Our French agents, Blew Stoub, based in Lorient, have been supplying optimised composite standing and running rigging packages to the Open 60´s and offshore Multi´s for years. As cruising and club racing sailors are starting to look to composite rigging in increasing numbers the establishment of BLEW STOUB Méditerranée was a natural progression to serve this traditional sailing Mecca!

 Blew Stoub´s founder, Vincent Le Roux, approached  Escale Technique, a Marseille based rigging company, to distribute its racing products throughout the French Mediterranean. The two companies are combining their skills and experience to promote Blew Stoub's technical products together with Future Fibres' composite rigging along the south coast of France.

 Vincent comments: "We're really delighted to announce this venture as it's been on the cards for quite some time. Mediterranean clients have been demanding more technical products as well as know- how and whilst we were providing our services from a distance it has become essential to be present on site. Meeting Escale Technique, with whom we have now carried out several projects, including a Future Fibres composite retrofit on a Grand Soleil 50, provided the opportunity to create BLEW STOUB Méditerranée".

 For existing Future Fibres clients, BLEW STOUB Méditerranée adds another key location where they can access trained Future Fibres technicians for general rigging advice, support or carry out scheduled services.

 Contact : Philippe Escalle 

t : + 33 (0) 4 91 51 46 69

e :   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

www.blew-stoub.com

After a demanding 5 days 19 hours and 29 minutes aboard the 105ft Sodeb'O, Thomas Coville has set a record breaking time for sailing single-handed across the North-Atlantic. The new time shaves eight hours off the previous record set by Francis Joyon, aboard his 98ft Trimaran IDEC in 2005. 

Sodeb'O was carrying a full set of Future Fibres rigging that combines both PBO and Kevlar cables to achieve optimum performance. Even with a 300 mile lead over Joyon's time, Coville faced some tough challenges to maintain his position in the closing stages. Last night, as the wind fell Coville was forced to gybe several times, taking him off his direct course but allowing him to maintain an averaged of over 20 knots as he closed in on the southwest tip of England.

Coville and the Sodeb'O team have worked closely with Future Fibres French agents Blew Stoub and mast engineers, HDS, to provide a fully customised solution, covering the full range of standing, furling and aft rigging.

Future Fibres founder Tom Hutchinson commented: "This is a great result for Thomas and the whole Sodeb'O team, they've all worked incredibly hard and this is a well deserved record. This is also the 6th world record for Future Fibres rigged boats in as many months.

Tom continued: "Single handed races like this are incredibly tough on the body but also the mind. Staying awake for six days is hard enough but Thomas has been working very hard the whole time. Sodeb'O has 650 square metres of sail and there's always something to do, mistakes can be very costly so you have to make sure you are always alert – that sounds pretty hard when you have only slept for an hour or so in the past five days! – congratulations Thomas."

A decade after Future Fibres started work on its first Vendee Globe campaign, the composite rigging specialist is now firmly established as the leading supplier of fibre rigging in the IMOCA Open 60 world. Of the 19 new boats in this year's race, ten are sporting full sets of Future Fibres rigging, with numerous others using partial sets of its PBO system – making Future Fibres the largest rigging supplier in this year's competition.

Miles Amin, Future Fibres technical sales manager commented: "This is our third Vendee and our involvement has grown with every campaign. In terms of full rigging sets, we worked with two teams in 2000, four in 2004 and ten teams this year. It shows that PBO is really leading the market in the most challenging round the world races."

Miles continued: "A lot of the credit for Future Fibres' presence in the fleet goes to our French rigging specialist Vincent Le Roux from Blew Stoub, he's been supplying the Open 60 fleet since the mid-90s, has plenty of hands-on Open 60 experience and just knows the class really well. We work very closely with Vincent in the run up to the start to make sure all the teams get the support they need."

When it comes to rig configuration, there seems to be little consensus over which design is preferred. This year's event sees conventional three-spreader and two-spreader rigs, deck-spreader rigs and rotating wing masts all lining up in Les Sables d'Olonne. On the other hand, as Vincent Le Roux explains, PBO rigging is one thing that has become widely accepted as the principal system: "In the last race PBO was still an innovation, a revolution from rod rigging, but now it's proven technology.

"Compared with four years ago, the product is far more optimised in terms of braiding, fittings, mouldings and connections, all the details are noticeably more refined now. At the same time we're facing new challenges; the boats are significantly more powerful – maybe by 30 percent – compared with last time. The loads are climbing really high and Future Fibres work closely with naval architects and mast designers to ensure specifications are correct."

As well as performance, reliability and low maintenance are obvious high priorities for single-handed sailors: "As with all composites, abrasion and chafe can be a problem but it's a manageable risk when approached properly, comments Vincent: "For example, the wing masts with deck spreaders can be prone to chafe points because often you lead the mainsail inside the cable. One of the innovations of recent years has been the modification of protective braidings, now made of black dyneema with Teflon liquid, they help sheets and sails run more smoothly over the cables, minimising chafe."

Quality of service is another area where Future Fibres has stood out from the crowd. As the recent incident with Hugo Boss has demonstrated, having a supplier who is ready and willing to do everything in its power to fix a serious issue is worth a great deal and as Future Fibres' project manager, Alex Runciman remarked on the recent delivery of the cables, it does not go unnoticed: "Full credit must go to everyone at Future Fibres who's been involved in the production and delivery of the 25 replacement cables in such a short timeframe. I know there were teams working during the weekend, before and well after normal working hours, all with the goal of delivering the rigging on time. Hugo Boss stepped the rig this morning without any problems and the team look forward to testing tomorrow. I have no doubt that this was the result of huge effort, I am sure that many other companies around the world will take note and wish they had a team like this!"

Vendée Globe boats with full sets of Future Fibres rigging:

Artemis
Aviva
Bahrain Team Pindar
Ecover 3
Groupe Bel
Hugo Boss
Safran
Temenos
Veolia Environnement
Maisonneuve

Future Fibres offers its congratulations to Franck Cammas and his team aboard Groupama III, the 105-foot trimaran which has just smashed the Route of Discovery record from Cadiz to San Salvador.

Using a complete set of composite rigging supplied by Future Fibres, the maxi-trimaran covered the 3,901 nautical mile course across the Atlantic in just 7 days 10 hours 58 minutes and 53 seconds of sea (subject to ratification by the WSSRC). The new time takes 2 days 2 hours minutes and 25 seconds off the previous record set by Steve Fossett's PlayStation in February 2003.

Groupama III crossed the Atlantic at an average speed of 21.79 knots, compared with PlayStation's average of 16.92 knots, a measure of just how far technology has progressed in the past four years.

Miles Amin, who handles technical sales for Valencia-based composite rigging specialist Future Fibres, praised Cammas and the crew. "This is the first record Groupama III has attempted and the result demonstrates the determination and attention to detail of this very professional team.

"Alongside our French agent, Vincent Le Roux and his company Blew Stoub, we have worked with Franck and his team on the two ORMA 60 trimarans Groupama I & II, and in everything they do they strive for the very best. The requirements for the rigging were very specific: the need for optimising power to weight ratio and a supplier willing to provide the highest level of service. Future Fibres' worked with the Groupama design team on a series of cable load testing, lash testing, fitting optimisation, custom mast interfacing, cover abrasion testing and product development."

Groupama III is a boat that dwarfs almost anything else in both scale and ambition, so it was back to the drawing board for Future Fibres when it came to specifying the rigging. Amin says this project has tested the very limits of customisation. "This trimaran is extreme; it sails so fast and the loads are huge. The cable on the Solent stay, for example, has a breakload in excess of 77 tonnes, and the furling cable on the Maxi Gennaker is over 41 metres long.

"Obviously, this is a very weight-conscious project so we have worked hard to supply cables at minimum weight and windage. It has been a very exciting project, and I'm sure this Route of Discovery record is just the first of many that Groupama III will conquer in the coming months and years."

Franck Cammas' Maxi trimaran Groupama III was launched in June 2006 with a full set of Future Fibres composite rigging. The trimaran has been designed specifically for around the world racing and record attempts. It is the largest Maxi trimaran built to date, lighter and more powerful than its predecessors.