Volvo OR champion Rob Greenhalgh joins North Sails Sydney
by North Sails 19 Sep 2018 09:32 UTC
Rob Greenhalgh at the helm of MAPFRE - 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race © Ugo Fonolla / Volvo Ocean Race
North Sails have announced that Robert Greenhalgh has joined the team in Sydney, Australia.
Rob is key hire for North Sails and will be focused on sales and customer support.
Greenhalgh’s notable achievements on the water over the last 15 years include five Volvo Ocean Races, winning the 2005/06 VOR and placing second in two others. He was a watch captain on MAPFRE in the just completed Volvo Ocean Race being one of three entries tied on points going into the final Leg. As well Rob has a strong competitive sailing background in 18ft Skiffs and foiling Moths, in which he is a past World Champion.
Most recently Rob sailed aboard Matt Allen's TP52 Ichi Ban at last month's Hamilton Island Race Week.
Rob's many achievements mark him out as one of the leading experts in the industry to advise North Sails clients around the world on how they can improve their sailing experience.
As noted above, Rob has competed in five Volvo Ocean Races, winning the prestigious event with ABN AMRO ONE in 2006 and finishing second on two occasions with PUMA & Mapfre . He has seen extensive success in different size boats, having previously been a World Champion in both the 18ft Skiff & International 14 Classes, and he has also won National and European titles in the International Moth Class.
Offshore, Rob was part of the transatlantic record-breaking team onboard Comanche (now based in Sydney) and has a number of other records to his name including Fastnet records, both monohull and multihull, and the Caribbean 600. Rob also has extensive multihull experience, winning the Extreme Sailing Series in 2007, finishing second in 2008, and more recently sailing onboard both MOD70 & D35’s.
Speaking about Greenhalgh joining North Sails, company President Ken Read commented, “I picked Rob to be on my team with PUMA in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008-09 and onboard Comanche as I know he is one of the top guys in our sport. His experience across both offshore and inshore racing puts him in a unique position to be able to advise a huge number of our clients as they seek to get more out of their sails and boat performance. Having sailed with, and against, Rob for over ten years, I am excited to see the value he will bring to our customers around the world as he continues racing from Moths to Maxis.”
Rob commented: “Having spent so much of my career using North Sails I am delighted to be joining such a world class organization. There is no doubt that to be a winner, every part of your setup needs to be the best that it can be so joining North Sails was a very natural move for me - I want to provide the best products on the market to as many people as possible to help them achieve their aims.”
Following the conclusion of the recent Volvo Ocean Race, Rob has chosen Sydney as his home base where he will be joining the North Sails team in Australia. He will be providing customer service and consultancy relevant to his wealth of experience from Moths, One Design keel boats, IRC rated boats, Maxis, up through yachts built for offshore racing.