Away from the headlines since losing his boat and almost his life in mid-Atlantic last November, World Record holder Ross Hobson and his racing catamaran crew are now ready to take on the best the world can offer.
Like its namesake, pushing technology to the limit, the Ideal Stelrad campaign boat for 2007 is the ultra-lightweight F28 catamaran; a flighty thoroughbred of the sea. At just 28ft long and weighing in at just 560kg, the carbon fibre and aluminium boat is 37 feet wide, carries a 50ft mast and over 1000 sq ft of sail area.
“As a World Class company, at Ideal Stelrad we are proud to add our support to a World Class yachtsman,” said John Colling, Director of Marketing at Ideal Stelrad.
The first major test for the Ideal Stelrad Team will be on 23rd June when they take on the JP Morgan Asset Management Round The Island Race, one of the most famous yacht races in the World. The Island referred to in the title is the Isle of Wight and over 1700 yachts will be taking part. At 5am the fleet will line up in the Solent, jostling and barging until released at which point they will all thunder westwards, down the coast toward the famous Isle of Wight Needles. The fastest boats will complete the circumnavigation of the Island in approximately four hours and Ideal Stelrad should be at the front of the fleet.
"We are very excited about the challenge ahead,” said Ross. “We are confident we will put in a good performance. We have our sponsors "Ideal Stelrad" very much on board and with their backing and confidence throughout 2007, we are all looking forward to taking the team on into the future."