Hudson Wight

With Cowes Week in full swing and with a 2nd and a 3rd already in the bag, the racing duo of Pip Hare and Ashley Harris are feeling buoyed up on board Cazenove Capital Management. The weather last weekend was amazing and the blistering hot sunshine has left the pair without much of a thought as to what the Irish Sea might have to offer up to them next week when the Rolex Fastnet Race starts on Sunday 16th August.

Pip provides an insight: "Our Fastnet preparations to date have been very boat focused; any boat owner will know there is a never- ending job list attached to every vessel, always something to change, service, or upgrade. It is easy when thinking about making your boat as race worthy as possible to forget that the crew driving the boat also need to be race worthy; this is especially pertinent when slogging to windward for days on end offshore.

"This week however, someone else has stepped in to prepare Ash and I for the Fastnet and we are really pleased to announce that Hudson Wight Performance Sailwear has become our official clothing sponsor for the Fastnet Race. It really does add an extra layer of confidence before an offshore race knowing that no matter how bad the weather, you and your boat can stand up to it. Taking wave after wave on the chin is all well and good so long as it's only the chin that gets wet."

In Pip's latest Blog post (she will be producing Blogs throughout the race), she explains that the Irish sea and South West British Coast can offer up any sorts of seas and weather in August, commenting:

"My previous encounters with 'the rock' have all involved some sort of epic wind and waves but I have never been there at this time of year before. The excitement of this race is really starting to build and there is a weird contrast of focusing on the inshore racing at Cowes during the day with a building tension in the mornings and evenings as we start to look at the upcoming weather and go through our lists again and again. Today we go to the RORC race office in the High Street and pick up our sailing instructions."

Pip has borrowed the Elan 40 Flair IV from good friend and 'sailing legend' Jim MacGregor who himself will be competing fully crewed aboard Premier Flair.

They will be racing amongst a class of 30+ boats who have decided to sail the race two up, pushing themselves and the boat as hard and as fast as their bodies will allow. "Race preparation for us has been more than just the qualifying races and safety training. Over the past six months we have been working to adapt Flair IV, originally designed to be raced by a crew of ten, to a boat that can race these 600 miles with just two on-board," says Pip.

"With our new Hudson Wight kit, one more piece of preparation is sorted and very soon the start gun will go and then it will be down to Ash and I to make it all happen."

Pip's Blogs will be posted on her website http://www.pipoceanracing.com and on her Facebook page. #rorcrfr