This from our friend Brian Hancock, veteran of three Whitbreads and leader of the SpeedDream team, from the VOR Legends Regatta in Alicante. Thanks for the shout-out, Brian!
Alicante, Spain, well more to the point the Volvo Ocean Race Village in the heart of Alicante, is Ground Zero for brand marketing. Let’s start with Volvo, one of the most recognized and respected brands on the planet. Start from there and work backwards. You don’t have to go too far before you bump into a pig pile of lesser known brands. They are all here – sailing brands like Puma and Musto, communications brands like Telefonica. Even countries like Abu Dhabi making their mark and flashing their goods. You can’t turn a corner without running into someone dressed up like a billboard. Actually it’s quite refreshing…. It’s great to see a sailing race looking like a Formula One car race. Perhaps sailing has come of age, after all.
Last night they had the Volvo legends reunion. A gathering of aging Whitbread sailors reconnecting with their youth through the amazing experience of having sailed around the world. On the screen in a packed ballroom flashed images from the past 30 years. Younger looking weather beaten sailors cranking the helm of unwieldy boats through massive seas juxtaposed against flashy well dressed professional sailors finger tip driving brand new VOR 70s through equally big seas. It was a magical night. There on the screen were these once youthful men (and an occasional woman) hammering it out in what has to be described as totally useless foul weather gear. To me, and bear in mind this was just 30 or so years ago, they looked like the sailors of old wearing oil skins. Yes oil skins where the wool clothing was soaked in oil to repel water. The same stuff they wore on clipper ships. Then there among the old faded logos was a brand I recognized – Atlantis, one of the original makers of offshore sailing gear. The shiny rubber gear looked awful. I am sure that it repelled spray just fine but I can only imagine the water dripping down the inside from condensation.
So it was with extra pride and pleasure that I looked down at my own (branded) gear. My new Atlantis WeatherGear (Resolute pants and jacket with SpeedDream branding) looked perfectly at home among the multitudes. In fact it looked better than most of the gear on display. Atlantis have come a long way from that shiny rubber gear that kept both the water out and the water in, to incredibly well designed, comfortable, stylish and best of all, practical offshore sailing clothing.
