hours, this brought on a little bit of watch rivalry when the other team came up to take over.

"Another thing to get used to is being on mother watch, this is a watch of two people who do all the cooking and cleaning for the crew for a whole day. I stuck to simple things like sausages and mash and chicken curry, it all seemed to go down very well with the crew though.

"At the end of the week there was a full debrief with the Skipper and an exam on all the things that we had learnt in the week. For someone with sailing knowledge the exam wasn't too stressful. There was also a deep clean of the yacht, I can think of nicer things to be doing after a good night out with the crew!"

Finland first into La Rochelle, Cape Breton fifth

2009-09-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

Line honours in the first race of Clipper 09-10 went to Team Finland as a drama-filled Race 1 drew to a conclusion.

The Finnish skipper, Eero Lehtinen, and his team led for much of the last two days of a fast race from The Humber to La Rochelle, successfully holding off the chasing pack and watching the drama unfold in their wake as the Race Committee considered whether to protest two of the teams pushing hard for a first podium place.

Arriving in the Bassin des Chalutiers, La Rochelle, a jubilant Eero said, "It was a good warm up. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that we've actually started the race and that it's actually happening. It was almost too easy to be honest; we didn't tack once on the way from the Humber to La Rochelle. We did 740 miles averaging more than 10 knots, so it was pretty good sailing.

Team Finland will have to wait until later this week for confirmation that they have won the race. The results are provisional until all the teams have made their declarations and the Race Committee rules on their decision to protest two of the yachts, Hull & Humber and Cork, for an apparent infringement of the sailing instructions.

Cork was second across the finish line in La Rochelle after a tight battle which had raged at the head of the fleet for the last three days. Perhaps the most nail biting finish was between Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia. Just 40 seconds separated the two boats at the finish of Race 1.

Cape Breton Island crossed the line in fifth place, emerging victorious from what has been an engaging contest between them and Jamaica Lightning Bolt, who were sixth to cross the finish line about four miles outside La Rochelle. Our eyes on the inside of the race, photographer Tom Gruitt, will be joining Cape Breton in La Rochelle for the leg across to Rio.

Introducing... our man out on the first leg

2009-09-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

As official sail suppliers for the Clipper Round the World Race, Hyde will be bringing you news from around the world as the Clipper fleet undertakes its arduous journey.
As well as support staff at each stopover, joining Cape Breton Island in La Rochelle is Tom Gruitt, who will be sharing his experiences of the first leg throughout the journey to Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Tom, a photographer from Plymouth in Devon, is keen sailor of dinghies and keelboats - recently in particular B14s, although he's even been seen sailing a foiling Moth! In fact, he's keen to give pretty much anything a go, including ocean racing. With Tom's help we'll be able to follow some of his experiences in the build up to the race, and see the first leg through his eyes... which will include his first transatlantic crossing.

Hyde Sails set off round the world

2009-09-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race started from the Humber yesterday, with the 10-strong fleet heading for a pitstop in La Rochelle before continuing on their first ocean leg, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janerio in Brazil.

More than 100,000 people lined the banks of the Humber to watch the start and as the cannon fired, the ten internationally sponsored yachts crossed the start line at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) to the roar of the crowds at the beginning of their 35,000-mile challenge.

'Edinburgh Inspiring Capital' led the charge across the line, followed by the Irish entry, 'Cork', and 'Spirit of Australia'. The first race takes the fleet from the east coast of the UK to La Rochelle, France. The northerly breeze at the start and the weather conditions forecast for the next few days indicate that the 780-mile race will be a fast one.

By the time the fleet had rounded the second mark Cork had overtaken the Scottish boat, Team Finland had moved up from sixth place to second and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital had dropped back to third.

Hyde's Sales and Marketing Director, Richard Franks was there to witness the 10 yachts, all powered by Hyde's sails, make their way out of the Humber. "It was an amazing sight," he commented. "We're delighted to be the fleet's sail supplier, and it was good to see the boats setting out on their challenging journey with Hyde Sails providing the power to get them round the world. The turnout to watch the start was very impressive, it was fantastic to see the whole city getting behind the race."

As the official sail supplier for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, Hyde has been closely involved with the boats as they prepared for their round the world test, helping the crews to train in sail repair and maintenance, which will be a necessary part of their trip. Hyde Sails will power all ten of the Clipper yachts as they race round the world. Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean. As well as the benefits of the highest quality workmanship, skippers will receive personal training from Hyde's skilled staff, and specialist support at key stopovers.

Tom Gruitt will also be sharing the tale of the first leg as he races from La Rochelle to Brazil, with his camera in hand, you can follow his blog here.

Clipper Race starts today!

2009-09-13T01:43:00.000-07:00

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race starts from the Humber today, with the 10-strong fleet heading for a pitstop in La Rochelle before continuing on their first ocean leg, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janerio in Brazil.

For many of those getting ready to set sail on the first leg of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, this is the culmination of years of dreaming of racing around the globe and months of hard training to get here.

Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean.

Hyde Sails to power Clipper Race fleet

2009-07-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hyde Sails is delighted to announce that it has been named as the official sail supplier for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. The brainchild of legendary round the world yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the Clipper Race brings round the world yacht racing to the masses, and has provided a training ground for top ocean racing names such as solo racer Alex Thompson. Clipper Ventures Plc and Hyde have signed a special two-race deal, which covers both the Clipper 09-10 and Clipper 11-12 editions of the race.

Hyde's sails have been performing in the big boat arena for many years, where the company has successfully applied the expertise it is renowned for in the small boat field to produce race-winning sails of the highest quality. Hyde's experience in delivering high volume yacht sails for the charter market, as well as top-end raceboats, means the company is ideally placed to fulfil the demanding needs of the Clipper fleet of ocean racing 68-footers.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston commented: "Our crews get one set of sails for 35,000 miles of ocean racing and it's really important they're of a high quality to see them through the extreme conditions they will be facing. We're confident Hyde Sails will be able to provide that for our race crews and welcome them onboard as our Official Sails Supplier. We're looking forward to working with them to develop the best possible wardrobe of sails for our fleet of ten ocean racing yachts."

Hyde's Sales Director Richard Franks said: "We are delighted to be associated with a race which epitomises Hyde's values of quality, reliability and performance. It's an exciting partnership, which fits well with Hyde Sails' global growth."

As one of the world's largest volume sail producers, Hyde's specialist loft in the Philippines has a wealth of experience and a highly skilled workforce, which consistently produces top quality race-winning sails. The talented UK-based design team, is complemented by Hyde's UK service facility, while the company's worldwide distributor network adds the perfect global dimension.

Hyde Sails will power all ten of the Clipper yachts as they race round the world. Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean. As well as the benefits of the highest quality workmanship, skippers will receive personal training from Hyde's skilled staff, and specialist support at key stopovers.

www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/sponsors_and_partners/HydeSails