Mr. Guo Xiang, Crew candidate for team Sanya; Mr. Erik Burbank, Helly Hansen Vice President Global Marketing; Mr. Mike Sandersen, skipper of team Sanya; Mr. Neo Cao, Helly Hansen Marketing. Image copyright Volvo Ocean Race/Team Sanya.
by Helly Hansen media
Helly Hansen partners with Chinese ‘Team Sanya’ sailing team for the 2011/12 Volvo Ocean Race. We are Team Sanya’s exclusive provider of technical gear and sportswear for the campaign.
As the world’s toughest ocean race kicks off in October we participate as gear and sportswear provider for the Chinese Team Sanya. This is the 10th time Helly Hansen takes part in The Volvo Ocean Race, which expose sailors to nine months of brutal weather conditions.
“Helly Hansen finds it tremendously exciting to work with Team Sanya, the first Chinese team to enter the Volvo Ocean Race. Our goal is to give them the confidence they need to compete in this race – by equipping them with the best technical gear, and a team apparel program that reflects their sense of style and allows supporters and partners to feel like they’re part of the team”, says Erik Burbank, Vice President Global Marketing Helly Hansen. He goes on to say “We’re particularly excited about bringing more awareness of the sport of sailing to China, where Helly Hansen’s commercial presence is rapidly growing. It’s a sport we’re passionate about, and it’s exciting to share that with the world’s most dynamic market.
Nine months of harsh weather
During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in Alicante, Spain end of October 2011 and concludes in Galway, Ireland, during early July 2012, the teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajaí, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient.
The sailors will be exposed to all types of harsh weather conditions, with temperatures varying from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius. They will experience everything from being ice cold, boiling hot and soaking wet. The demands for high-performance, functional technical gear and clothing are, needless to say, extraordinary.
“The Volvo Ocean Race is a pinnacle event with competition at the highest level, and with plenty of adventure and drama thrown in. We see the race as the perfect match with the Helly Hansen way of life, and are confident that our products will provide Team Sanya with a competitive advantage in the race,” said Erik Burbank.
About The Volvo Ocean Race
The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier global race and one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world. The first edition of this adventure came in the wake of two sailors of the last century, Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who drew worldwide acclaim for amazing solo voyages around the planet. Inevitably their success led to talk in international sailing circles of a race around the world for fully crewed yachts.
It became a reality in 1973 with The Whitbread round the World Race. In the very first race three competing sailors were lost after being washed overboard during storms. This led to the inevitable call for the inaugural contest to be the last, but the desire for adventure and competition led to the race being staged every four years. The re-badged Volvo Ocean Race was run for the first time in 2001-02. Today it is viewed as the ‘Everest of sailing’.
Each of the entries has a sailing team of 11 professional crew, and the race requires their utmost skills, physical endurance and competitive spirit as they race day and night for more than 20 days at a time on some of the legs. During the race the crews will experience life at the extreme: no fresh food is taken onboard so they live off freeze dried fare, they will experience temperature variations from -5 to +40 degrees Celsius and will only take one change of clothes. They will trust their lives to the boat, the skipper and the equipment.
About Helly Hansen
The story of Helly Hansen started in 1877. After many years at sea, norwegian captain Helly Juell Hansen and his wife Maren Margarethe began producing oilskin jackets, trousers, sou’westers and tarpaulins, made from coarse linen soaked in linseed oil.
They certainly struck a nerve in the market, because over the first five years they sold approximately 10,000 pieces. In 1878 the company won a diploma for excellence at the Paris Expo, and began exporting its products.
In the 20th century, Helly Hansen made several breakthroughs in product development to complete the layering principle today known as the 3-Layer System™. In 1949 the Helox, a thin sheet of translucent PVC plastic sewn into waterproof coats, took over for the oilbased outerwear and became the must-have protection for outdoor use. With a production of 30,000 coats each month the success was almost immediate.
The original fleece, the fiberpile, was developed in 1961 and has been perfected for almost 50 years since. This new insulation layer was warm, lightweight and fast-drying, ideal for wearing under the protective layer. It was soon embraced by workers because it offered extraordinary insulation against the cold, and ventilated well during hard, physical work. It even protected against snow and light rain, staying extremely durable and warm after many washes.
The layering story was completed in the 1970s, with the development of LIFA. This wonder-fiber, used in LIFA, kept the skin dry and warm by pushing moisture away from the body, making it the ideal baselayer fabric for outdoor and workwear use. The latest generation of LIFA is still used in our baselayers today.
In 1980, the Helly Tech technology was launched, using both hydrophilic and microporous technology, which meant the apparel was both waterproof and breathable. This meant that anyone who participated in high-activity outdoor sports could expect their clothing to work with them, not against them. The evolution of breathable, waterproof jackets had a profound effect on the outdoor industry. Helly Hansen now produced technical outerwear garments.
The heritage from Helly Juell Hansen is still our cornerstone. Today our gear is used by world-class sailors, skiers and adventurers who spend their time between human will and nature’s forces, and demand full protection and performance when the conditions are at their worst.
Helly Hansen
Team Sanya
Volvo Ocean Race
