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A landmark UK-Abu Dhabi co-operation has led to a major breakthrough for the offshore clothing industry. A tie-up between Britain’s MUSTO and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (ADOR) – the emirate’s entry for the 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race – has created the world’s first personal climate controlled outfits which keeps the wearer at a comfortable 23 degrees Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) no matter where they are in the world.
The prototype suits – which keep the wearer warm in freezing temperatures and cool in the heat of the tropics – began a pilot trial programme on April 1st with the testers being ADOR’s Skipper, double Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker and his Emirati crew member Adil Khalid, before the entire team is equipped with their own breakthrough suits.
“ADOR set us the challenge for which we used space-age technology based on materials and design used to manufacture suits for astronauts,” explained Nigel Musto, President of MUSTO.
The super-lightweight one-piece Personal Climate Controlled (PCC) suitwas commissioned after physiologists in Abu Dhabi city – the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - discovered that the Emirates’ warm winter conditions, which average 23 degrees Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) in December and January, were perfect for peak athletic performance and muscle recovery.
Ian Walker says the prototype suits delivered very positive training results during the recent first sails on Azzam.
"I’m certain that thePCC Suit is a real game changer,” said Walker.“We’re now able to sail around the world in our own microclimates which we can set to mimic a perfect Abu Dhabi December day. It’s set to be the most comfortable Volvo Ocean Race I’ve ever done.
“During testing, the Adil and I have seen remarkable improvements in the speed of recovery from long days at sea and heavy training sessions in the gym.”
The super-lightweight, lycraone-piece PCCs will now be worn exclusively by the ADOR as they tackle the 38,739 nautical mile, round-the-world race, which begins in Alicante this October and is due to stopover in Abu Dhabi in December/January.
Adil Khalid is particularly excited about the breakthrough.
“I’ve been sailing all around the world for many years so I spend a lot of time away from the UAE. Without question the two things I miss most, aside from my family, are the Emirati food and the beautiful weather,” said Khalid.
“Knowing that I will now be able to race, whilst always enjoying the UAE winter temperatures, is such bonus – I’ll be able to take a little bit of my home around the world with me.”
To activate the suits on board their new yacht Azzam, the ADOR crew will plug themselves into specially designed units at the back of the boat. Once attached, the sailors can dial up their desired body temperature.
And MUSTO believes once the Volvo Ocean Race is over – it finishes in Gothenburg, Sweden next June, the PCCs could be rolled out into conventional clothing types.
"For years we’ve been trying to reduce clothing weight whilst maintaining performance. Now with the innovative Abu Dhabi PCC suit we’ve achieved a significant weight reduction in kit, about 90% or 80kg, and also improved both performance and recovery by allowing sailors to maintain a consistent muscle temperature. The performance gains we have seen as a result are extremely significant.
“We hope to market the product internationally by the end of July 2015.”
The Abu Dhabi PCC suits will undergo four months of further tests and modifications as part of ADOR’s training programme in Europe and North America before the final race-ready suits are handed over to the team in September.
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