Official Supplier sign ups continue as Whale Marine joins campaign

Keeping the water out with Whale… With last month marking the 2-year countdown to the start of the 2022 Golden Globe Race, preparations for the circumnavigation have continued to ramp up with another Official Supplier joining the HJ Sailing campaign.

Whale Marine, a leading brand of innovative freshwater, bilge and waste pumps systems and part of the Brunswick Advanced Systems Group (ASG), has signed up as an Official Supplier.

“It’s really great to have Whale Marine on board, they have always been the go-to name for quality marine bilge pumps with a great track record of producing the best products on the market,” explains Ian.

“The team have really stepped up for us, both with their support and their technical advice for the design. Replacing Puffin’s old GRP water tanks gave us the opportunity to rethink the bilge and freshwater system, and with Whale’s help we will soon have a fully redundant bilge arrangement that can be operated automatically and manually both from below decks or in the cockpit”

Whale Marine’s involvement in bilge pumps goes back to 1939 when they were commissioned by the Royal Navy to produce brass bilge pumps.

Thanks to their involvement, Puffin will be fitted out with three brand new electric bilge pumps, an Orca 2000 for high volume, a Gulper 320 and a very smart Bilge IC unit for the small forward bilge area. Puffin will also receive new classic Mk 5 manual bilge pumps along with freshwater pumps and taps for the heads and galley to ensure everything is best possible condition for the Golden Globe Race in 2022.

“I’m looking forward to getting out on the water and trying the new equipment out once it is installed, although hopefully with only the “normal” levels of water to be pumped out”, continues Ian.

Whale Marine’s products are designed, manufactured and marketed from their Bangor, Northern Ireland base and with sales offices in the UK and USA offer worldwide shipping and distribution.

Rodney Saunderson, Commercial Director of Marine at Whale, said, “We are delighted to be sponsoring Ian’s 2022 Golden Globe Race by providing him with some of our longstanding marine products. To sail 30,000 miles solo non-stop is a remarkable endeavour and given the magnitude of the challenge, Ian has chosen a selection of Whale products renowned for their durability and longevity. With reliable, safe equipment a necessity, we hope it will provide Ian with reassurance throughout the duration of his journey – we wish him all the best in his preparations and can’t wait to cheer him on.”

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