Issue date
Boat Coat – New Zealand’s dedicated specialists in marine vinyl wrapping and finishing – are proud to sponsor 19-year-old Kiwi sailor Cory McLennan in his bid to become the youngest person ever to take on the Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge yacht race this April.
The gruelling Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge has a history of shipwrecks, abandonments and cyclones, and is a test for even the most experienced offshore sailors. This will be Cory’s first major solo race, as well as his first offshore race as skipper.
“The race is a test to all sailors, but it’s a challenge I want to take on.” Says Cory. “My dream is to be a great sailor. Sir Peter Blake is my hero; he is the reason I got into sailing, and the reason why I want to keep sailing. To become half the man he was – as a sailor, a leader, and a New Zealander – would be my ultimate achievement.”
Astonishingly, Cory is two years younger than the minimum age requirement for the race, but he was determined to take on the challenge.
“I contacted the race organisers and put my case forward. They replied “if teenagers can sail solo around the world, they can do this race”. I have been accepted with the requirements of at least 1000 nautical miles solo sailing time, and that my yacht and equipment is up to standard.”
This tremendously challenging race will see Cory set sail from New Plymouth, NZ, on Easter Sunday, 20 April 2014, and sail non-stop and unassisted across the Tasman Sea to Mooloolaba, Australia.
The journey of 1380 nautical miles (2556 km) is expected to take between 10 and 14 days, depending on the unpredictable and often dangerous Tasman Sea weather.
Cory hails from Greymouth on the rugged West Coast of NZ and has had to overcome the challenges of living in a remote West Coast town to work his way up to competitive solo keelboat sailing.
“Living on the West Coast made achieving my dreams difficult because of how remote Greymouth is. I couldn’t just go down to the marina and get a spot on a yacht. So I’ve moved myself up to Auckland and obtained a sail making apprenticeship, to give me more opportunities in sailing.
“From the age of seven I’ve read about and watched people sail around the world. The idea of taking on the globe by sail excites my imagination. It’s something I dream about and think about all the time. So it’s time I did something about it. I want to take the next step in my sailing career, by taking on the Solo Trans-Tasman yacht race in 2014.” Cory says.
In February 2013 Cory bought ‘Atom Ant’ – a Coulson 9m designed for solo offshore sailing. But like most competitive sailors, he has to rely on sponsorship to get him to the start line.
Dan Nicholson and Helen Horrocks, Directors of Boat Coat, recognised a true ‘Kiwi battler’ when they saw one, and they have stepped in, with the generous support of supplier Computaleta, to offer Cory full sponsorship of a vinyl boat wrap.
“This free ‘facelift’ will ensure Cory’s bright red boat is utterly unmistakeable when she crosses the start line for this year’s Solo Trans-Tasman Challenge,” Helen says.
About Boat Coat
Boat Coat are NZ’s vinyl boat wrapping specialists. Vinyl wrapping is an innovative alternative to boat painting that’s faster, cleaner, cheaper and easier to repair than spray paint. Boat Coat is the first company in NZ to specialise exclusively in this exciting new product.
Using specialist vinyl film 3M Series 1080, provided by Authorised 3M Distributors Computaleta Group, Boat Coat will transform Atom Ant’s faded paint finish to look like new in as little as a day. A comparable paint job could take up to two weeks, and cost up to three times more.
Media representatives are warmly invited to visit Pier 21 Marine Centre, 15 Westhaven Drive, Auckland, to see the boat wrap in progress, and to meet Cory McLennan and his sponsors.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Helen Horrocks at Boat Coat – Helen@vinylboatwrap.co.nz or 0211 583 199 – for further details.
