3:39 AM Mon 15 Mar 2010 GMT
Yacht racing legend Philippe P?ch? is set to bring widespread recognition to the 2010 Multihull Solutions Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Yacht Race when he leads the crew of the Catana 47 Ocean Class Blue.
The renowned multihull sailor will compete for the title aboard the Catana 47 catamaran along with the Multihull Solutions crew, the event's new major sponsors.
Born in France, P?ch? has a remarkable pedigree in multihull ocean racing and has been involved in designing and building sails for legendary boats such as 'Fleury Michon', 'Ker Cadelac', 'Poulain', 'Liberte', 'Broceliande', 'Foncia', 'Bayer' and more recently the maxi catamaran 'Team Adventure' for the first non-stop race around the world, 'The Race'.
In 2005, he raced aboard 'Orange 2' and won the prestigious Jules Verne Trophy and still holds the round-the-globe race record of 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes.
In 2001, he relocated to Australia and established Sailforce in Perth where he currently combines his skills and experience to project manage big boat campaigns.
Multihull Solutions Managing Director, Mark Elkington, said the addition of P?ch? to the company's crew was exciting.
'We are really proud to be the major sponsor and believe that Philippe's skills and experience will undoubtedly increase public and industry awareness of this great multihull event,' Mr Elkington said.
'The combination of Philippe's expertise and the outstanding performance of the Catana 47 Ocean Class will make the Multihull Solutions team a formidable force in the race,' he said.
Starting at 11am on Friday, April 2 (Good Friday) from the southern end of Waterloo Bay in Moreton Bay, the Multihull Solutions Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Yacht Race is expected to attract a record number of entries.
This multihull division of the 2010 Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race is organised by the Multihull Yacht Club Queensland, and is open to catamarans and trimarans that are seaworthy, adequately crewed and comply with current YA Special Regulations (Blue Book 2009-2012) Category 2.
Notice of Race, entry forms and sailing instructions for the 308nm race are available from the MYCQ website at
www.mycq.org.au
or email at racecontrol(at)mycq.org.au.
www.multihullsolutions.com.au
by Kate Elkington
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