Henri Lloyd & Purple present ‘AINSLIE collection clothing

Lucy Yates is selected by Henri Lloyd and Purple Marine to receive support in the form of a selection of technical marine clothing jointly designed by Henri Lloyd and double gold medallist Ben Ainslie © Henri Lloyd

Henri Lloyd & Purple Marine present future sailing prospects with latest ‘AINSLIE’ collection clothing

Matthew Venables, 11 from Sutton Coldfield and Lucy Yates, 12 from Warrington have both been selected by Henri Lloyd and Purple Marine to receive support in the form of a selection of technical marine clothing jointly designed by Henri Lloyd and double gold medallist Ben Ainslie. Both Matthew and Lucy were selected as a result of their recent achievements in the RYA Topper West Zone squad which had been noticed by staff at Purple Marine.

Through Henri Lloyd’s partnership with their retailer network, promising young sailors will receive a selection of the Ben Ainslie Junior Collection.

Ben Ainslie has worked in conjunction with Henri Lloyd to design this junior range which includes spray tops, hiking pants, rash vests and a selection of accessories, the collection all has a unique design and carries the Ben Ainslie signature.

Ben’s unsurpassed sailing career, which ranges from Optimists, Lasers, Finn’s and more recently America’s Cup campaigns ensured an in depth sailing knowledge and experience was brought to the design and development of the range.

“I have been sailing since I was eight years old and know how important it is to be properly kitted out whilst on the water, therefore developing a junior clothing range was really important to me, especially if it will inspire young sailors. Henri Lloyd understands the needs of the sailor and we have designed a range that is fun and comfy which also enables you to move freely around the boat, once it’s on it works, and you can forget about it and focus on performing on the water”. Ben Ainslie

Henri Lloyd and Ben have a long history together; he has been supported by Henri Lloyd since 1996 which has included both his Sydney and Athens gold medal winning successes and other big boat campaigns. At the Collins Stewart London Boat Show 2007, Henri Lloyd announced the sponsorship of Ben until after the 2012 London Olympics.

Purple Marine was established in 2000 and has quickly become one of the most recognised names in specialist marine clothing retail, Purple Marine have built a strong relationship with Henri Lloyd over the years with Henri Lloyd being one of the strongest brands they offer both on-line and at the London and Southampton Boat Shows.

Purple Marine has always seen the importance in supporting youth sailors and involves itself with as many events and competitions as possible as well as having 5 fully sponsored sailors that they are helping to progress to a very high standard.

“The new Ainslie collection is great, it’s nice to see so much time & effort go in to producing a performance range specifically for junior sailors. It’s important to have the correct clothing to be comfy and allow you to perform to the best of your ability, the Ainslie range certainly allows this. Purple Marine is very thrilled to be able to support two local youth sailors by providing them with some superb kit. Overall I am very pleased to have the Ainslie range on our shelves”. Greg O’Brien; Purple Marine