Future Fibres is celebrating again this morning, after news of Mike Golding's third place in the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), confirmed another impressive first, second and third for the Valencia based composite rigging specialist.

First to finish was Marc Guillemot, on the ultra lightweight Safran, which arrived at 09:52:10 on Tuesday, 15 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds after setting off from Le Havre. And although not managing to beat the course record, Safran's skipper, Marc Guillemot, admitted this was the hardest race of his 30 year career.

"There were several difficult moments, in particular on the passage past Guadeloupe. We tore a spinnaker that really was a superb sail. We were quite anxious for the rest of the race because it was the one key sail we would have used in the Caribbean." Stated Guillemot.

He continued: "A time of concern was also coming through these last few hours because we felt it could be crucial there. You could not even glance in the rear view mirror because we didn't know where they were. It is tough mentally when someone is pushing you so hard all the time, but we hadn't fought so hard to let victory elude us."

Talking about what it means to be so heavily involved with the TJV and the race industry, Future Fibres CEO, Ewan McLellan, remarked: "We are delighted that our latest PBO rigging continues to lead the world of yacht racing at the very highest level. This is the 'race of the year 'so it was important for us to gain a strong result and you can't do much better than 1st, 2nd and 3rd!"

Next to cross the finish line off Costa Rica was Kito De Pavant's Groupe Bel, which features a deck spreader rig and a full set of optimised Future Fibres PBO rigging. Arriving less than nine hours after Safran, in brisk winds and afternoon sunshine, the duo's constant high speeds were not quite enough in the end, finishing 8 hours 40 minutes and 20 seconds behind Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier-Bénac's Safran.

For De Pavant, the race represented his second TJV podium finish, after taking third as co-skipper with Jean Le Cam in 2005. It is the second time Groupe Bel has finished a strong runner up – taking second in the summer's Istanbul Europa Race.

Commenting on the race, De Pavent remarked: "I am proud to finish second behind Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Bénac. They were superb from beginning to end and sailed a great course. They have an excellent boat, which I can happily say because ours is the same. They made few errors, but only really when we were right behind them and pushing could you see them waver."

Third to reach Puerto Limon was Mike Golding and Javier Sanso, who finished the 5317 mile course just 1 day 6 hours 7 minutes and 28 seconds behind Safran.

The race was the British skipper's sixth consecutive TJV race and his fourth time on the podium, a record in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Golding finished second in 2001, and third in 1999 and 2003, and today.

With yesterday's result, Sanso, who finished fourth in the Barcelona World Race and took fourth in the TJV in 2001, became the first Spanish sailor in the nine editions of the race to finish on the podium in the IMOCA Open 60 class.
"It is a good result for Javier and I. We were literally thrown together in the last weeks for the preparation before the race. So for both of us it is a good result. We had no training time. The boat has not sailed this summer, the shore time did a great job in the preparation in the time scale, but we just had not put the time in on the water. So you look at Groupe Bel and Safran and you see two good boats, which are rightfully first and second. But we know in another world we could have done better but third for us is a good result," commented Golding.

Future Fibres is celebrating again this morning, after news of Mike Golding's third place in the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV), confirmed another impressive first, second and third for the Valencia based composite rigging specialist.

First to finish was Marc Guillemot, on the ultra lightweight Safran, which arrived at 09:52:10 on Tuesday, 15 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds after setting off from Le Havre. And although not managing to beat the course record, Safran's skipper, Marc Guillemot, admitted this was the hardest race of his 30 year career.

"There were several difficult moments, in particular on the passage past Guadeloupe. We tore a spinnaker that really was a superb sail. We were quite anxious for the rest of the race because it was the one key sail we would have used in the Caribbean." Stated Guillemot.

He continued: "A time of concern was also coming through these last few hours because we felt it could be crucial there. You could not even glance in the rear view mirror because we didn't know where they were. It is tough mentally when someone is pushing you so hard all the time, but we hadn't fought so hard to let victory elude us."

Talking about what it means to be so heavily involved with the TJV and the race industry, Future Fibres CEO, Ewan McLellan, remarked: "We are delighted that our latest PBO rigging continues to lead the world of yacht racing at the very highest level. This is the 'race of the year 'so it was important for us to gain a strong result and you can't do much better than 1st, 2nd and 3rd!"

Next to cross the finish line off Costa Rica was Kito De Pavant's Groupe Bel, which features a deck spreader rig and a full set of optimised Future Fibres PBO rigging. Arriving less than nine hours after Safran, in brisk winds and afternoon sunshine, the duo's constant high speeds were not quite enough in the end, finishing 8 hours 40 minutes and 20 seconds behind Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier-Bénac's Safran.

For De Pavant, the race represented his second TJV podium finish, after taking third as co-skipper with Jean Le Cam in 2005. It is the second time Groupe Bel has finished a strong runner up – taking second in the summer's Istanbul Europa Race.

Commenting on the race, De Pavent remarked: "I am proud to finish second behind Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Bénac. They were superb from beginning to end and sailed a great course. They have an excellent boat, which I can happily say because ours is the same. They made few errors, but only really when we were right behind them and pushing could you see them waver."

Third to reach Puerto Limon was Mike Golding and Javier Sanso, who finished the 5317 mile course just 1 day 6 hours 7 minutes and 28 seconds behind Safran.

The race was the British skipper's sixth consecutive TJV race and his fourth time on the podium, a record in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Golding finished second in 2001, and third in 1999 and 2003, and today.

With yesterday's result, Sanso, who finished fourth in the Barcelona World Race and took fourth in the TJV in 2001, became the first Spanish sailor in the nine editions of the race to finish on the podium in the IMOCA Open 60 class.
"It is a good result for Javier and I. We were literally thrown together in the last weeks for the preparation before the race. So for both of us it is a good result. We had no training time. The boat has not sailed this summer, the shore time did a great job in the preparation in the time scale, but we just had not put the time in on the water. So you look at Groupe Bel and Safran and you see two good boats, which are rightfully first and second. But we know in another world we could have done better but third for us is a good result," commented Golding.

Future Fibres has always been the forward-looking specialist rigging company – predicting and driving demand in a competitive market for lightweight PBO rigging. While planning for 2008 and beyond, a quick reflection of Future Fibres' achievements in 2007 shows success at all levels...

The superyacht industry has embraced the use of PBO rigging, a panel of superyacht owners and experts voting Future Fibres winner at the World Superyacht Awards in Venice in April. Six weeks later Germanischer Lloyd awarded classification society approval to Future Fibres' PBO cables after extensive testing and scrutiny of production processes and documentation. Absolute confidence in the product's safety and performance has led to superyacht owners, designers and project managers specifying Future Fibres for new build and retrofit projects. Fast superyachts Sojana and Hamilton II have both reported dramatic improvements in performance since opting to retrofit PBO rigging earlier this year.

Racing monohulls whose owners selected PBO rigging, after comparing it with continuous carbon, include Morning Glory, the Reichel Pugh Z86 and Leopard 3, the supermaxi destined for the charter market after an intensive 18-month race programme. Future Fibres has also made a big impact on the Open 60 class this year. This exciting fleet is growing rapidly in preparation for next year's Vendée Globe, starting November 2008. Six of the nine entrants starting in the Barcelona race this month are carrying full sets of PBO rigging, as are over 50% of the potential Transat Jaques Vabre and Vendée fleets

Multihulls Sodebo and Groupama 3 have been working with Future Fibres on an extensive R&D programme throughout the year, smashing several records along the way...

Wally, another brand synonymous with leading edge thinking and style, has Future Fibres PBO rigging on Y3K – its latest 'reference point' technologically advanced racing boat, as well as the Wally 148, Saudade, a Wally 130 (in production) and a recent order for a Wally 101.

Clean design is evident in every item emerging from Future Fibres' facilities, the continuously wound concept pioneered by Future Fibres being the neatest and best looking system on the market. And now, for those who like an even more minimal design on deck, an 'under-deck turnbuckle' has been developed and patented, reducing drag and windage while also lowering the centre of gravity

Production and semi-production boat builders continue to recommend Future Fibres PBO, as they aim to differentiate their product with a performance edge. From Dehler 44's to Shipmans (80, 72 and 63s) and a number of Southern Wind 100s, this is an exciting development as this high tech product receives general market acceptance, a lot sooner than anyone could have imagined

Teamwork is at the heart of Future Fibres and its core team has seen the benefits of keeping the pace fast, meetings short, and making every project an opportunity to improve a boat's performance and make a client happy. Now with over 50 full-time staff, Future Fibres is currently recruiting further technical sales staff, project managers, engineers and service personnel whilst expanding its production and test facilities at its 5,000m² factory in Valencia, in order to fulfil its growing 2008/09 order book.