It´s one year since Future Fibres first set its sights on carbon spar manufacturing and we couldn´t have imagined a more fantastic start. The vision was to build the fastest and the biggest rigs in the world and lead the next generation of carbon spar development. We have made some significant steps towards that goal. Future Fibres used the first 6-9 months to hand pick THE best composite design build team in the business. We then went on to set up a no-compromise, world class production facility, including a 50m autoclave, 60m climate controlled laminating paint booths and a 70m assembly and fit-out area.

Future Fibres is very excited to announce the completion of contracts for wing manufacture and assembly for Artemis Racing´s AC72 in their challenge for the 34th America´s Cup in San Francisco in 2013.

Having set out from scratch, just one year ago, to create a world class carbon spar manufacturing facility, next door to the existing composite rigging factory in Valencia, Spain, this contract sends a very clear message to the world that Future Fibres is committed to taking mast and rigging development to the next level.

Into its second edition, the Barcelona World Race starts from this historic Catalan city on New Year’s Eve. With 25,000 miles of racing ahead, 10 of the 15 yachts have, once again, placed their trust in Future Fibres’ rigging for this demanding event.

Future Fibres is supplying an incredible 2 kilometers of rigging for the competing boats, ranging from full lateral sets to code cables and aft rigging. Through our long association with the IMOCA fleet, we have been developing and testing our latest range of products over a number of years, always searching for the most durable, optimised solution. This race is no different. Hugo Boss, Aviva, Veolia and Groupe Bel have been instrumental in the development of our brand new FlexC and TSC (thermoset) carbon products over the last 10 months in the lead up to the race.  They experienced the performance benefits and above all, in conjunction with our testing, built confidence in this technologically advanced product for use in a non-stop round the world event.

Andy Meiklejohn, co-Skipper of Hugo Boss explains: ‘The performance of FlexC is quite staggering. Its flexible nature makes it almost indistinguishable from a dry fibre cable (PBO, Dyneema, etc.). This is ideal for our type of yacht where boom and batten impact in the case of a crash jibe are always a real risk. Yet, FlexC is still stiffer than any other suitable product for aft rigging when comparing size and weight.’

Reliability is the buzz word of the IMOCA scene. Future Fibres does not only evoke that in our product but also in our customer’s experience when dealing with our team. We were the natural choice for Central Lechera Asturiana to manage and supply a full set of rigging, after cruelly breaking their mast on delivery to Barcelona, 28 days before the start. Future Fibres´ technical team, lead by David Barnaby, was instrumental in sourcing a suitable replacement rig whilst interfacing with our Valencia based production facility to build the new rigging. David comments: ‘Bringing a mast and rigging package together, in the most literal sense, within 2 weeks was no mean feat. From a technical perspective, finding a suitable rig, adapting it to suit the boat, engineering and building the rigging and then delivering it to the team within such a short timeframe has been a major challenge. The guys in the factory did an amazing job pulling this off, working day and night while still maintaining our high quality standards.’

Supplying Carbon, Dyneema, Kevlar and PBO stays in an array of applications to the competitors of the Barcelona World Race, once again, reinforces our “Right Fibre for the Right Application” approach to composite rigging. Each of these fibres has their own specific strength making them the right choice for their given task. Having the ability to supply unbiased recommendations on fibre choice, makes us the natural partner for teams that seek to push the boundaries of rigging technology. In turn, the IMOCA 60 fleet presents the ideal test bed for Future Fibres and a corner stone for our ongoing search for the rigging solutions of tomorrow.

Follow the BWR @ www.barcelonaworldrace.com and keep in touch with the FF rigged boats @ Future Fibres FACEBOOK.

Into its second edition, the Barcelona World Race starts from this historic Catalan city on New Year’s Eve. With 25,000 miles of racing ahead, 10 of the 15 yachts have, once again, placed their trust in Future Fibres’ rigging for this demanding event.

Future Fibres is supplying an incredible 2 kilometers of rigging for the competing boats, ranging from full lateral sets to code cables and aft rigging. Through our long association with the IMOCA fleet, we have been developing and testing our latest range of products over a number of years, always searching for the most durable, optimised solution. This race is no different. Hugo Boss, Aviva, Veolia and Groupe Bel have been instrumental in the development of our brand new FlexC™ and TSC (thermoset) carbon products over the last 10 months in the lead up to the race.  They experienced the performance benefits and above all, in conjunction with our testing, built confidence in this technologically advanced product for use in a non-stop round the world event.

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

In the next Vendée Globe, one of the questions for the competitors is not whether they'll use composite rigging, rather what type of composite rigging they'll choose. For at least seven of those competitors, the answer will be Future Fibres.

Valencia-based Future Fibres has pioneered the use of lightweight PBO rigging in high-performance race yachts for 10 years, and provided all the standard rigging for Nick Moloney's Open 60 Skandia, Mike Golding's Ecover and Jean Pierre Dick's Virbac in the last Vendée Globe three years ago.

Since then the company has supplied rigging to many of the current America's Cup teams, and every one of the seven VO70s in the last Volvo Ocean Race chose Future Fibres to supply their rigging. While a number of the VO70s were dogged by keel problems on their way round the world, the 100% success of the PBO rigging was a story that largely went unnoticed. What the Volvo Ocean Race did in the marine industry, however, was cement Future Fibres' reputation for being able to provide not only the lightest but also the most reliable rigging to the most demanding of customers.

Now Future Fibres is focusing its efforts on providing rigging solutions to the IMOCA Open 60 fleet, a challenge that Miles Amin, technical sales, is relishing. "It's a very exciting time to be involved in this fleet, because at the moment we're seeing a whole new wave of boats being built for the Vendée," he says. "There could be 27 competitors in the race next year, of which up to 17 could be brand new boats. Future Fibres has already signed contracts to provide full rigging packages for nine Vendée competitors, and we're on the verge of signing with more."

Miles detects a sea change in the Open 60 fleet, as it develops from its strong French roots into a more global arena. "What we're seeing is a more international race than ever before, not just in terms of the competitors, but also in terms of the designers, boat builders and mast manufacturers who are getting involved. For example on the yacht design front, it's looking like you'll have designers as diverse as Groupe Finot, Owen Clarke, Farr Yacht Design and Juan Kouyoumdjian represented on the start line. And Future Fibres is already working with several different mast designers on Open 60 projects including: Marstrom, Formula, Black Flag and Southern Spars."

In addition to the breadth of talent and nationalities currently involved in the Open 60 market, there are a number of different rig configurations being tested. These can be categorised into conventional non-rotating rigs, rotating rigs, and deck-spreader rotating rigs. "The Open 60 class is living up to its image as a place for free-thinking and innovative ideas," says Miles. "Open 60 sailors are driving development and really pushing the boundaries, which is great for a company like ours providing new answers to the traditional challenges of increasing strength and breaking strain whilst reducing weight aloft."

In fact, composite rigging is hardly seen as an innovation in the Open 60 market any more. It's simply a 'must have'. Where sailors or designers might differ is in what type of composite rigging they want. One of the great advantages of the Future Fibres option is that unlike its competitors, it is capable of terminating a piece of rigging with a simple composite fibre loop. In certain applications this dispenses with the need for metal terminals – which further reduces weight.

However, as Miles admits, Future Fibres are not always the cheapest. "That's not really our goal," he says. "We are noted in the industry for having the best product, we're a custom manufacturer, we don't want to standardise our grand prix race products, and we're prepared to test the boundaries. That's why it's important for us to remain so closely involved with the Open 60 market."

Whereas some see the brutal world of the Volvo Ocean Race as the ultimate testing ground, Miles doesn't necessarily agree. "There's no doubt those guys push their boats harder than anyone, but you have 10 guys on board, the boat is being hand steered at all times, and you have multiple stops around the world, giving your shore crew time to replace any damaged or worn equipment.

"In a race like the Vendée Globe, by the very nature of it being singlehanded non-stop you simply can't afford any risk with reliability. The singlehanded sailor does not have the time to go around his boat endlessly checking and maintaining, so wherever possible equipment must take care of itself for the full circumnavigation. Our composite rigging has proven to be capable of exactly that."

So what has changed in the last three years since the likes of Ecover competed in the previous Vendée? Amin says: "We've developed our spreader ends, we've concentrated on reducing windage, reduced fittings sizes, we're using different materials to make the rigging more chafe resistant, and we've improved our stretch figures. Our cables have a better modulus, and we can provide designers with more detailed information about how different cables behave under load."

But what about the Holy Grail, that of reduced weight? "It would be interesting to do a comparison between Skandia last time and one of the new boats this time. I suspect the difference wouldn't be that great, and that is because the new generation of Open 60s are so much more powerful than the previous. So we have to be careful to provide a rigging specification that will withstand the higher loads that these boats will generate."

Hugo Boss II's Alex Thomson is all too aware of the need for ultimate reliability, after the loss of his former Hugo Boss Open 60 at the end of last year during the Velux 5 Oceans Race. On being asked why he would be turning to Future Fibres as his rigging supplier for the new Hugo Boss, Thomson said: "For the new boat I need 100% reliability, I cannot afford any more hardware issues."

When you absolutely, positively have got to get all the way round the world, accept no substitutes. Choose Future Fibres.

TV cameras and Spanish press were out in force to witness Francisco Camps, the President of the Valencia region, attend the opening of Future Fibres' brand new mast-building facility. Situated in the building adjacent to Future Fibres' existing rigging business, which has been here since 2004, the new manufacturing facility is already taking orders for state-of-the-art carbon composite masts for some leading edge sailing campaigns. These include orders for an IMOCA Open 60 project and a Volvo Open 70 project for next year's Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in a year's time out of Alicante, just a short drive from Valencia.