Beneteau 40.7 National Champions powered by Hyde Sails
by Hyde Sails 16 Oct 2006 13:11 BST
The Hyde Sails powered Beneteau 40.7 'Playing Around' © Eddie Mays
Peter Robson owner and skipper of ‘Playing Around’ and his crew were declared 2006 Beneteau 40.7 British Champions at this year’s Vice Admirals Cup. Hosted by the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club on the last weekend of September with 33 boats entered. The wind blew from the south all weekend and ranged from the mid teens to well over thirty knots making for challenging conditions. Sunday was definitely the windier of the two days with gusts over 30 knots.
Peter has been sailing for the last 33 years and love of the sport is something that runs in the family. His children have crewed for him since the ages of 8 and 9 always enjoying windy challenging conditions. This year the 40.7 National Championships was no exception with the crew made up of young family and friends.
Peter adds:
‘Children are so agile which is a great thing and they really love it. There is always an excellent team atmosphere and great excitement when everything comes together.’
Peter has been a Hyde customer for several years since he started sailing RS 400’s and Fireballs - noting that his Hyde sails ‘never let him down’. When he started big boat sailing the natural choice was obvious and ‘Playing Around’ is powered by a full suit of Hyde Sails.
Peter comments:
‘The good thing about the Hyde team is they listen to my requirements in terms of design and modifications. They make exactly what I want. The sails have got better and better and so have my results!’
The main competition this year was from ‘Love Shack’ and also Peter Newlands entry ‘Anticipation’. Richard Franks, Sales and Marketing Director for Hyde was on board as tactician and with good boat speed and smart decisions the crew secured three 3rd’s and a 1st on day one and a 1st on the second making them the overall winners. It was the first time ‘Playing Around’, with a crew of 12, had entered the regatta and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
Peter added:
‘For the 40.7s the level racing has worked extremely well. Tactically you sail a very different race when you are level rating, it’s far more exciting when you know you have to beat someone over the line. It was great having Richard on board – real hands on stuff. We will defiantly be back next year.’
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