Highfield Boats announces partnership with Pip Hare Ocean Racing
by Highfield Boats 26 Sep 2022 07:33 PDT
Pip Hare takes control of her Highfield Patrol 760 alongside her IMOCA 60 Medallia © Highfield Boats
Highfield Boats is pleased to announce a partnership with Pip Hare Ocean Racing, supplying the team with a bespoke Patrol 760 RIB, a boat specially designed for demanding offshore conditions, in support of Pip's global sailing campaign.
The RIB will support the programme which includes preparation for Pip's next great challenge, the 2024 Vendée Globe single handed non-stop round the world race, on her new foiling IMOCA, Medallia. Pip is one of only eight women who have already completed a gruelling Vendee Globe, the 2020 edition.
In preparation for the Vendée, Pip will be competing in the forthcoming Route du Rhum which starts this November 2022. "A support RIB with good power and manoeuvrability is essential for us," says Pip. "We're pleased to have this partnership with Highfield Boats. Our team has already taken delivery of the RIB, and we have the reassurance of its integrity and design, to enable our support team to keep close to Medallia in what can be challenging offshore seas. It feels good, too, that the boat is made of recyclable materials."
The Highfield Patrol 760, powered by Honda UK Power, is a perfect working platform for the Pip Hare Ocean Racing team. With its deep V hull the Patrol 760 is a commercial quality RIB built to withstand the toughest of conditions while giving a soft dry ride, so it's the perfect pursuit boat to keep up with Medallia.
The partnership announcement continues the tradition for Highfield Boats, the world's leading aluminium RIB manufacturer, of being a core partner of the Global IMOCA fleet. Steve Harrison of Highfield Boats says: "We are very proud to partner with Pip - we closely followed her progress and achievements through the Vendée Globe 2020, earning her place as one of the world's top offshore sailors. Her commitment to pushing the boundaries fits with our brand ethos, that of daring to explore further."
The package includes a second RIB from Highfield to provide further technical support which will be supplied to Pip Hare Ocean Racing in the next few months.