Spanish-based sailing team, MAPFRE – a leading contender for the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race – has named Helly Hansen as its official apparel and footwear provider for their sailing and shore crew.
The experienced team will wear Helly Hansen’s outerwear, midlayers, base layers and footwear, designed to perform in the most diverse and challenging ocean conditions, during the seven-month race beginning in Alicante, Spain, in October 2017 and ending in The Hague in June 2018.
Pedro Campos, MAPFRE’s team CEO, says, “We are delighted that a company with the prestige of Helly Hansen, a brand with 140 years of history and a global leader in technical sailing apparel, joins our attempt to win the Volvo Ocean Race. Sailors find themselves in extreme weather conditions in the world race, from storms to huge waves, through temperatures higher than 40 degrees in the tropics, so gear that helps protect you and regulate your body temperature is essential. I am certain that the technologies in Helly Hansen apparel will enable us to perform at our best, no matter the conditions.”
MAPFRE will wear outerwear from Helly Hansen’s premium ÆGIR series, developed and tested by professional sailors and used for multiple record-breaking achievements. Most recently, MAPFRE won leg zero and also set a new Monohull record around the Isle of Wight in August- it is safe to say that the team are off to a great start.
Øyvind Vedvik, Helly Hansen’s Category Managing Director for Sailing, comments, “The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s most challenging sailing race a team can compete in, so the apparel the crew wear has to perform with zero margin for error from start to finish. In order to ensure optimum performance, we’ll meet with MAPFRE’s crew at every port to make adjustments and ensure that professional grade gear not only keeps them comfortable and dry, but enhances their sailing abilities. There is no better proving ground than the Volvo Ocean Race.”
Helly Hansen has been an official apparel sponsor for Volvo Ocean Race teams since the original race was first initiated in 1973. The race is a primary innovation laboratory for Helly Hansen’s design team that works directly with the crews on features and construction to make sure that every detail is functional and durable for the duration of the race.
The gear produced for MAPRRE will serve as prototypes for upcoming sailing collections available for consumers worldwide. Read more about Helly Hansen’s sailing collection and past Volvo Ocean Race participation, here: www.hellyhansen.com/news/research-and-development-on-open-waters-the-volvo-ocean-race.
Learn more about the MAPFRE team, here: www.desafiomapfre.com/en/2017-sailing-crew.
To learn more about Helly Hansen’s latest collections, visit www.hellyhansen.com.
Image: Matt Knighton