Interview with Paul Strzelecki of Henri Lloyd at AAM Cowes Week
by Mark Jardine 18 Aug 2015 17:09 BST
8-15 August 2015
Mr Henri with his son's Paul & Martin Strzelecki © Henri Lloyd
We talked to Paul Strzelecki, the son of Mr Henri, original founder of Henri Lloyd, about his previous sailing at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, Henri Lloyd's relationship with Sir Ben Ainslie and Land Rover BAR and the new ranges set for 2016.
Mark Jardine: Paul, you've got a house over in Gurnard, so Cowes must be pretty close to your heart. During Cowes Week, what is it that draws you as a sailor, and what do you enjoy about Cowes Week itself?
Paul Strzelecki: The spectacle, first and foremost. From the moment you get on Red Jet, you're coming across the Solent near Bramble Bank, and you see this mass of boats, at whatever stage of racing - whether its on the start or coming up to the finish - it's a phenomenal spectacle and I defy anyone not to be moved every time they see it. I've been seeing it and been part of it for over 30 years.
Mark Jardine: What do you think are the unique challenges of Cowes Week when you're racing, and how does that draw you, as a sailor. to the event?
Paul Strzelecki: It's the challenge. The combination of usually quite long courses (sometimes the competitors don't really understand why they set them in such a direction; long reaches where no-one can make any changes to the order) and wind and tide. It's all there and it changes. Today it's been chucking it down this morning, we had thunder and lightening, but it's starting to brighten up and the sun is peeking through. There are so many different challenges; things like rocks - I see a Redwing got stuck on rocks off the Green, and I heard on the radio that other boats were hitting rocks.
Mark Jardine: A couple of weeks ago we had the America's Cup World Series in Portsmouth, and you've partnered with Land Rover BAR. Your relationship with Ben has gone back twenty years now. How did you spot him and decide, "he's a man for the future, he's a good man to sponsor"?
Paul Strzelecki: First of all, no-one dreamed he would get to where he is now. I think if Ben's honest even he wouldn't have dreamt it! We had sponsored several Olympic sailors, and a good friend of mine is Jim Saltonstall; to be honest I just asked Jim. We were sponsoring the youth squad, Ben was in the youth squad and did very well. I think they won the Youth Worlds in Athens. After Ben won silver in Atlanta I decided to have a chat with him. Always at Henri Lloyd we like to have the right sort of character fit with our sponsored sailors - we don't just sponsor anyone. I thought Ben was a great guy, and he's still basically, certainly off the water, that same humble nice guy that he was 20 years ago.
Mark Jardine: It must produce some unique challenges with the new America's Cup class yachts and the complete step change in sailing with the foiling catamarans. What challenges does this present for the clothing that they have to wear, and what you have to produce for the team?
Paul Strzelecki: We're not really a wetsuit manufacturer, but the wetsuit is very much a part of their kit. We've worked very closely with the team, in particular with Nick Hutton and Matt Cornwell. Ben was involved in the early stages and in agreeing what the overall strategy was with the kit. One challenge is the intensity of work they do on the boat, also between races they can get very cold. We designed particular items of kit which were used in training and at the ACWS Portsmouth. As we all know it was pretty horrible weather there, most of the time. The kit that we designed was particularly appreciated, especially between races. They could look across at some of the other crews who were getting quite chilly, but the Land Rover BAR team were ready for the next race. It is totally different, as an amateur sailor myself, you look at these beasts they are racing now, and then look at the athleticism of the sailors, as well as their strength - it's mind-blowing. We've really had to tear up all our design ideas used on other types of sailing and start from scratch, listening to and working with the guys. Thankfully they are really happy with what we've done.
Mark Jardine: With lot of sailing kit now, it seems the difference between what you wear on the water, and what you wear on land, is shrinking. What have Henri Lloyd got planned for the 2016 clothing ranges?
Paul Strzelecki: Well we've got a much bigger section of our collection called HL+ which focusses a lot more on multi-use. It's kit that will work perfectly on a boat, but you can use it for other activities. We are developing ideas, technical attributes, that we've already worked very hard on over the last five or probably ten years, going back to the America's Cup in 2003. Quick-drying, lighter weight fabrics with reinforcement in key places. Sometimes maybe we push a little bit too much and we get some crews saying, "Actually this is wearing too quickly." But we learn quickly and we alter things. The world of sailing - not just with the America's Cup - has changed a lot. There is probably not as much offshore sailing as before; there's a lot more round-the-cans racing and people chase the sun (very sensible as well!). So we have to take that into account when designing our kit.
Mark Jardine: It seems sailing is back on the up at the moment, with a lot of new builds, and of course the interest Ben Ainslie has generated, and also the interest the new America's Cup yachts have generated. Are you seeing that coming through into sales for Henri Lloyd?
Paul Strzelecki: This year generally our sales are ahead of last year's, which were ahead of the year before. Whether that is just part of the economic cycle, I'm not sure. We had people buying the official team gear at the Portsmouth ACWS event, and we had the Royal couple wearing our tops - there was a bit of a spike in web sales for a couple of days. There's no question, Ben leading the British team, has started to get into the mainstream. There are a lot more feature articles in newspapers, on the TV - the BBC and BT Sport feature it a lot - and I think that can only help sailing because it portrays the sport as what we all know it is: very exciting. It may be only one area of sailing, but if it piques people's interest then it's good. Watching the racing at Portsmouth, to listen to the crowd...when one of the boats flipped up and slammed down there was a mass exclamation of "whoa!". I had never experienced that before. The closest was on the Nothe in Weymouth when Ben got his gold, and Bart and Percy got their silver. It's phenomenal. It's never been experienced before.
Mark Jardine: So sailing, after a number of false starts, is actually becoming a spectator sport?
Paul Strzelecki: Yes, to a point. I think there will always be the unique nature of the weather, the wind and tide. It's much easier to watch with this new setup of the America's Cup, and let's hope it continues.
Mark Jardine: Paul, it's been great to get your thoughts on Cowes Week, the America's Cup World Series, Land Rover BAR and Henri Lloyd. Thank you for your time.
Paul Strzelecki: A pleasure.
www.aamcowesweek.co.uk