Use it Again! is under starter’s orders. Ellen MacArthur’s former trimaran which will be sailed by project founder Romain Pilliard and Spanish ace Alex Pella will leave La Trinité-sur-Mer very soon heading for Cadiz, from where they will set off in pursuit of a round-the-world ‘the wrong way’ circumnavigation record. (*). Whilst completing their preparation the pair of co-skippers made sure they took on board ample cartridges of adhesives and resins supplied by Araldite who are the technical partner of the project. On such a long and very demanding challenge these will undoubtedly be useful!
This partnership was formed a few months ago, as explained by Clément Denis, who is director of commercial development and operational marketing at Huntsman, the owner of the Araldite brand – and who is also a former sailor on the Mini circuit: “Following an article published in May in Tip & Shaft, Romain was one of a number of people who contacted us. We liked his project, firstly because it is very challenging; secondly because, even if we all want them to need to use our products as little as possible, he and Alex are probably going to use them at some point during the trip and in some pretty hostile marine environments.”
Within the framework of this technical collaboration, Clément Denis and his team have supplied Romain Pilliard with the appropriate adhesives (polyurethanes, epoxy, methacrylates), resins and Araldite hardeners, which they needed whilst preparing for this round-the-world passage, but also advising how and what they could be used for. By accompanying each product with a simplified sheet explaining the conditions under which a particular adhesive should be used and for which particular type of requirement…
“We used certain products during the preparation, especially when it was necessary to make a monolithic glued join for some reinforcements of panels,” confirms Romain Pilliard. “Besides this we are taking on board adhesives for possible repairs at sea, some adapted to the temperatures, be that heat or damp and cold, such as the Araldite 2051, which adheres very well under water and in the cold. As we are leaving for three or four months, we have not scrimped on taking materials, we should have whatever is needed!”
And for Araldite, this partnership goes beyond a simple supply of products, it is also part of their global strategy of sustainable development: “The message conveyed by Romain about the circular economy and recycling is absolutely a key element for us,” confirms Clément Denis. “Within our Advanced Materials division, we have launched a life cycle analysis of our products which shows that many of them are partly biobased, our aim is to go further and to offer more eco-responsible products. This is also why we are in the process of hiring a sustainability manager.”
(*) No multihull to date has completed this round-the-world trip ‘the wrong way round/westabouts’ and there is no reference time for two handed, the record (single-handed) having been held since 2004 by Jean-Luc Van den Heede (122 days 14 hours 3 minutes) after he left Ushant.
