As we go to print, Mike Golding is undergoing initial sea trials in preparation for the launch of his newly refitted IMOCA 60 Gamesa (ex Ecover 3).

The boat has undergone an extensive refit which includes a highly optimised mast and rigging package from Future Fibres. The official launch is being attended by HRH Princess Anne, on 20 September 2011.

The clear objective of this new partnership with wind farm specialists, Gamesa, is the 2012 Vendée Globe, which according to Mike, "remains the event I would most love to win".

Technical Project Manager, Joff Brown, runs through the main elements of the refit:

"Mike wants the boat to be super light and super reliable whilst retaining all the power. The biggest change to the yacht is a new, non-rotating mast with a classical configuration and as a consequence there have to be several significant changes on the deck and cockpit of the yacht to accommodate this."

"The new mast, boom and a state-of-the-art carbon fibre rigging package is being completed by Future Fibres in Valencia, Spain, with whom Mike has had strong technical links since the company was first founded. The mast has been constructed to the very highest specification and with new revolutionary moulding technology. It will, we hope, set a new benchmark for quality for yacht masts of this type."

From Future Fibres' perspective this has been a great project to demonstrate their design and construction accuracy. Mast designer David Barnaby explains:

"The brief was to build a lightweight and reliable mast but maintain a reasonable level of sophistication, for example, adjustable internal tangs. The precision aluminium tooling really came into its own when it came to the finish. The profile was perfect straight out of the mould and we only used 1kg of clear coat over the whole rig to seal the surface and create a super low drag finish."

The first real challenge for Gamesa will be the Transat Jaque Vabre in November 2011, followed by the Europa Race - a fully crewed race around Europe - which starts in May 2012, before final preparations for the start of the Vendée Globe in November 2012.

Future Fibres has delivered a complete set of replacement PBO cables for Alex Thomson's Hugo Boss, after his Open 60 was demasted by a fishing vessel just two weeks ago.

Since the collision on the 17th October, Thomson has pulled together a work force of more than 35 to ensure he is ready for the Vendee Globe start on the 8th November 2008. On top of this, Thomson turned to his mast and rigging suppliers in his quest to be 100 percent repaired and ready in time. Future Fibres, Hugo Boss' sole rigging supplier, knew it could help and even before the call came through was working on pulling the information together to build the vital replacement cables.

Giles Waterhouse, Hugo Boss' rigger, commented on the huge operation to get Hugo Boss back in action. "We've been doing everything in our power to repair Hugo Boss and have her ready in time," he said, showing appreciation for his teammates and also the suppliers who have come to their aid. "Future Fibres have been amazing. The moment they heard about the accident they got in touch with us and told us they'd do whatever it takes to get Hugo Boss to the start line of the Vendée." One of the benefits of choosing Future Fibres in an emergency like this is the company's ability to replicate – to the millimetre – the original cables on Hugo Boss which were damaged when the mast came down. Technical sales manager Miles Amin comments: "The moment we heard about the accident, before we even knew if Hugo Boss was fixable, we got all the data together and got ourselves ready to run whenever Hugo Boss got in touch. We had the call from Alex on Monday afternoon, the 20th October, with a goal of having the new cables all ready for re-rigging the mast on the 29th."

"Because each cable going out of the factory has its own unique ID number and specification passport, detailing its exact length at load, it is fairly simple for Alex to get straight back into the rig tune that he had before the accident. There's going to be very little, if any, testing time before the start so Alex needs to know that his rig is set up properly when he sails off around the world. That's exactly why we have all the systems in place – for moments just like this."

One of Thomson's rivals in the Vendee Globe is Brian Thompson (no relation), skipper of Bahrain Team Pindar, and another Future Fibres' client. Brian, who had his own emergency earlier in the year when stepping the rig into his Open 60, commented: "We ordered our first set of rigging, and gave Future Fibres the usual two or three-month lead time, but then discovered that the two outrigger bobstays didn't fit. Not Future Fibres' fault – the specified measurements were wrong in the first place. We were really up against it to get the rig working; had to take the rig out again, put it on the ground and wait for the new bobstays to turn up. Future Fibres turned them round within the week, not many rigging suppliers could do that."

Future Fibres has invested heavily in its service infrastructure to ensure it has the capability to fulfil urgent requests from race teams, wherever in the world they may be. The discontinuous nature of the company's PBO rigging means single cables can be produced and replaced in situ within days of an event and typically with no need for a crane or heavy lifting machinery.

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.

DOUBLE TURNOVER, BIGGER AND SMALLER BOATS, FASTER PACE, MORE PEOPLE, NEW PRODUCTION LINE, RECORDS BROKEN, CLASSIFICATION APPROVAL… WORTHY OF AN AWARD!

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.

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.