The Clipper Race and Marlow Ropes partnership strives for a greener future
by Grace Kitching 30 Aug 2019 01:00 PDT
Training © imagecomms
The sixteenth year of partnership between the Clipper Race and Marlow Ropes will be marked with a shift towards a greener future. The world's first mooring line to be made from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles, Marlow Ropes Blue Ocean Dockline, has been rolled out across the fleet of 70ft racing yachts for the start of the biennial round the world yacht race.
The latest initiative from British manufacturer, Marlow Ropes, has resulted in all mooring lines, for the 11 strong fleet of Clipper 70s, being swapped to the Blue Ocean Dockline and the polyester Main sheet covers have been replaced with the Blue Ocean yarn for the 2019-20 edition.
With the ocean at the heart of its existence, the Clipper Race has vowed to operate with as little impact as possible on the environment. From reducing the consumption of single-use plastics in each of the sixteen Race Villages on the global Clipper 2019-20 Race route, to responding to environmental learnings and technological advances, such as the Blue Ocean yarn. As well as having accountability and ownership at all levels to create change for the good of the company and the environment, the Clipper Race has pledged to continue to evolve and grow to be more earth friendly, working closely with Race Partners in order to achieve this.
Marlow Ropes D2 Racing remains the line of choice for the sheets and halyards; lightweight, high strength and an all round performer, these lines have been proven to stand up to the extreme tests of the upcoming 40,000nm circumnavigation. With all ropes produced and tested at its factory in Hailsham, East Sussex, it takes 1,439m of rope, excluding spares, to rig a Clipper 70. Recently, Clipper 2019-20 Race crew were invited behind the scenes to learn more about rope production, strength testing and splicing techniques.
Outfitted with the new running rigging during the fleet refit, the Clipper 70s will be berthed in St. Katharine Docks, London from 24 August for Race Start on 1 September 2019. Come and tour one of these magnificent yachts and see the latest Marlow Ropes in action.
Find out more clipperroundtheworld.com.