The North Atlantic Challenge
For over 1000 years, the Atlantic Ocean has provided a brooding challenge to Europe’s navigators. The Viking Lief Ericcsson, St Brendan of Ireland, Jacques Cartier, the French explorer, Hudson, Davis, countless sailors sought fame and fortune by stretching their ambitions ‘to reach the other side’ – if it existed.
Plymouth, famous as the departure port for the quadrennial single-handed transatlantic race proudly traces its connections back to the Mayflower voyage of 1620 and beyond. Going transatlantic under sail has not changed. The fascination is just as potent. The sailors have not changed – as brave today as in the distant past.
Above all, the weather remains the major foe.
Gale force winds, drenching spray, the threat of icebergs streaming down from the Arctic, sea temperatures barely above freezing and damp, penetrating fog, which dominates the last 500 miles of the course, before a New England landfall. All these elements conspired to persuade the race originator, Blondie Hasler, to build a 25 ft boat called Jester which provided total protection from the weather. No need for oilskins. The boat itself was the sailor’s protection against the elements. Jester competed 11 times in the Transatlantic Race and a replica is still sailing today. Her most famous skipper, Mike Richey, continued racing the Transat into his 80s.
Successful single-handed, long distance yacht racing is all about maintaining the performance of the lone sailor. Yachts have become faster and more efficient over the years, since the inaugural race in 1960, which was won by Sir Francis Chichester in a time of 39 days. This year, the ambition will be to break the Open 60 record of 12 days set by Mike Golding in 2004.
Chichester and the five fellow competitors (one took 74 days!) relied on the foul weather gear available at the time to protect them on deck and in the cockpit. Self-steering was in its infancy, so time at the helm stretched into hour after lonely hour. You could choose from stiff, unbending oilskin made from coated cotton, jacket, trousers and sou’wester or yachtsman’s suits, basically the same design but made from lighter, Solent-friendly material, which simply wasn’t up to the job.
And you wore your oilies – only when needed – over cotton or wool vests, shorts, jackets and trousers, which were guaranteed to soak up any stray spray or rain. There were no waterproof zips or effective ways to seal the neck or cuffs, which chafed the neck and wrists. They were stiff, preventing any freedom of movement with 3000 miles of ocean to cross the prospect was physical discomfort all the way. No bath or shower, no laundry service, no baby wipes!
Today’s foul weather kit has transformed life afloat – racing or cruising. In the notoriously rough 1976 Transat, sailors were wearing the next generation after PVC plastic which had been stiff, bulky, sweaty and sometimes leaky; enough to make going on deck really unpleasant. Even so, the competitors spent much of the crossing somewhere between slightly damp to downright soaked.
It took the imagination and engineering background of an Olympic yachtsman, Keith Musto, to search and find solutions to the problems which were affecting an increasing number of long distance racing yachtsmen competing in trans-ocean and round the world sailing.
Using more refined technical fabrics, Musto created the first 3-layer clothing system which addressed the twin problems of keeping the water out – and, at the same time, wicking perspiration off the skin.
We all know that sweat chills the skin. Keep the skin dry by removing the sweat and the second layer, which was a lofted fleece, converted the sweat to a vapour, driven through the fabric by body heat. The two warm layers were warm when worn below decks and only required the third outer protective layer when out on deck. The vapour condensed on the inside of the outer layer and dripped away at the hem.
The Musto 3-layer system became the brand and technology of choice for serious long distance racing and cruising yachtsmen. But there was better to come.
As a keen racing yachtsman himself, Keith Musto knew that a good start should not be thrown away and continued his quest for improvement. Enter HPX…
In the mid ‘90s, discussions between Musto and W L Gore led to the development and launch of GORE-TEX Ocean Technology. It was tested aboard Yamaha in the Whitbread Round the World Race and subsequently by Pete Goss with a one piece suit which provided complete waterproof protection and yet was so breathable it could be worn for several days without discomfort.
HPX was the first fully-effective breathable fabric and, worn with the thermal base and middle layers, enabled the body vapour to travel directly through the HPX fabric to disperse in the atmosphere, while maintaining perfect, watertight integrity. It was lighter in weight, flexible and HPX technology today encompasses footwear and gloves to provide a total, comfortable environment for sailing facing extremes of yachting performance in the most challenging events, whatever the conditions.
Who will win The Artemis Transat this time? Hard to predict but one thing is certain: it’s better than even money that the first skipper home will be wearing Musto. Again.
It has never been superceded and is aboard well over 50% of entries in the 2008 Artemis Transit Race, providing protection, flexibility and comfort as the crowing achievement in fabric and clothing design from such competitors as Mike Golding, Vincent Riou and yachtsmen across the world facing their own ultimate challenges in 2008 and for years to come.
