SPONSORS

VESTAS

Vestas are one of the worlds leading developers and manufacturers of wind turbines for whom Malcolm is a senior test engineer. They were the first to support us and to put it bluntly, we couldn’t have done it without them. They gave us a better building space than we could have wished for and let us just get on with it. They let us use the perfect oven for pre-preg construction that they just happened to have out the back and they provided all the consumables for the build. If anyone has or is about to build a female moulded pre-preg boat… you will appreciate how much support this is. Support like this is truly priceless.

With a 23 per cent market share in 2007, Vestas is the world leader in delivering Modern Energy. Vestas has already installed over 35,000 wind turbines in 63 countries on five continents and it is installing a new turbine every four hours. In 2007, Vestas turbines generated more than 60 million MWh - or enough electricity to supply millions of households. During the last 25 years, Vestas has improved the output of its turbines 100 times and is still continuously improving turbine effectiveness. This is why Vestas is No.1 in Modern Energy.

HOMETRACK

Hometrack, the UK based housing information business has recently joined up as a major sponsor of the Vestas SailRocket team. We are delighted to have the support of Hometrack for this the crucial stage in the development of the craft. Hometrack’s support enables us to focus on the job in hand… going faster!

Hometrack delivers a range of largely on-line products and services to clients who are looking for high quality information and analysis of the UK housing market. In addition they are the UK’s leading supplier of Automated Valuations to the mortgage industry. Over 90% of the UK’s high street lenders use Hometrack’s valuation system to inform lending decisions and value large portfolios of property.

GURIT

Gurit (formerly SP Systems) have been supporting us from the start with their range of composite materials from pre-preg. carbon to epoxy resins and bonding agents. When we presented them with the opportunity they had faith that we could build the world’s fastest yacht and therefore it should be built with Gurit materials. Support has only been a phone call away and employees quite often dropped into the Woolston build site to see how things were going. A true ‘backbone’ sponsor.

Malcolm worked closely with SP Technologies who provided a lot of technical support in developing the structure of Vestas SailRocket throughout the design period. Using their powerful computer modeling tools and experience, Vestas SailRocket has benefited by being able to get the most out of its carbon fibre construction.

AEROTROPE

Christopher Hornzee-Jones is the designer of the solid wing sail for the Vestas SailRocket project. He has been involved with Malcolm and Vestas SailRocket since the very beginning and the need for a totally unique and practical solid sail was the perfect place for him to wade in in earnest and lend his accumulated expertise. Christopher founded Aerotrope this year and one look through their fantastic website will leave you in no doubt as to why he and his colleagues are into our project. Vestas SailRocket sits very well alongside Christopher’s other endeavours which incorporate innovation, efficiency, natural power and art (say what you like; we think that the final version of Vestas SailRocket will be exactly that). The solid wing sail, like the rest of the boat, is not something you just throw together. It has to be right in so many ways. Design and sound engineering are everything here. Due to their experience and passion, we have no doubt that we have the right people on the case. Together we will make this rocket fly.

DESIGNCRAFT

Nick Barlow has been a long time friend and supporter of Vestas SailRocket . This project is right up DesignCraft’s alley. His Southampton based workshop is full of amazing and innovative projects big and small from new wind turbine technology to model yachts, composite swing bridges to hovercraft ducts…. and usually something in the corner involving SailRocket. DesignCraft used resin infusion to build the highly loaded underwater foils of Vestas SailRocket as well as the Air rudder which will come into use later on. Nick provided space for us to build the beam moulds and currently the test sections for the wing rig. Nick is a true enthusiast who is full of clever ideas. Yet another great supporter and team member.

FIBREFUSION

I have crossed Fibrefusion's path a few times, firstly when I saw an example of Steve Neals work on an immaculate Merlin Rocket which graced the Harken stand at the last of the Earls Court London Boat show's and next when they offered their services with the super intricate and not so unfamiliar wing sail we were building for the Invictus C-Class catamaran in Bristol. One of their many specialties is making very high quality composite panels which they then cut using their abrasive water jet cutter. The finished product is machine accurate and of immaculate quality all delivered in a flatpack. To say that this makes life easy is a big understatement! We have 33 flat ribs to be built up to 2 meters long. Each one a different shape. The benefits of Paul and Steve's support goes without saying.

DOYLE SAILS UK

Phil Bennett at Doyle’s UK was very quick to come onboard and help us by offering to build the D4 soft sail. When I went looking for help he stopped me half way through my rant on why he should support us by saying "Look, forget about that, we are going to do it because we are into it, this is what we do and this is what we like". Cool hey? This is the attitude you want when you look for support in a project of this nature. It fits well with why we ourselves are doing it. This rig is totally unique and Doyle’s in Shamrock Quays UK have been with us all the way in helping us refine it. Appreciated.

AEROCELL

A call out of the blue from team member Andy Bellamy brought a fantastic response from Aerocell, a Washington based company who has provided the entire honeycomb core for SailRocket. A month or so later a huge box turned up in Woolston full of this magical material, more in fact than we could have hoped for. Nomex is very exotic and expensive so this generosity was fantastic for the project. Aerocell also found the project very exciting and wished for their product to be part of the world’s fastest yacht.

COMPOTECH

Rory Carter has also been a long term supporter of the project. His company Comptech manufactures structural composite tubing and has provided the mast spar, boom and support strut for the Soft rig on SailRocket. Comptech will also provide the main structural spar for the solid wingsail. When we broke our mast in half early on whilst static loading, Comptech were quick to provide the necessary pieces to get us on the water once again.

HARKEN

I met Andy Ashvie form Harken UK whilst walking the boards at the London Boat Show. He was initially skeptical but then went away and did his homework and came back to us with an offer of support. Vestas SailRocket is now fitted out exclusively with Harken hardware and it has been faultless. When up to speed this gear will be pushed to its limit because with up to 55 knots of wind coming from 20 degrees off ‘head-on’, low windage is a priority. Therefore it MUST be small and strong.

FCM

Richard and his FCM company have been one of the supporters who just helped out of kindness. Based in Woolston next to our build site he just watched what we were doing and helped out where he could along the way. FCM specialize in electrical and mechanical installations and servicing. They wired up our oven and 40’ shipping container, provided storage space and even helped with a fridge for the MUMM Champagne on the launch day. In a project like this every little bit helps and FCM’s little bit has helped a lot. Thanks guys.

BLAKES PAINTS

Darren Gittins at Blakes Paints was also quick to join the fray and has personally backed the companies support throughout. Not one to just give material and leave it at that, Darren visited the build site on many occasions to make sure that everything was right and that we had just what was needed. He is very professional and a great face for a great company.

MARLOW ROPES

Marlow have supplied all the ropes for Vestas SailRocket from the control lines to the actual rigging itself. Initially a little reluctant to Vestas SailRocket ’s necessary terms, Marlow did eventually come onboard through our persistence in giving first bite to UK based companies. We are determined that Marlow be on the world’s fastest yacht.

EKSPAN

Ekspan are renowned for large scale mechanical/structural works and particularly bridge bearings. They are working closely with Vestas (and therefore Malcolm) in building test rigs for the massive wind-turbine blades. Seeing a 50 meter long blade tested to destruction is something else. Through Malcolm they have followed the project from the start and lent support at vital times and this support in the early stages of the project went a long way. Their support continues with their offer to fund aspects of the new wing-sail.

SEAFLEX

Seaflex are providers of flexible buoyancy bags and have helped out by providing the inflatable bag which the soft rig rests on whilst sitting on the shore and being towed back up the course. Whilst this may not seem much, it has saved our a****s on many occasions and prevented a lot of breakages. The inflatable bags are usually used for underwater salvage and are very robust. Seaflex also provided a custom bag which fit neatly in the very busy centerboard case to prevent water ingress up the board slot.

RYA

They RYA very generously loaned us one of their RIBS as a support vessel and this was a great help. Firstly, we simply can’t operate without them and secondly they are great little boats. Days have been lost when we couldn’t ‘blag’ a RIB so the availability of the RYA rib was very welcome. Vestas SailRocket eventually outpaced the RYA RIB so we have acquired one of our own. A big thanks to the RYA for helping us out on the fringe of the sport.

COMPLETE FREIGHT

Angus at Complete Freight contacted us during the build to offer help with anything related to shipping in the project. As specialists in yacht shipping and logistics, it’s great to see that they have an interest in something as small as Vestas SailRocket when they also top load such monsters as Mari-Cha IV on cargo ships!!! Whilst we haven’t had to do a big relocation yet, we may well have to. In the mean time Complete Freight sorted us out with a great 40’ shipping container, got it to Woolston and then helped get Vestas SailRocket down to Weymouth.

RIETSCHLE THOMAS

World leaders in industrial vacuum pumps big and small, Rietschle Thomas provided the project with a great little unit which sucked down every vacuum bag involved in the build of Vestas SailRocket from whole hull structures to little fiddly pieces. We pushed this little fella’ pretty hard some times and it did a great job. She will be employed once again in the build of the wingsail. A great piece of kit.

TACKTICK

An obvious choice of electrical equipment for Vestas SailRocket , there was no way that this gear wasn’t going to be onboard. For those of you not familiar with Tacktick, they provide instrumentation that needs no cables as it communicates using wireless technology and self charges an internal battery through a small solar panel built into the instrument. This makes it the lightest and simplest ‘marinised’ instruments you can get. It really is a pleasure to use and the data it provides is vital to evaluating what is really happening onboard during the short, sharp runs. Tacktick have provided a dual display and wind ‘wand’ so we can tell the wind speed down the course and display the boat speed off the Trimble GPS gear. It’s our goal to make this dual display read the highest number ever on a sailing vessel. That will be some photo for James Hewitt from Tacktick to hang on his wall.

TRIMBLE

Trimble are world leaders in GPS equipment. They have loaned the project some pretty amazing bits of kit which will greatly benefit the project and in fact, more than likely raise our ultimate recorded speed. Their state-of-the-art equipment is one of the only GPS units validated as a timing device for this record by the WSSRC (world Speed Sailing Record Council). This means that we no longer have to do the run between two fixed buoys over 500m but can simply look at the GPS data for the day and pick out the fastest 500 meters wherever it happened. This 5700 unit is way beyond the resources of our project but Trimble liked the challenge that the Vestas SailRocket project offered and came onboard. From trials carried out so far, the biggest inaccuracy was 12 MM!!!

BERKELEY MARINE

We met Rob and Julia at the Cadet Nationals in Weymouth last year which they sponsored. We were also sailing at the time and they took an interest in what we were up to. Their support came in the form of Berkeley House which is in a prime location on the foreshore of Portland Harbour. They let us stay in the house whilst we developed Vestas SailRocket on the waters out front. The house is fully geared up for sailors and sailing teams so it was a great asset when other team members came down for sailing activities. Many a night was spent on the balcony, looking straight down the actual speed course just simply thinking. Cheers guys, offers like this allowed us to keep going through some pretty tight times.

C-TECH BATTENS

Simply make the best sail battens in the world end of story. Their battens are in the cream of the worlds sailing vessels from Americas cup boats to 60’ tri’s to Maxi-cats. Their battens work because Alex and Fraser put more effort into them and the science behind them. It’s always cool to get companies with absolute top-end equipment freely offering to support our project. Cheers.

A-CLASS YACHT COATINGS

Scott and the boys helped us out a great deal whenever the clock was ticking loudest. They did a great job applying the finishing touches to the boat for the ‘very public’ first unveiling at Southampton Boat show and its eventual launch in April last year. Conditions weren’t ideal but then they never are in the world of yacht spraying. Their generosity and support was greatly appreciated and hopefully I can call on them again when the ‘big’ sponsor comes along.