The French have a certain “Je ne sais quoi?” when it comes to fashion. The hottest offshore race fashion is to transfer the love of bold color and style onto corporate branded yachts. In the past, British and American boats have been lettered up similar to corporate-sponsored athletes, whose clothing is covered with wordy logos.
The artistic French, however, have taken out their paintbrushes to brighten up two recently launched British-built Open 60 boats: Alex Thompson’s carbon black Hugo Boss and Estrella Damm — a bright red flowered and star-studded masterpiece with enough visual impact to also grab the attention of American solo sailor Jonathan McKee. McKee is noted for starting the trend in North America of the Mini 6.5 solo class in offshore racing. He will join skipper Guillermo Altadill in November to test Estrella Damm’s mettle at the two-handed, non-stop Barcelona World Race. The event will be a great opportunity to see where sailing fashion and function can work together.
Susan Viets
