A new wardrobe: Hyde Sails to supply Clipper 2027-28 Race and HSY

Hyde Sails will supply the full sail wardrobe for the new Clipper RX fleet, with the partnership also extending for the first time to cover Hamble School of Yachting (HSY), the RYA recognised training school part of the Clipper Ventures umbrella. 

Few sails are tested as hard as those that are used on the Clipper Race. Over a circumnavigation of 40,000 nautical miles, crews work the sails through every climate and condition. 

The Clipper RX is a new generation yacht with a wider beam, a new bow and foredeck arrangement and a different approach to crew movement and sail handling. 

Hyde's sail plan for the RX is a new design, not an evolution of the Clipper 70 wardrobe. The sails have been developed as part of the boat, drawing on Hyde's years of experience and on advances in design, digital modelling and materials. 

Greg North, Head of Fleet Maintenance at Clipper Ventures, said: "Having Hyde Sails on board as our Official Sail Supplier brings continuity and valuable experience to the Clipper Race. They understand the demands we place on our sails and the balance we need between performance, durability and ease of handling. That experience will be important as we introduce the new RX boats, and for Hamble School of Yachting, where practical, dependable sails are central to training. 

"For our fleet, reliability means more than a sail holding its shape. Our sails need to withstand sustained use in demanding conditions, be manageable for crews with different levels of experience, and be straightforward to maintain and repair. Wear and damage are part of ocean racing, so being able to make effective repairs at sea and keep a sail in service is essential."

Hyde supports Clipper Race crews well before the start line, providing training on how to care for their sails and carry out repairs at sea. That support continues during the race, with the team on hand to help with repairs at stopovers along the route. 

Each RX yacht will carry eleven sails: a mainsail, a windseeker, three yankees, a staysail, three asymmetric spinnakers, a trysail and a storm jib. Fore and aft sails are crosscut, and the downwind sails are radial and the specification balances performance with durability and ease of repair. The sails are designed by Hyde’s in-house team and built at its wholly owned loft in Cebu, Philippines. 

"The RX isn't simply an evolution of the Clipper 70 wardrobe. It is a new sail package designed around a new generation of yacht. The boat has changed, so the sails need to change with it. Our job is to make sure the two work together as one system, delivering the performance required while retaining the robustness and reliability that ocean racing demands" said Charlie Bird, CEO, Hyde Sails.

Hyde will also supply sails to Hamble School of Yachting, the RYA affiliated training school that sits within Clipper Ventures. Students at Hamble School of Yachting can progress through structured RYA training and eventually towards a professional sailing career, making dependable sails a core part of their learning experience.   

We want to ensure every sailor learns something new about their boat from us, whether that is how to care for a sail, understand sail shape, recognise wear or simply appreciate the amount of design and engineering that goes into the equipment they are using.

Training puts different demands on a sail compared to ocean racing. A Clipper Race yacht might hold a reef for ten days, while a teaching boat might reef ten times in a day. Hyde has built Hamble School of Yachting's sails to a dedicated school specification, with built-in fuses that give way before any serious damage occurs and show instructors where 'points of stress' may be developing.