Excercise Transglobe
Grapefruit Graphics are proud to be involved with the 2009 – 2010 Exercise Transglobe, a major expedition that is open to members of all three Armed Forces personnel (regular and reserve). It is an ocean crossing, Adventurous Sail Training circumnavigation in 13 stages using three identical Challenge 67 (67ft/20.4m) steel hulled yachts owned by the MOD and operated out of the Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre at Gosport, Hampshire.
Each Service has been assigned one of the Challenge 67 yachts for the duration of the Exercise and the crews will be changed at each destination. Over 550 personnel will participate throughout the course of the year. Selected crews will represent their respective Service in both the 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the 2010 Antigua Race Week, pitting themselves against each other and the cream of the world’s professional race teams.
Grapefruit were contacted to brand each yacht to represent the crews on board. The Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force are brands in their own right, so, using their individual colours and logo’s we took to the task of wrapping the aft end of the hull, including the transom, with a gradient of their corporate colour. Each boat had sponsor logos’ applied to the topsides on both sides of the hull. These logo’s were positioned, equally spaced, leaving the first 20% of hull space free on the bow for any race sponsor branding for the Sydney – Hobart Race and for Antigua Week.
Seven members of the Grapefruit Graphics team travelled to Gosport to apply the graphics to meet the requirements of a short deadline. Luckily the weather just about held off for us – the sun even showed itself for some of it!
Grapefruit Graphics were also commissioned to supply forestay flags for the exercise, and to supply and apply the service and major sponsor logo’s to the mainsails of all three yachts. The sails were branded using a selection of colour washed and digitally printed sail insignia cloth at the Grapefruit Graphics HQ in Whiteley. They are extremely heavy taffeta sails, which took at least 3 men to lift, so again it was all hands on deck!
All three yachts were completed in time for the Patron’s Reception on Thursday 9th July, a ‘thank you’ hog-roast organised for all those involved in Exercise Transglobe, those working on the build-up and those partaking in the race itself. Looking extremely smart in their Service colours, the yachts and crews were ready for the race!
Exercise Transglobe started on Saturday 11th July 2009, from The Solent. With the Royal Navy escorting the three yachts as they left Portsmouth Harbour in procession, they took up their positions ready for the official start gun at 13:00. You can follow the yachts’ progress around the world via there website: www.exercisetransglobe.com