Helly Hansen

"Thomas Coville, skipper of the maxi trimaran Sodeb'O, has finally found a suitable "weather window" for his single handed trans Atlantic record attempt. At the end of last week Thomas and his team realized ideal weather conditions was on the way, so Saturday afternoon they left for New York where the boat is ready. The met team see ideal wind conditions Monday/Tuesday possibly followed by another opportunity later in the week. With a minimal risk of drifting ice in the North Atlantic at the moment Thomas should have a fair chance of beating the current transatlantic single-handed record of 6 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 37 seconds. Thomas is wearing Helly Hansen offshore smock top- and trouser with the appropriate base- and midlayer. For the rougher part, in the North Atlantic, he will wear the offshore drysuit."

Chris Davenport, Stian Hagen and photographer, Christian Pondella stormed 4 of the most iconic big mountain ski lines in Europe this past winter. Now they are hitting the main stream media channels just as hard. Check out the latest in the LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-matterhorn26-2008jun26,0,3251570.story

It's the second time in a row that the Olympic Italian Team, Diego Negri and Luigi Viale, supported by Helly Hansen, wins the International Benetti Trophy. 52 crews for nine countries involved in the race. There were also the World Champion Mateusz Kusniewericz (POL), the twice Bacardi Cup Winnner Alfonso Domingos (POR), Hans Spitzauer (AUT) and Enrico Chieffi (ITA). Five races have been sailed and the Helly Hansen team won by a consistent results: 3-2-2-7-OCS. Luigi Viale: -It is an important win, the race has been run in weather conditions of very light wind and strong tide like the typical conditions of the Qingdao racing area. It's important that we won against three opponents that we will met in the Olympic Regatta.- Diego Negri: -Now we have a lay week and then the last regatta before the Olympic Event. This regatta is the 14th Discrict Champion in Marina di Carrara, Tuscany, from 4th to 6th July. During this event we will try new sail designed for light wind and the latest Olympic Gear prepared from Helly Hansen for the warm and humid chinese conditions.- The HH guys achieved also a really good result in Eastern Hemisphere Championship two weeks ago, run always in light wind condition in Croatia, where they finished in fifth placing but really close to the first crew.

South Europe HELLY HANSEN TEAM is completed after last weekend when two boats of the Team have run their first regatta: they are the smallest boat, Mini650 HH Speedy Bonsai, and the biggest one, Transpac52 HH CXG Caixagalicia. This is the full Team: Diego Negri and Luigi Viale race in Star Class and they will be protagonist in the next Olympic Games in Bejing. Two Melges24 HH Uka Uka Racing of Lorenzo Santini and Alina Helly Hansen of Maurizio Abbà that they run in Volvo Cup but above all, in the first week of June, they won the Volvo Melges24 World Championship and they achieved also the silver medal. Two Melges32: HH Uka Uka Racing of Lorenzo Santini and Team Hiroshi-Città di Milano of Armando Giulietti which race in the first international series of this new spectacular monotype. HH Canarias Puerto Calero of Daniel Calero is instead engaged in very fast Gp42 in Quebramar Gp42 Series. Team Hiroshi-Città di Milano of Armando Giulietti race also with little America's Cup boat designed by Russel Coutts, RC44 and our Team runs in world series. Then Claire Leroy together his HH Mermaid Sailing Team will continue to win every Match Races in the North Hemisphere after that she won her second world title in New Zealand in March. Andrea Caracci Mini650 HH Speedy Bonsai will be protagonist in a lot of time-honored on-hand regattas in Mediterranea Sea waiting to build the new boat designed by Sam Manuard to race in the next Mini Transat. In the end Tp52 HH CXG Caixagalicia of Vicente Tirado will look to conquest Audi Medcup Series title after the second placing achieved in the last year. In this class there will be even three full America's Cup Teams. Break leg and give us emotions! Regatta Schedule: 30-5 July, Cagliari, Audi Transpac52 Med Cup Series 9-13 July, Malcesine, DHL Rc44 Championship Tour 10-13 July, Valencia, Quebramar Gp42 Series 11-13 July, Porto Santo Stefano, Audi Melges32 Sailing Series 18-20 July, Rimini, Melges24 Volvo Cup Series 21-26 July, Puerto Portals, Audi Transpac52 Med Cup Series 26-2 August, Palma de Mallorca, Quebramar Gp42 Series 9-21 August, Qingdao, Star Olympic Games 25-30 August, Cartagena, Audi Transpac52 Med Cup Series 28-30 August, Cascais, Quebramar Gp42 Series 5-7 September, Santa Margherita Ligure, Audi Melges32 Sailing Series 15-20 September, Portimao, Audi Transpac52 Med Cup Series 25-28 September, Torbole, Melges24 Volvo Cup Series 3-5 October, Genova, Audi Melges32 Sailing Series 4 October, Alicante, Volvo Ocean Race in-shore race 11 October, Alicante-Cape Town, Volvo Ocean Race off-shore race 7-11 October, Trieste, DHL Rc44 Championship Tour 16-18 October, Puerto Calero, Quebramar Gp42 Series 15 November, Cape Town, Volvo Ocean Race off-shore race 10-14 December, Dubai, DHL Rc44 Championship Tour 13 December, Kochi, Volvo Ocean Race off-shore race

Saint-Tropez, June 2008 In Saint-Tropez the GP42 class made a qualitative leap. There was not so much wind, only 8-10 knots, but the boats were so close that overall leadership changed three times in three hours in the closing day of the event. Airis, the Italian boat helmed by Sandro Montefusco, started the morning 4th and was crowned winner in the afternoon. Canarias Puerto Calero, sponsored by Helly Hansen, led the provisional standing after the third race up to the starting of the last race. HH Team from the Canary Islands had the youngest tactician of the whole fleet, 24-year old Rayco Tabares and their consistency has been great during every races but in the last upwind they had a speed problem so they finished only in sixth placing and they lost the winner of this second leg of Quebramar Cup with one point more than Airis. Next time it'll be better! José Maria-Ponce, helmsman aboard HH Canarias Puerto Calero says after the last bad races: -What can I say? We lost the event in the last race. We started very well but it seems we had a speed problem. Airis and Desafío overtook us and we stayed behind other boats as well. From that point we had few options left and we got stuck. We tried to take risky decisions and go as close to the Saint-Tropez coast as possible but unfortunately, we didn't have any chance. The race area was good, although we would have liked a little bit more wind.- Airis is first overall with 28 points, tied with Desafío. Both teams have three victories but the Italians have one second place. HH Canarias Puerto Calero finished in third placing but it will have the opportunity for revenge on home waters, during the Trofeo de la Reina, held in Valencia from July 10 to 13. MPZ Final standing 1. Airis, ITA, 3-5-8-2-1-3-4-1-1, 28 pts. 2. Desafio, ESP, 1-1-6-3-3-6-1-5-2, 28 pts. 3. HH Canarias Puerto Calero, ESP, 2-2-2-5-4-4-2-2-6, 29 pts. 4. Near Miss, SWI, 5-4-1-1-5-1-8-3-7, 35 pts. 5. Madrid, ESP, 6-3-3-6-2-2-5-4-5, 36 pts.

PORTO CERVO, ITALY The Volvo Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, has been a great celebration of the Italian HH Uka Uka Racing Team of Lorenzo Bressani (helmsman), Lorenzo Santini (owner), Federico Michetti, Francesca Prina and Francesco Bruni (tactician). They claimed victory over the 114-strong boats from 16 nation in one of the most hotly contested sailing events this year. The HH Uka Uka Racing Team was a favourite from the outset, but going into the final day and with three more races to sail, it was still a five-way shootout between HH crew^ IMS and Melges 24 World Champion Alberto Bolzan, sailing ITA727 Pilot Italia for Gianni Catalogna^ America's Cup veteran and 2001 Melges 24 World Champion Flavio Favini, sailing SUI521 Blu Moon for Franco Rossini^ Luca Valerio, sailing ITA722 Alina Helly Hansen for Maurizio Abba^ and 2006 Melges 24 World Champion Nicola Celon, helming ITA638 Marchingenio for Giorgio Marchi. At the end it wasn't possible to stop the HH Uka Uka perseverance so they finished with 32 points less than Pilot Italia but the win of Helly Hansen Team was crowned also by the bronze medal of Alina Helly Hansen that was in the first placing at the half of Championship with three first placings in six races run. Alina Helly Hansen is a strong team that has a great experience and the winners of two titles of World Championship in Mumm30. Luca Valerio is the helsman and he is considered the best one in strong wind condition, Daniele Cassinari calls the tactician, the owner Maurizio Abbà, Roberta De Paoli and Nicholas Dal Ferro complete the crew. Maurizio: -We are happy! We have fought up to the end. We could win but HH Uka Uka has been better than us. Congratulations to them! The championship has been fantastic, the weather conditions have been fantastic, mistral blew strong for nine races and we love the strong wind.- A delighted Lorenzo Bressani commented: -It's my sixth world championship win, but it is the best win that I can remember! Obviously we are very happy. There are some really great teams here internationally as well as those that came from the United States. So, we are very happy!- Team Manager Federico Michetti concurred: -This is amazing. Really. This has been a really unbelievable season. I am so proud for everything, because we started with this team one and a half years ago and the goal was to win these Worlds. We have been looking forward to this so much. It's amazing, being the World Champion in Porto Cervo!- The Melges 24 is the most popular monotype in the world. It's is really fantastic and it can reach more than 20 knots of speed like it has been seen here in Porto Cervo. It is designed by Reichel Pugh and considered the most unique one-design sport boat in the world as well as one of the fastest-growing classes of high performance yachts. Next step for HH guys will be the 2009 Melges 24 European Championship which will be hosted in Hyeres, France, from August 20 - 29. MPZ Final Standings: 1. HH UKA UKA RACING - ITA - 10, 6, 1, 2, 2, 1, 14, 1, 1, 3, 10, 2 - 39.00 2. PILOT ITALIA - ITA - 2, 1, 3, 1, 7, 4, 10, 14, 4, 12, 13, 22 - 71.00 3. ALINA HELLY HANSEN - ITA - 1, 30, 1, 2, 3, 1, 6, 20, 3, 26, 2, 15 - 80.00 4. BLU MOON - SUI - 11, 5, 6, 3, 1, 3, 18, 3, 2, 1, DNF 58.00, 30 - 83.00 5. ETABETA - ITA - 29, 4, 18, 4, 9, 9, 5, 4, 5, 8, 14, 9 - 89.00 6. MARCHINGENIO - ITA - 7, 50, 7, 1, 3, 6, 3, 8, 6, 11, 39, 3 - 94.00 7. SAETTA - ITA - 27, 1, 11, 6, 4, 2, 34, 21, 17, 2, 3, 1 - 95.00 8. FULL THROTTLE- USA - 5, 3, 2, 13, 8, 6, 12, 18, 14, 10, 24, 6 - 97.00 9. BRONTOLO AB MEDICA - ITA - 6, 13, 9, 5, 6, 5, 15, 7, 7, 29, 5, 25 - 103.0 10. POIZON ROUGE - FRA - 3, 5, 10, 9, 5, 8, 19, 16, 12, 25, 26, 4 - 116.0

"Crested Butte, CO - June 23, 2008 - Matchstick Productions' new release, "CLAIM, The Greatest Ski Movie... EVER!" debuts on September 14th in Whistler, BC at the Telus Centre. This premiere marks MSP's twentieth ski film release and fourth world premiere hosted by Whistler/Blackcomb. MSP brings their award-winning approach to the table with "CLAIM," this time poking fun at themselves and the industry as a whole. Highlights from the film include the introduction of 15-year-old phenom Sean Pettit, early season deep pow with Mark Abma, Matchstick's return to Alaska over the course of four epic shoots, and a speed riding session from Chamonix, France - literally a synthesis of paragliding and skiing where skiers skip down sheer mountain faces with the aid of a small paraglider. Matchstick captured this insane new sport with a state of the art high-definition helicopter mounted camera. "We have been doing this for over 15 years and we feel like with 'CLAIM' we have created a masterpiece. This film is really going to blow some minds," claims executive producer Murray Wais. "CLAIM" features several longtime MSP all-stars as well as a few newcomers, making up an A list roster including Mark Abma, Ingrid Backstrom, Rory Bushfield, Chris Davenport, Simon Dumont, Stian Hagen, Hugo Harrisson, James Heim, Eric Hjorleifson, PK Hunder, CR Johnson, Shane McConkey, Jon Olsson, Sean Pettit, Chris Rubens, TJ Schiller, Colby West, and Jacob Wester. CHECK OUT THE TEASER FOR "CLAIM" AT http://www.mspfilms.com/theatre/. "CLAIM" is shot in high-definition on location in Whistler, Chamonix, Courmayer, Valdez, Aspen, Chatter Creek, and additional destinations worldwide. The Matchstick Movie Tour visits over 100 locations across the globe this fall, featuring athlete appearances, poster signings, after parties, live entertainment, and more. Please visit www.skimovie.com/tour to find out when "CLAIM" will be at a location near you. Matchstick Productions would like to thank all their sponsors for continued support: Whistler/Blackcomb, Helly Hansen, Subaru, Rush HD, Red Bull, Salomon, and Powder Magazine. ABOUT MATCHSTICK PRODUCTIONS: Matchstick Productions is the leader in action sport filmmaking. The team at MSP works with the best athletes in the world in the most exotic locations in order to capture compelling images in action sports. Their ultra progressive camera techniques, editing, and production value have earned them many prestigious awards, including 2007 and 2008 Emmy nominations for outstanding cinematography. For more information about Matchstick Productions, please visit http://WWW.SKIMOVIE.COM"

Rowing the Main River The impetus behind this journey is to connect our ancestral homelands, which is the main reason we planned our route to traverse Germany. My mother grew up in the land of bratwurst, and to a certain extent so did I. I went to kindergarten in Germany and every summer my mom and I would return to visit my relatives in Meppen. But now it's been seven years since my last visit and I was anxious to see my aunts and uncle again. My family lives a short distance from our route along the Rhine and Main Rivers so it was necessary to take a side trip by rail. My mother, who was also visiting, and my Uncle Herbert picked us up from the train station and so began a whirlwind three-day visit mostly centred around food. We dined on meals of smoked halibut, roast beef, and cured meats invariably followed by puddings or rhubarb strudel, each hearty meal designed to fuel us for a week. Second helpings were mandatory. My disused German slowly improved and Colin quickly learned a few key phrases like, "Ich bin zat" - I am full. Tracing my maternal family heritage was much quicker than Colin's as we could only go back two generations. All the records were lost in World War II when my family fled the Russians in East Prussia taking with them just what they could carry. My mother's family tree is flush with war-inflicted tragedy and it is an era they are happy to leave behind, instead focusing on the more comfortable lives they've built in Western Germany. Yet it is these hardships that have moulded them, instilling hardworking ethics and a "waste not want not" mentality that nowadays is called environmentalism. My Uncle's backyard is crowded with plum, cherry and pear trees. A verdant garden fertilized by household compost provides onions, shallots, rhubarb, and lettuce. The clothesline trumps the drier and lights are used sparingly. Interestingly, these thrifty attitudes are quite prevalent in Europe and Europeans emit less than half the CO2 emissions of North Americans, while living comfortably and healthily. We returned to our boats considerably more rotund that when we left. We departed from the historic city of Mainz situated at the confluence of the Main and Rhine Rivers and began paddling up the Main River against a current made negligible by frequent weirs made navigable by giant locks. We approached these behemoth gates with apprehension, nervous that we'd be yelled at and turned away as had happened all too frequently in France and on occasion in England and Scotland as well. But when I called the lockkeepers on the VHF radio and asked in my rusty German if we could pass the answer was invariably yes. One gregarious lockkeeper even emerged from his lofty tower to meet us and give us information on the upcoming locks. After a day and a half of peaceful paddling on the Main River we reached Frankfurt, a city that looks every bit the financial hub it's reputed to be. Modern glass buildings tower beside beautiful stone architecture from centuries prior. Fit people sip cappuccinos at waterside cafes, while others leisurely dangle fishing rods into the river. It was of the greatest coincidence that Frankfurt turned out to be another home away from home. Our good friends from Calgary-based Wallace and Carey happened to be in Frankfurt on the day we passed through and we were able to get together for an enjoyable evening. Human-powered boats are no longer a rare sight and we passed many 'rudder' (rowing) and 'kanu' clubs in the next few hours. Rowers would wave from their boats or docks, ask an array of questions in excellent English, and then invite us in for a coffee, snack, or even shower. Although we've been thrilled at how well-suited Germany is for long distance paddling, the bigger surprise is that more foreign tourists aren't doing this. I cannot imagine a more perfect way to see this country of rolling vineyards, forests, picturesque timber frame buildings and riverside bistros. We're now in Fechenbach in a riverside campground that serves amazing schnitzel and tomorrow we'll continue travelling towards the Danube River. See our photos from the week http://www.rowedtrip.com - Julie

The Hunting Yeti adventure continues with some volcanic action. The Nimbus Crew heads out to ride Mount Saint Helens, then don't miss the natural cornice wall ride at Hood. Oh, and some back flips. Got to have back flips.

Time to go visit Chris Benchetler in Mammoth. This is the first park riding of the season, as the group jumps into the Snowboard Mag, Superpark event. Then pack the car for a final camping trip on Mt. Hood and some sunset quarter pipe action.

"HUNTING YETI WILL HELP YOU GET THROUGH SUMMER MONTHS" WELCHES, Oregon (May 29, 2008) - The withdrawal from skiing can be hard during the summer, especially the first month after lifts close. Luckily Nimbus Independent is here to make it just a little easier with the release of their third "Hunting Yeti" webisode on June 15th. This latest installment has a fun, end of the season feel. Watch as the Nimbus Crew packs up their gear and heads out for some volcano camping on Mount St. Helens and Mt. Hood. Nothing like campfires, hot dogs and PBR during sunset sessions. Then there's playing on a cornice, doing natural wall rides. Also check out Chris Benchetlers neighborhood as the group converges on Mammoth Mountain, meets up with Garrett Russell and gets laps in at Snowboarder Magazines Superpark. Nimbus, along with Rip.Tv and its partners, is building a new model for filmmaking and what it means for audiences, athletes and sponsors through exclusive online distribution. "Hunting Yeti", presented by K2 Skis, is streamed using the Rip.Tv media player on our supporting partner websites: K2 Skis, Evogear, Helly Hansen, Oakley, Tecnica, Marker, Dragon, Dakine, Atomic, Line, Bern, VAS Entertainment, Freeskier, Fri Flyt, Transition, Fall Line Skiing, Skieur, Freeskiers.net, Raiders.ch, Skizofrenia, Chill Factor, Poor Boyz Productions, and Rip.Tv. The webisodes are also available for free as iPod and HD computer downloads. You can find it all on our producer's page at www.rip.tv/nimbusindependent. "Hunting Yeti" is presented by K2 Skis and produced by Nimbus Independent in association with Poor Boyz Productions. Nimbus is producing five webisodes premiering on the 15th of February, April, June, August, and October. Check out the final cut of "Hunting Yeti - The Film" in early September on DVD or on tour in a city near you.

Munich 2008. Helly Hansen has recently entered a partnership agreement with the BMW as the official supplier of clothing for the BMW Sailing Cup, an amateur sailing series addressed to all regatta and amateur sailors. The 2008 BMW Sailing Cup will host 22 qualification regattas and 1,400 expected entrants in Germany alone and the highlight of the BMW Sailing Cup Germany is the national final, which is staged in October at the Yachthafenresidenz Hohe Düne in Warnemünde. After the start of the 2008 season on the Flensburg Fjord, sails will be hoisted around Germany on almost every weekend through to the end of October. The official BMW Sailing Cup Staff Team is equipped by Helly Hansen's nautical inspired sportswear while the sailing teams are dressed up in technical sailing gear, polo's, caps and floating. Besides the regatta Helly Hansen and BMW are planning cooperation's in retail activities linked to the BMW Sailing Cup. Synergistic benefits between the partners will furthermore be used during the Kiel Week. Parallel to the regattas in Germany, the best teams are determined in eight other countries, including Italy, Spain and New Zealand. All the winning crews in the national finals can set course for the World Final of the 2008 BMW Sailing Cup, which is held next spring in Italy. Tourstops of the BMW Sailing Cups: * Flensburg, 25.-27.04.2008 * Kassel, 02.-04.05.2008 * Langenargen, 09. - 11.05.2008 * Münster, 16.-18.05.2008 * Hamburg, 23.-25.05.2008 * Leipzig, 30.05.-01.06.2008 * Dießen, 13.-15.06.2008 * Berlin, 04.-06.07.2008 * Warnemünde, 11.-13.07.2008 * Kiel, 18.-20.07.2008 * Senftenberg, 25.-27.07.2008 * Starnberg, 01.-03.08.2008 * Rathenow-Semlin, 08.-10.08.2008 * Lingen, 15.-17.08.2008 * Wilhelmshaven, 22.-24.08.2008 * Essen, 29.-31.08.2008 * GrÖmitz, 05.-07.09.2008 * Attendorn, 12.-14.09.2008 * Schwerin, 19.-21.09.2008 * Ratzeburg, 26.-28.09.2008 * Magdeburg, 03.-05.10.2008 * Ramsberg, 17.-19.10.2008 You can find more information at: www.bmw-yachtsport.com

Check out the interview with Eric Pollard on Rip TV. It gets into the details of his movie project, Nimbus Independent, Hunting Yeti. http://www.rip.tv/blog/articles/the-eric-pollard-interview

"Shin stunt doubled for a full length featured called "Deep Winter". The teaser is out and it looks pretty good. We can only hope that this is the "Hot Dog" of snow movies for this generation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR6ntGJllNc"