Sunsail has officially welcomed the first of its brand-new Jeanneau yachts to its UK charter fleet. The investment, worth £3.75m, will deliver 15 new Sunsail 41.0 yachts, with a further ten yachts arriving next year.
Based at Port Solent in Hampshire, the new fleet will be available for corporate events and charters on the UK south coast, starting in Portsmouth, Southampton, Cowes, Lymington and throughout the Solent.
To celebrate the arrival of the new fleet, Sunsail hosted yacht sponsors for a special naming ceremony at its Port Solent base, where they also got the opportunity to take the new yachts out for a sail on the Solent.
The naming ceremony was held for two of the charity yacht sponsors, The Magenta Project and Breathe Oceanic. Sunsail also announced two new yacht sponsors, Hyde Sails and Southampton Sailing Week, who will join The Magenta Project, Breathe Oceanic, Raymarine, The Yachtmarket.com, Opihr Gin and the BVI Tourist Board.
As part of the ceremony, Opihr Gin was poured over the bows of the yachts.
Nigel Grogan, the owner of Hyde Sails, said, “The team and I are absolutely thrilled to be making the sails for the new fleet. Sunsail does a wonderful job of exposing a lot of sailors to the fun of racing and cruising on the south coast.
“Their operation is top quality in respect of organisation, service and quality, all values that Hyde Sails share, making the partnership a great fit between both brands.
“We hope that the Hyde Sails sponsored boat will be thoroughly enjoyed by a lot of Sunsail customers this summer and beyond.”
Elaine Penhaul, chair of The Magenta Project, commented: “We are delighted to become part of the wider family of Sunsail.
“We look forward to exciting times creating more opportunity for women in our sport, from novices learning to sail right through to training as Yachtmaster instructors and racing in some of the most competitive regattas in the world.”
Simon Boulding, Sunsail events director, said: “We are overjoyed to welcome these stunning new yachts to the Sunsail UK fleet and are delighted to be welcoming Hyde Sails and Southampton Sailing Week to the Sunsail family.
We hope our customers enjoy chartering these fantastic yachts with sailing experiences that are fun, exciting and safe. The new fleet combines comfort and luxury and is unrivalled by any other charter fleet in the UK.”
The new Sunsail 41.0s are now available for charters in the UK. If you would like to book, please call +44 (0)2392 222 221.
Photography courtesy of Sportography.tv.