Professional ocean racing yachtsmen Conrad Humphreys announced today, a two boat entry in to the Archipelago Raid as Team BLUE™.
The Archipelago Raid will start near to Stockholm, Sweden on Monday 30 July 2007. For five intense days and nights, 30 top class double handed teams from 11 different countries will navigate the amazing labyrinth of thousands of islands and rocks along the Scandinavia route, on Formula 18 catamarans. Along the way they must find almost 30 checkpoints located on beaches, pontoons, boats and lighthouses.
The Team BLUE™ entry in to the Archipelago Raid will consist of British F18 National Champions, Matt Eeles and Jamie Butterworth in one boat. The second Team BLUE™ boat will be skippered by Conrad himself who will be accompanied by Ryan Crawford recent runner up in the F18 European Championships.
Conrad Humphreys comments: "The Archipelago Raid will provide Ryan and I with a great opportunity to sail together under tense conditions. We both have some catamaran experience – Ryan competing at the top level on the Formula 18 circuit and me with the Extreme 40 but this event will be quite different! The Archipelago Raid is set in some of the most pristine surroundings and this will be a great event to compete in and raise awareness of the BLUE™ Climate and Oceans Project".
Team BLUE™ will compete in Hobie Tiger Catamarans and will be sponsored by Disc Manufacturing Services, Corum, Hobie Cat UK and Navico.
Dave Summers, MD of Disc Manufacturing Services said 'This is an incredibly challenging race where not only the skills of the sailors will be tested but their ability to stay awake for nearly 5 days and nights with minimal rest'. We were delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor Team BLUE™ in this event to help spread the message about caring for the worlds oceans and environment.'
The Team BLUE™ entry in to the Archipelago Raid will be featured as a sporting adventure of the BLUE™ Climate and Oceans Project and updates on the progress of both teams can be found at www.theblueproject.org. Launched by Conrad as a new environmental initiative, the BLUE™ Project aims to harness people's fascination with adventure and human endeavour. Through association with 'clean' sports like sailing, surfing, wake-boarding, kite surfing, swimming, diving and snowboarding, BLUE™ aims to inspire us to want to take care of the environment and to think BLUE™ whilst going about our day to day lives.