Helly Hansen

The world's elite of Olympic sailing will be meeting for the 127 years old Kieler Woche (20-28 June) - a part of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Kieler Woche has even more to offer: three high class international championships (the X-35 Worlds, the X-41 Europeans and the SAP Europeans of the 505), the debut of the new Olympic women's class Elliott 6m and the virtual Kieler Woche online are the highlights of this year. Around 5,000 sailors from all over the World will attend parts of the event. Helly Hansen is for the 11^th year in a row the official clothing supplier of the Kieler Woche keeping all race officials dry, warm and stylish. Feel free to drop by our Helly Hansen tent at the Olympic Harbour at Schilksee if you are in town.. http://www.kieler-woche.de/

Hannah made it across the Atlantic - solo!
 
Hannah White was the first woman to cross the finish line this morning at 07.52 (EDT) in the 2009 OSTAR race; single handed from UK to Newport, USA. Twenty six year old Hannah, from Lymington, was the fourth skipper over the finish line after 17 days alone in the North Atlantic.

Hannah narrowly missed breaking Mary Falk’s record for 35 foot and under boats. Hannah reports that about one and a half miles from the finish, she had to drop her spinnaker and change course to avoid colliding with a large cargo vessel. She says that this manoeuvre may well have cost her the record in the final stages of the race.

Since Hannah’s first attempt at the OSTAR in 2005, she has been working and sailing with some of the world’s finest single handed sailors and this has paid handsome dividends for her OSTAR 2009 performance.
At Helly Hansen we are really proud to work with such a talented solo sailor as Hannah White, an athlete representing the next generation offshore sailors. As a part of Helly Hansen’s international team Hannah takes actively part in developing performance sailing gear for women’s for the years to come

LOCAL FILMMAKER AND CREW TO CROSS 5,000 MILES
THROUGH THE ARCTIC’S NORTHWEST PASSAGE NEWPORT, RI (MAY 22, 2009)  –  DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER SPRAGUE THEOBALD AND HIS CREW FROM HOLE IN THE WALL PRODUCTIONS ARE DEPARTING RHODE ISLAND FOR THE VOYAGE OF A LIFETIME. THERE WILL BE NO TROPICAL DRINKS SERVED AND NO SUNBATHING ON DECK.  ON THE CONTRARY, ITS GOING TO BE A COLD, DARK AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TRIP.

READ MORE IN THE PRESS RELEASE;

In one of the closest finishes in the race to date, Ericsson 4 held off the recently resurgent PUMA and Green Dragon teams to win Leg 8 into Marstrand (Sweden), and claim their third consecutive leg win and fifth in the race so far. The victory puts Ericsson 4 in an all but unassailable position on the leaderboard.
"We're very close to winning the race," admitted Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael. "But we're not there yet."
His team now holds a 15-point lead with just three scoring opportunities left (for a maximum 20 points) before the finish in St. Petersburg

A couple of weeks ago, Dav, Lorraine Huber (our fellow Kastle rider) and I got to go on this amazing trip to the Lyngen Alps and film with Warren Miller.  We met up in Tromsø city, located 350 kilometers inside the Artic Circle, so we were definitely pretty far north. We got to eat some delicious fish soup and check out town for one day before heading out to Lyngen Lodge the next day, about 3hrs away.

Lyngen Lodge was built about a year ago, located on the spectacular Lyngen Fjord of Northern Norway and is surrounded by magnificent mountains offering unlimited adventure possibilities. Their concept is to combine luxurious accommodation with first class catering and unique guided activities, a concept they definitely live up to!
Owner Graham Austick and lodge manager, Elisabeth Braathen, took very good care of us and fed us more than well. I had an overload of Norwegian dishes I haven’t had in a very long time, especially the fresh fish! One day we even ate the cod Chris got out of the sea only a few hours earlier, amazing! I didn’t really catch any fish, all I did was ruin one of the fishing rods....

We had two successful days during the 5 or 6 full days we had there. Day two at the lodge was supposed to be a day with good weather in the morning and then get cloudy around noon, however, the weather Gods were giving us a full day of awesome light! So we got out there early, got in the boat, a uniquely designed 35ft / 11m cabin RIB boat, which we had a lot of fun with! The cool thing about Lyngen Lodge is their idea of ‘Summit to Sea’, taking the boat out to locations where you hike up the mountains to then ski back down to the boat. Our actual hike was only about 4hrs that day, however with filming and taking pictures we were probably at the summit around 6-7 pm and it took us a couple hours to make our way back. The view was absolutely amazing the whole day and when the sun got closer to sunset, the light was unreal! I had one of my most incredible experiences in the mountains that day for sure! Just check out the pictures!
Special creds to the camera crew; Tom Day, Josh Haskins, Colin Witherill, and Peter Mathis were carrying their heavy gear skinning all over the place without complaining at all! They’re practically machines. ?

I think some of us were actually sort of okay with the fact that the next day turned out to be a weather day as the previous day ended up being about 15 hrs long out there...!
Can’t really complain about a day in the hot tub right in front of the mountains, LOTS of delicious food and snacks, sauna, etc....!

Second day – HELIDAY!
So first off, the fact that we got to get permission for a heli is pretty incredible! It is extremely hard to get one in Norway, as they are very concerned with protecting the environment. However, we got permission to land on certain areas, mainly on this one island, Ulvøya.
Our pilot, Tom, was really cool and flew in the night before. Unfortunately there wasn’t as much snow as we hoped for, so we didn’t get to ski certain areas that we planned on. However, we got some fun skiing in for sure, and we skied along a gnarly edge on Blåtind (name of a peak), which was pretty sick. And again, the light was so amazing all day, especially in the afternoon/evening.

In the end of the week I believe we all felt that we got some good work done even though we only had a few days skiing, we all probably left a couple pounds heavier due to the magnificent food, and it was fun to get to know each other before taking off in all different locations around the world.

Lyngen Lodge was definitely an experience that’ll be remembered for the longest time, I can only hope to get back there one day and ski under the midnight sun!

To check it out more about our trip and Lyngen Lodge here’s some links to their site and our blogs/websites:

Lyngen Lodge - http://www.lyngenlodge.com/
Chris Davenport - http://steepskiing.loopd.com/Members/ChrisDavenport/Blog.aspx
Lorraine Huber - http://www.skilori.com/index.html
Karine Falck-Pedersen - http://www.karinefalckpedersen.com/2009/05/heliskiing.html


Enjoy the summer!
Until next time!

-Karine

GALWAY, Ireland (May 24, 2009) - Ericsson Racing Team won its third consecutive leg of the Volvo Ocean Race early this morning when Ericsson 4 arrived here to a rapturous midnight celebration at the conclusion of Leg 7.
 
Skippered by Brazilian Torben Grael, Ericsson 4 crossed the 2,550-nautical mile course from Boston, USA in 7 days, 7 hours, 34 minutes and 22 seconds.
 
"We're very, very happy," said Grael, 48, the winner of two Olympic gold medals and five overall. "It was a rough ride into Galway. We pushed the boat hard and she responded well. It's fantastic teamwork to have a boat so sound that we can push in those conditions. The shore team has done a fantastic job setting up the boat and the boatbuilding and design teams have done a wonderful job giving us such a nice boat. The guys did a wonderful job pushing the boat without risking too much."
 
Meanwhile sistership Ericsson 3, skippered by Sweden's Magnus Olsson finished  some five hours later, but were philosophical about their position.  
 
"We're all disappointed," said Olsson. "It's going to hurt for two or three days, and then we'll forget about this. We sailed boat very well. We just didn't make it this time."
 
Ericsson 3 had a fantastic beginning to the leg. The crew enjoyed the tight reaching in the first 30 hours of the leg and either held the lead or was in the battle for it for a day and a half.
 
However, on the second day Ericsson 3 collided with a whale, damaging its port side daggerboard and the keel fin. The crew replaced the daggerboard with the spare it had onboard, but the damage to the keel fin couldn't be repaired.
 
"We had a loss in performance after hitting the whale," said navigator Aksel Magdahl. "We think we sailed well, but we could see pieces of the leading edge and trailing edge falling off the faster we went."
 
VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEADERBOARD
(After conclusion of Leg 7)
1. Ericsson 4, 92 points
2. Telefónica Blue, 77.5
3. Puma, 76
4. Ericsson 3, 60
5. Green Dragon, 52
6. Telefónica Black, 36
7. Delta Lloyd, 29.5

Whilst the skipper of Sodeb'O put in a tremendous effort last winter sailing around the world single-handed, Francis Joyon showed great talent in squeezing the record between Cadiz (Spain) and San Salvador (Bahamas), which comprises a transatlantic crossing spanning nearly 4,000 miles, that the skipper of IDEC covered on his large trimaran at an average speed of 16.4 knots.

Thomas Coville is this year concentrating on the Northern Atlantic and from today he is repositioning his sights along this course, which he is drawn to in more ways than one. Explanations.

The route: Cadiz - San Salvador

Time to beat : 9 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes - Francis Joyon, Idec (2008) at an average speed of 16.4 knots (30.37 km/hr)

Number of miles to be covered: 3,884 miles

Stand-by dates: 12th May 2009 – start of June 2009

Known to his nearest and dearest as Tom, Thomas is a top level competitor above all else and at the very core of him he retains a sense of enjoyment, which is never satisfied, as well as an almost childlike quality, that of being at sea, powering along on his own at ever greater speeds across oceans or even around the world. For Thomas Coville, who has been sailing with Sodeb'O for the past 10 years, there is no such thing as routine. And this is even more true this year with several targets in his sights; that of two future record attempts this summer across the Northern Atlantic, as well as the Route du Rhum 2010. “I've chosen to live under the pressure of time and demand. I’m also aware that I’m committed to a team and a partner that I’ve chosen. Setting off is still just as exciting as ever and for me it is synonymous with enjoyment and freedom” confides the French sailor with an eye to the future as ever.

This Southern course across the Northern Atlantic is a route which is familiar to him after he set a record time here back in 2005, in a 60 footer (18.28m). This year the skipper of Sodeb'O wants to explore it on his 105 footer (32 m), a design created for him by Nigel Irens and Benoît  Cabaret, which he is really getting a good handle on “but which may still be improved upon, particularly in view of the Route du Rhum 2010”.

Having confirmed his participation in 2010 with his 32 metre trimaran in the most celebrated of solo transatlantic races, this long atlantic crossing represents a nice little training gallop: “For me it's a full scale test across a course which is a little longer than the Route du Rhum. The Discovery Route takes 9 to 10 days compared to 7 to 8 for the Route du Rhum”.

Thomas drops the poetry and remains highly technical about the voyage:
“This East to West transatlantic between Cadiz and San Salvador represents 2/3 of the Route du Rhum crossing with a particularly demanding course through the Portuguese tradewinds, which is always tricky. You imagine it to be a stable wind, which isn't the case at all”. As to the crossing, “it's rather pleasant and much easier in terms of climate than the Northern Atlantic. The pace downwind is nothing like that of a circumnavigation of the globe. The finish in the Bahamas is especially magical, even if the cyclonic conditions were pretty overwhelming in 2005!”

The difference between a 60 footer and a 105 footer on this type of course? “In a 105 footer, you achieve more regular average speeds but not necessarily higher ones. The 60 footer is lighter but more risky. Single-handed on a 32 metre boat, you have to take the punches. You take risks and you’re on the look-out due to the very high speed. You must never forget that you have 12 tonnes beneath your feet and that at speeds like that, there are some big stresses involved in everything.  In a 105 footer with 650 m2 of sail area, you quickly fall into the red” concluded the skipper from La Trinité.

When the three footed dragonflies power along at lightning speed in the tracks of the caravels of the 15th century.

It was in 1492, on 3rd August to be precise. Christopher Columbus set off from Palos, at the southern tip of Spain, with three Caravels; Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, comprising 90 crewmen. After a stopover in the Canaries, then a long course out to the West, the Admiral discovered a jewel of nature on 12th October; a luxurious island which he christened San Salvador.

Five centuries later, in 1984, a race gathered together the top large multihulls of the time to sail this legendary course. Philippe Poupon took victory on Fleury Michon VII. In 1988, Jet Services V set a record time in crewed configuration with 12 days and 12 hours; a record which was to last until 2000. In that year, the maxi catamaran Club Med, co-skippered by Grant Dalton and Bruno Peyron, completed the crossing in 10 days and 14 hours. In February 2003, a sailor known for never giving up, the late American Steve Fossett, a recordman on all manner of craft, improved  the reference time by a day on Playstation with 9 days, 13 hours and 30 minutes. The current reference time in crewed configuration for this crossing, spanning nearly 4,000 miles, lies with Groupama 3, with a fantastic time of 7 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes and 53 seconds.

It was necessary to wait until 2004 for Francis Joyon on IDEC to set the first solo time of 11 days, 3 hours, 17 minutes and 12 seconds. A year later, it was Thomas' turn to take the start on the 60 footer Sodeb'O. His passage went rather well despite a rather nasty cyclone, which came so close to him at the end of the course, that he was forced to make a big detour, which considerably extended his course. However, it didn't stop him from beating Francis' record. With a time of 10 days, 11 hours, 50 minutes and 20 seconds, he reduced the record time by nearly 24 hours. And then last year, whilst Thomas was battling his way around the world, Francis Joyon got his own back on his maxi trimaran, which measures nearly 30 metres.
He single-handedly devoured the 3,884 miles in 9 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes at an average speed of 16.4 knots, which more or less represents Fossett's time in 2003 in crewed configuration.

Once again, Thomas has not had his final say on the matter. In his record hunting programme he admits: “I really want to bag the reference time in this little battle the pair of us have been informally involved in on the record planet”.

There are certain elements needed to enjoy the great sport of skiing, like snow for example. As many of us enjoy it, we are destroying that very environment at the same time, putting the future of our sport at risk. Mark Abma has taken the first step to help create awareness and bring attention to climate change.

Mark has created an environmental advocacy group to help ski resorts and skiers reduce their carbon footprint while still encouraging people to get out and enjoy the mountains. The charity, which was launched last fall, is aptly called “One Step.” Mark is leading by example by creating environmentally conscious products with his sponsors, like his new bamboo ski with Salomon, supporting the Ekolab products at Helly Hansen, working with Dakine on more environmentally friendly gloves and backpacks, and using Smith helmets and goggles made out of recycled medical plastic. But that’s just the beginning.

Mr. Abma realized that a large part of his carbon footprint is driving a big truck with a couple sleds on the back, not to mention accessing terrain with snow mobiles, snow cats and helicopters. Working with Helly Hansen, The Public Works and One Step, he installed a bio diesel converter in his garage. Mark will now get oil from local Whistler restaurants like Sushi Village, take it back to his house and make his own bio diesel fuel to run his big rig. Eventually, he hopes to take this initiative to ski resorts and encouraging restaurants to donate extra oil from their deep fryers to power the areas’ snow cats.

When asked what made Abma start his advocacy group, he explained: “I was inspired to create One Step because I love the mountains and skiing and have been noticing the effects of global climate change all around me. It’s affecting ski communities all over the world and I want to create a voice and model in which we can start to make positive changes towards sustainability and a brighter, greener future.”

During the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, One Step held a launch party at the Blake Jorgensen Gallery. All proceeds from the evening went towards the Whistler 2020 Energy Task Force. Mr. Abma spoke to the crowd, expressing his concerns and offered some insight. “When we connect leaving the lights on to energy shortages and pollution rising, when we connect our trash to landfills and disease, and when we connect the things that we buy and use to the places they come from, we more fully understand the importance of being mindful,” he said. “Ignoring the causes and effects of what we do and how our actions impact our world will eventually come back to haunt us. When we examine issues through an environmental lens, consciousness is raised and the opportunity for change occurs.”

Mike Douglas, along with his beautiful assistant Kristi Richards, got behind the mic and auctioned off photos by Jorgensen, year-long yoga passes, Lululemon gear, Salomon’s new bamboo skis, clothing by Helly Hansen, Whistler vacation packages and some spa time.

With good friends and supporters in attendance, the kick-off event was a huge success. Look for a lot more to come from Mr. Abma and the One Step organization. For more information visit www.onestepnow.org.

With the completion a long winter refit after a circumnavigation of the globe that quite naturally took its toll on both the boat and the skipper, the maxi-trimaran Sodeb'O will be tackling a brand new record campaign across the Atlantic in 2009.  As one of Helly Hansen's international athletes Thomas Coville is testing offshore footwear and apparel making sure we develop solid performance gear.

Read more about this on Sail World: 

http://www.sail-world.com/europe/SodebO-to-tackle-new-record-campaign-across-the-Atlantic/56165

Ericsson Racing Team continued its dominance of the Volvo Ocean Race today when Torben Grael/BRA/Ericsson 4 and Magnus Olsson/SWE/Ericsson 3 finished first and second on leg six from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Boston, USA. The two Ericsson teams shared the same top two positions on the previous leg from Qingdao in China to Rio, but in that case, Ericsson 3 came out on top. Today, Ericsson 4 crossed the finish at 2105 GMT

The ninth edition of Røldal Freeride Challenge took place in Norway this weekend. HH athlete, Rebecka Eriksson was second, only 1, 9 points behind Freeride World Tour champion, Ane Enderud after Finals Day 1, but after a convincing run down the final face on day two - the victory was hers. RFC is the sister event to the first of 4 event on the Freeride World Tour next year - Rebecka has already put in her visa application for Sochi FWT 2010!!! Congratulations!

Torgrim Vole won the mens ski category  - a spectacular run - with the highest score ever given in the history of RFC - fast, solid and BIG are just a few key words!

Check out more news from this event on http://roldalfreeride.no/ 

Røldal is a small mountain village nestled between the majestic fjords and the massive Hardangervidda mountain plateau. The area is well known for its snowpack, 5 meters is normal... so this event is a great way to end the season! If you need a place to crash while your there - check out http://hordatun.no/

It’s time for the third and final winter installment of the “En Route” webisode series from Nimbus Independent.  There will be other short edits coming out this spring and more short edits coming out next fall, but this is the last major release of this season.  The plan to shoot the whole thing in Montana fell through due to injuries, weather and travel fatigue. Everyone chose to hang close to home and hit the West Coast. The crew decided split into two groups for increased efficiency.   After a few days rest from the trip to Europe, Pep, Wiegand, Andy, and newcomer Blake Nyman headed to the Mt. Baker area. Upon arrival, sunny skies and good snow greeted them. Moving quickly to avoid landing zones getting side-hilled by the ever growing sledneck population, they built a nice wedge into a steep transition. Blake and Andy went back and forth on the jump, landing numerous tricks backwards or what’s called “switch.” Pep rested his knee but still managed to have some fun on his sled.  They celebrated that evening by preparing “the best burgers ever.”   The snow turned good again the next week, prompting Andy to recruit Ike up to his home terrain of Yakima, Washington. Andy showed Ike a nice jump spot the first day. It was one of the few times Ike’s seen a sunny day with cold, deep snow in the Northwest. They took full advantage of the weather and put a few more shots in the bag, then spent the storm days doing avalanche control work with the ski patrol at Andy’s home mountain, White Pass. This led to more good shots and allowed us to ski the resort an hour before the public.   While one crew was in Washington, Chris, Eric and Wiegand hopped down to California and a well known sled zone. They had four good days of sun and deep snow before parting ways.  Chris went to Canada to film for Warren Miller, and Eric and Wiegand joined Andy and Ike in Oregon.   The last leg of our journey took place in Eastern Oregon. Everyone drove thru the night expecting to get another sunny powder day.  Unfortunately the snow was already baked, so we headed back west to check out Mt. St. Helens. To no one’s surprise the snow was baked there too!  Guess it was the first week in April, but nobody complained and still made do with great snowpack and some airsoft guns. Needless to say, the next webisode has variety. If we were to tell you everything that happened, it would take longer than watching it. So don’t forget to go to nimbusindependent.com on or after tax day, April 15, to watch “En Route - America.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Apr. 3, 2009) - Barely eight days have passed since Ericsson Racing Team swept Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Now, the team is ready for the next contest of the globe-girdling race.
The Rio de Janeiro In-Port Race is scheduled for tomorrow, and Ericsson's two yachts are back in the water and ready for a tune-up. Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4 will partake in today's practice race in anticipation of tomorrow's two races.
 
The first start of tomorrow's two races is scheduled for 1600 GMT (1300 local). The In-Port Race will be broadcast live on the Internet with video, audio and tracking all beginning at 1545 GMT (1245 local). Visit the official race Web site, www.VolvoOceanRace.com <http://www.volvooceanrace.com/> , for more information.
 
VOLVO OCEAN RACE LEADERBOARD
(Through Leg 5)
1. Ericsson 4, 63.5 points
2. Puma, 53
3. Telefónica Blue, 50.5
4. Ericsson 3, 43.5
5. Green Dragon, 39.5
6. Telefónica Black, 21
7. Delta Lloyd, 12
8. Team Russia, 10.5

PK finished his season with some great news and some not-so-great news.  Good news first...  PK and his Norweigen teammates took home the coveted JOSS victory!  Not-so-good-news... PK "stomped" a dub cork 10 to half-punch-front-flip and broke his neck.

Fortunately PK's viking strength kept his spinal chord uninjured and is already on the road to recovery.  After a summer of girls, card tricks, and rehab he'll be back to his terrain slaying self.

Here is the video of the trick and the crash.

You can read more about the incident, his recovery, and the rest of PK's life at:

http://www.pkhunder.com

Here's to a quick recovery!

Jessica on ESPN.com

"There's something about a girl who can beat you down the mountain with a smile on her face. Ready to be intimidated? The following six ladies are doing this on the daily in dizzying chutes, strict no-fall zones and terrifying avalanche run-outs ... and with just as much style, speed and aplomb as their male counterparts. Gentlemen, please allow us to introduce you to the Sisters of Steep."

Last week I hung out with Terje Haakonsen and Jake Blauvelt guiding them around my backyard. We had a sweet heli hookup and did a day of sledding in the snowstorm. Winter hit Whistler last this year so we've gotten a bunch of snow in the last month. We found some very cool terrain and its literally outside my backdoor. I was super stoked to check it out and ride a bunch of it after looking at it for so many years driving back and forth to Vancouver.
I have a feeling that this is the start of a bunch of new terrain I'll be riding.

Team Norway has won the Jon Olsson Super Session, arguably the biggest, undoubtably the coolest, competition in skiing.

PK Hunder and Andreas Håtveit teamed up to showcase thier skills in front of the lenses of Jon Håtveit, Filip Christensen, and Thomas Kleiven.  The event was judged on the edit and slide show of the imagery from two weeks of skiing on the most progressive features is skiing history.

Congrats guys!

Check for more updates at http://www.josupersessions.com

Contact: Christina Erb, 319-310-1415, christina@hayterpr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Helly Hansen’s Big Mountain Battle Winner from Squaw Valley take Second place at Battle in the Bowls

DELTA, B.C. (March 31, 2009) – Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle Squaw Valley USA winners gave Aspen locals a run for their money at the second-annual Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls, scoring second place.

Local Aspen skiers Baker Boyd and Kevin Frazier took first in 3 hours and 3 minutes and Big Mountain Battle Squaw Valley’s winner, John Morrison with Aspen partner Neal Biddleman, took second in 3 hours and 4 minutes. Aspen locals John Ruger and Nathan Rolland, crossed the finish line four minutes later to take third in 3 hours and 8 minutes.

Morrison and Biddleman also grabbed first place in the fastest hike category with a time of 25 minutes and 35 seconds.

“Having a great first season with the Big Mountain Battle and then taking the winners to Aspen for the final Battle was incredible! These guys were super stoked to win this trip of a lifetime, but they also wanted to show locals they could be competitive. This just shows that they’re strong skiers no matter what mountain they’re on,” said Marc Campbell, Helly Hansen’s sports marketing specialist for North America.

The Aspen/Snowmass-based event challenged 46 two-person teams to ski an intense, big-mountain course designed by Helly Hansen’s big-mountain skier Chris Davenport. Athletes could take any route as long as they completed each listed run. Each team was tracked using FLAIK GPS, a unique tracking device that provided race officials with real-time data on each teams. For results of the Battle in the Bowls go to http://aspenhellyhansen.flaik.com

The two teams, alongside Smugglers Notch and Sun Peaks Resort’s Helly Hansen Big Mountain Battle winners, competed at the Battle in Bowls on behalf of Helly Hansen.

Helly Hansen has manufactured technical outdoor apparel since 1877. Today, the brand is recognized as a global leader in technical apparel and footwear designs for a range of alpine and water sports activities. Helly Hansen products are distributed in more than 40 countries. Helly Hansen’s North American operations are based in Delta, B.C. For more information on Helly’s products, team news, or to locate a dealer, visit www.hellyhansen.com.

SHINING MOMENT
Ericsson 4 bowman Phil “Blood” Jameson best summed up the scene last Thursday at the Ericsson Pavilion at Marina da Gloria in Rio de Janeiro, “This is probably our team’s shining moment.” It certainly couldn’t get much better. The longest leg in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race will forever be the domain of Ericsson Racing Team. The team’s two yachts completed a sweep of the points available on the 12,300-nautical mile leg when they placed first and second into Rio de Janeiro. The two yachts were also first and second at both scoring gates. The emotions began running wild Thursday morning when Ericsson 3 won the leg in 40 days and five hours. Ericsson 4 followed 12 hours later. Ericsson 3’s achievement was even more spectacular because of the circumstances surrounding its hull breach on Leg 4. And Ericsson 4’s second-place finish strengthened its overall lead in the race to more than 10 points. Read more about this at www.ericssonracingteam.com