Technology
High expectations
In little more than 12 months’ time Chris Nicholson will have his seventh go at winning the Ocean Race (née Whitbread). And he’s not going to let any leaky clothing slow him down...
After more than 50,000 miles of testing and refinement, Zhik has launched its new OFS800 offshore range. Zhik set out to create the most breathable offshore gear yet seen in the sailing world, and breathability is a cause close to Chris Nicholson’s heart – not to mention his skin.
From 2001 to 2017, Nicholson competed in all six editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. It’s a race he’s yet to win, which is why Nicholson will be leaving no stone unturned in his quest for victory as skipper of W Ocean Racing in next year’s Ocean Race. ‘The turnaround time between race legs is so tight that if you get your clothing choices wrong, you can end up with some nasty rashes and infections that might not heal in time for the start of the next leg. Breathability isn’t just a comfort factor, it’s a health factor.’ Allowing the skin to breathe is one thing. The more widely understood factor which remains as important as ever is the ability to regulate body temperature. ‘This got harder for me as I moved into the skipper’s role,’ says Nicholson. ‘When you’re up and downstairs, getting firehosed on deck and then down to the nav station but you haven’t got time to take your gear off before you get up on deck again - that’s when you really struggle to
68 SEAHORSE
regulate your body temperature. That’s why I’m fully into what Zhik is doing with the new OFS800 range, because higher levels of breathability are what we need from offshore gear.’ OFS800 uses eVent membrane technology, widely used by military, safety and fire-firefighters worldwide for its exceptional breathability and durability, which has been adapted for ocean sailing. As body heat varies during different activity levels its extreme breathability comes from its ability to dynamically regulate temperature through very fast moisture transfer.
The big name in breathable technology, known to everyone in the offshore world, is Gore-Tex. So, can Zhik really expect to surmount that mighty reputation with eVent? It’s a big name in other markets, but how will eVent stand up to the salt-water challenges of ocean sailing? Zhik’s head of design and production, Drue Kerr, is confident in the superior breathability of eVent fabric and stands by the extensive testing that’s been performed. ‘Along with the rest of our team, I was there when we started testing prototypes in the 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race. We were working really closely with Team AkzoNobel and Dongfeng Race Team, and at least one of our design
Above: Zhik has launched a brand new range of high performance ocean sailing gear after 50,000 miles of testing and a massive R&D process with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. The resulting OFS800 range is claimed to take breath- ability to a whole new level
team was with the sailors at every single stopover, trying to get an understanding of how the gear was performing and where we could improve. At one stopover we even fitted temperature probes to each of the sailors and made them row on a rowing machine while wearing all their offshore gear. From that testing we got a whole lot of data and feedback that has really helped inform the developments we made for this new range.’
Zhik takes pride in looking beyond the obvious, and the decision to go with eVent is one such example of moving beyond the traditional bounds of the marine industry. ‘eVent has its own membrane technology which is already quite prevalent in the outdoor industry. We tested it against GoreTex and all the other big-name membranes out there and eVent was the best one for our particular purpose. ‘It was a massive process which we carried out in partnership with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). RMIT has a world class material research department where we developed our own bespoke machines to test the durability of fabrics and membranes that replicate abrasion, bumps, hits and everything to ensure that not
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