Neil Pryde Sailing is backing the winners!
by Marina Johnson 20 Feb 2018 00:30 PST
Stand C22, 3-4 March 2018
Matilda Nicholls sailing in Weymouth © James Tomlinson
Up and down the country fast sailors are choosing Neil Pryde for its unparalleled warmth and comfort. See it for yourself on our stand at the C22 Hall GH at the RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show on 3-4 March.
The maestro of the Laser class, Jon Emmett, wears Neil Pryde and packs all his kit into his Neil Pryde equipment bags – and Jon does a lot of travelling! He's keeping warm in his Neil Pryde hoodie as he talks about his career in this superb video which charts his successes with the youngsters that he coaches, not to mention the Chinese sailor, Lijia Xu, who he coached from 2011 to 2016 to take her to a Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics,
Jon Emmett is a professional sailing coach and, as a dinghy sailor himself, has won countless top level dinghy titles over the years. Right now Jon is ranked number two in the UK Radial rankings and was crowned Masters Radial Europeans Champion last season. Jon is also the Vice Chairman and Training Officer for the UK Laser class. He is Technical Director of the Malaysian Sailing Association and has been travelling to events around the world in support of his talented protégés, most notably Laser Radial champion Tuula Tenkanen from Finland, as well as pursuing his own sailing, and still holding onto plenty of podium positions!
Jon has helped to shape the Neil Pryde Sailing clothing range, ultimately helping Neil Pryde Sailing to give both the elite and club sailors exactly what they need.
Looking hot for 2018 is Matilda Nicholls. Aged 16, Matilda is powering through the rankings in the Laser Radial class, having won the Open in June, and she's been gaining top 10 results throughout the season.
Sister Flo, a former national Optimist champion, is also gaining top 10 places in the Laser 4.7 which she only graduated to in the past year. She's still only 14 and despite being the youngest sailor on the circuit she has managed to achieve some great results including being first British girl at the Nationals (and an amazing 8th overall) which were very windy with lots of hard work and her Neil Pryde Hiking pads! She also finished 1st girl in each of the RYA National Squad trials, Winter Championship and World Championship Qualifier. "I've really enjoyed sailing my Laser 4.7 with the combination of Neil Pryde's Elite Long-johns with the Elite Hiking System of Hikerpadz shorts," says Flo. "They enable me to hike harder for longer and has proven very helpful on those windy days."
Matilda and Flo are both wearing their snug Firewire Long John wetsuit and Firewire tops, whose Matrix 3D core is made from tiny AirDome air pockets that increase warmth and flexibility and reduce weight. The kit will keep them warm when they tackle the Lymington Winter Laser Open on 24-25 February. The fabric is made even warmer with Neil Pryde's unique Firewire hollow fibre thermal liner. The pair reported "The Firewire Long John and Firewire top are perfectly designed for our sort of sailing," says Matilda. The girls are also loving their hiking boots which are "brilliant for moving around in the Lasers".
Neil Pryde Sailing's wetsuit range is just part of a full collection including drysuits, mid layers, hiking systems, buoyancy aids, boots, socks, gloves, bags and hats. In short, everything you need to get out on the race course.