tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58900699080944381752011-07-07T23:55:51.572+01:00this is the Hyde Sails blog for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-62083899596498789072010-02-17T09:25:00.004Z2010-02-18T20:28:00.103Z

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-12427707239305701342009-10-22T19:33:00.004+01:002010-02-17T09:46:52.063Z

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-25651910849109734072009-10-17T20:09:00.007+01:002010-02-17T09:47:14.412Z

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-17457205268720798252009-10-13T08:54:00.002+01:002009-10-13T09:08:31.063+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-69954665917595234112009-10-11T17:52:00.003+01:002009-10-12T09:00:29.187+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-89600083430802588142009-10-08T08:56:00.003+01:002009-10-08T09:09:26.506+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-49772275729750107142009-10-05T18:20:00.003+01:002009-10-05T18:27:40.988+01:00

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!

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-24421253698283863452009-10-02T20:05:00.005+01:002009-10-02T20:13:37.919+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-73673174055194109202009-09-30T18:39:00.003+01:002009-10-02T20:15:15.187+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-45303282188938485822009-09-29T07:30:00.003+01:002009-10-02T20:16:25.793+01:00

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.

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-1464550446866474512009-09-26T21:25:00.007+01:002009-09-27T09:19:08.525+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-23326469892665883382009-09-24T22:30:00.007+01:002009-09-27T09:16:52.669+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-20866953746285402352009-09-23T19:23:00.005+01:002009-09-29T07:24:40.219+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-4980434022648384812009-09-22T20:32:00.004+01:002009-09-23T09:19:41.598+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-26019011956721121832009-09-21T19:43:00.005+01:002009-09-23T09:25:34.771+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-47549107993071439932009-09-21T10:00:00.004+01:002009-09-23T09:23:48.578+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-16275384025899998732009-09-19T10:00:00.005+01:002009-09-23T09:27:08.058+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-71102779555813295742009-09-18T10:00:00.005+01:002009-09-23T09:27:43.176+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-6935601261981794892009-09-17T11:00:00.003+01:002009-09-17T12:55:00.636+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-34518255686077907662009-09-17T08:05:00.004+01:002009-09-23T09:31:39.053+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-3345928756771077332009-09-15T19:27:00.006+01:002009-09-15T21:57:08.258+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-54999420642667434232009-09-14T08:36:00.003+01:002009-09-14T10:45:26.737+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-34323801433177791582009-09-13T09:43:00.002+01:002009-09-13T09:47:42.840+01:00

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

Hyde Sailsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5890069908094438175.post-29713491934495285232009-07-30T17:45:00.007+01:002009-09-14T11:00:55.152+01:00

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

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