As many will have seen in the yachting press, the team at the Clipper Round the World Race have recently announced the introduction of a new fleet of eleven matching 72ft racing yachts – the Clipper RX fleet. Using knowledge gained from previous editions of this inspirational race, these new yachts have been specifically designed for this challenging event. And the anti-foul chosen for the new fleet? Coppercoat – of course!
The choice of anti-foul was an easy one for the race organisers, given the shared history between the two companies, and the proven financial and logistical benefits provide by Coppercoat.
The current fleet was originally treated with Coppercoat back in 2015/16. Since then, each yacht has sailed approximately 190,000 nautical miles over the ten years, on just a single treatment of Coppercoat. A feat that no other anti-foul could even hope to emulate.
In the races prior to the use of Coppercoat, these yachts had to be anti-fouled in the UK before each race, and again in Australia at the mid-race point. Over a ten year period and four circumnavigations, for the eleven strong fleet, this accumulated to a total cost of £285,000 in products, lifts and labour.
Whereas the cost for the Coppercoat treatments fitted instead came to an accumulated total of just £34,000!
Meaning by switching from conventional anti-foul paints to Coppercoat, the Clipper Race organisers made a proven saving of over £250,000, a scarcely believable return on the original investment.
Commenting on this, Greg North, Head of Fleet Maintenance at Clipper, states:
“Beyond the substantial financial benefits, our experience of using Coppercoat across the fleet has been overwhelmingly positive from both an operational and logistical perspective.
One of the most significant benefits has been the removal of the need to lift and re-antifoul the boats during overseas stopovers. Lifting eleven 70 foot yachts within a narrow time window is always challenging and introduces additional complexity, including rig adjustments to accommodate travel hoists and reliance on local yard availability. Eliminating this has made race planning far more flexible and removed a considerable amount of operational risk.
Furthermore, from a maintenance standpoint, Coppercoat has allowed the team to focus on higher-priority technical work rather than repeated hull treatments. There have also been clear benefits for the crews, with less time spent on maintenance and more opportunity to rest and prepare for the next leg.”
Greg went on to explain:
“Taken together, the logistical simplicity, reduced maintenance burden both financial and physical, improved crew experience, and environmental benefits have made Coppercoat an obvious choice for us. These are all the reasons that we are applying Coppercoat to the new RX fleet.”
Jayson Kenny, Managing Director of Aquarius Marine Coatings Ltd concludes:
“We are delighted to continue our longstanding relationship with the Clipper Round the World Race and look forward to enjoying further adventures with the team. Helping the race to be more sustainable both financially and environmentally is a pleasure and a privilege.”
To find out how much Coppercoat you need for your own boat, and how much money you could save over the years, please email info@coppercoat.com or call 01258 861059.
