The race is on!

On the 22nd of October, seven state-of-the-art yachts left port from Alicante on the first leg of the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race. Each race boat is engineered to be identical in terms of performance to ensure a fair competition, but wholly unique in terms of appearance – and that’s where we came in.

AkzoNobel is the official supplier of coatings to this year’s race, through our Awlgrip and International brands, and I’m proud of what we’ve already achieved. Not only were we able to achieve equal cutting-edge performance for each boat, but we also supplied striking custom colours to create a unique identity for every team.

Gareth Thomas, manager of our Technical Support Team, did a great job of explaining why this was so important: “In previous years, once each team got the boat they were responsible for all the coatings that went with it. What we’ve done is standardise everything, making them exactly the same so now every boat in the fleet is closer in terms of performance.”

These coatings include Awlgrip primers, Awlcraft 2000 Clear for a glossy finish and Awlcraft SE for precise colour-matching and a staggering range of colours. We also provided International primers to address the challenges of protecting the keel of each boat, and used Griptex to create a non-slip surface, helping ensure the maximum level of safety for everyone on board.

We’ve already seen our technical expertise making a difference, helping the Turn the Tide on Plastic team to make a last-minute change in their branding to reflect a new sponsor, and even though the race may be underway, our role is far from over. Ultimately, the teams will circumnavigate the globe, traversing some of the harshest sailing environments in the world, and our mobile paint shop will be there at every stopover to assist with maintenance and repair.

Exciting times! I’ll be following the race with interest, cheering on team AkzoNobel as they make their way around world, and rallying with our support team as they work tirelessly to provide tailored performance, flawless colours and technical expertise to the entire fleet. The race has only just begun!

You can find out more about our team at www.teamakzonobel.com, and follow their progress via their Facebook and Twitter. Plus you can see live race status here https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/dashboard.html 

@OscarWezenbeek