facts & figures DHL the Official Logistics Partner of the RC 44 Class DHL and RC 44 the logistics partnership

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1 facts & figures DHL the Official Logistics Partner of the RC 44 Class DHL and RC 44 the logistics partnership DHL has been the official logistics partner of the RC 44 class since the start of the 2008 sailing season. The RC 44 class is the association of the RC 44 regatta teams and organizes the RC 44 Championship Tour, a series of regattas with an international reputation which attracts the elite of the world s sailors. With a total of six regattas in Europe and the Middle East, the RC 44 Championship Tour, now in its third year, has developed into a permanent fixture on the international regatta circuit. The last race of the 2008 season is the Dubai RC 44 Gold Cup in November, against the skyline of this well-known metropolis of the Middle East. In its capacity of official logistics partner, DHL carries out the entire transport work for the RC 44 Championship Tour. Here the focus is on the yachts and the equipment for the regatta teams. DHL does not just contribute its special expertise as one of the market leaders worldwide but, through its GoGreen climate protection program, also ensures that the environmental friendliness of sailing continues on land.

2 The RC 44 Class The Sailing Class The symbiosis between a demanding amateur sport and an elite of professional sailors is at the heart of the RC 44 class: only half of each team may consist of professional yachtsmen, and the team owner must be at the helm himself, for which reason he is referred to as the owner-driver. This owner-driver mode applies to all fleet races in which all teams sail along the same course. However, there is even more action during the match races. These can be likened to a strategic chess game at sea, the winner being decided in a direct competition between two teams. To emphasize the capabilities of the professional sailors, they are the people actually at the helm during a match race. Every event of the RC 44 Championship Tour consists of a match race and a fleet race event. This regatta format appeals to the superstars of the sport. At its head we have Russell Coutts, so far the only man in the 150 years of the America s Cup to win it three times in a row. With three Olympic gold medals, his challenger has also made sailing history. Ben Ainslie (Team Origin) has won three Olympic gold medals. There are numerous other skippers from the America s Cup, including James Spithill (BMW ORACLE Racing) and Sébastien Col (Areva Challenge) as well as Paul Cayard (Cereef) and Karol Jablonski (Organika). The best known German is John Kostecki who steered the German Ilbruck-Pinta to victory in the Volvo Ocean Race. The well-known German sailor Markus Wieser is skipper of the Sea Dubai Team. The 2009 Championship Tour The many contrasting sailing venues of the RC 44 championship ensure that there is plenty of variety. From classic Mediterranean destinations such as Cagliari in Sardinia through demanding mountain lakes in the Alps right up to prestigious Dubai, the tour offers an exclusive mix of top spots for the sailors. Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Spain 24 February to 1 March 2009 Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy April 2009 Lake Traunsee, The Alps, Austria May 2009 Malcesine, Lake Garda, Italy 8-12 July 2009 Portoroz, Slovenia 30 September to 4 October 2009 Dubai, UAE November /8

3 The Yachts The RC 44 yachts used at the events take their name from Russell Coutts (RC); the suffix (44) refers to the length of the yachts in feet (they are 44 footers). When these yachts were first designed, Russell Coutts had two principal design features in mind which have so far been unequalled in the building of yachts of this size: first of all, the object was to design an actionpacked racing boat without compromise, built for speeds beyond the twenty knot mark. Secondly, the idea was that transport issues should not get in the way of the development of the young regatta class which made it necessary to implement a number of novel design features. To realize this project Russell Coutts called on renowned designer Andrej Justin. The result was the RC 44, a full carbon fiber hull design which dispenses with weighty structural supports such as the rail and allows potentially greater speeds than the large America's Cup yachts that are nearly twice the size. Despite its size and weight, an RC44 yacht can be completely dismantled in a single day and accommodated without problems on a standard forty-foot flat rack container. The Facts Length: 13.35m (44 ft) Beam: 2.75m Weight: 3.56t, of this 2.2t weight in the keel Surface area of the sails 300m², of this 170m² Gennaker Speed: far in excess of twenty knots, in the lower wind regions a multiple of the wind speed Material: carbon sandwich construction Design: Russell Coutts and Andrej Justin The technical features and proportions are similar to those of the yachts that contest the America s Cup 3/8

4 The Protagonists Russell Coutts - America s Cup winner, co-designer and founder of the RC 44 Class Russell Coutts is the unchallenged world champion amongst regatta sailors. Russell Coutts has not been defeated in a single race of the America s Cup; he won the regatta in 1995 (with the New Zealand Team), 2000 (again with the New Zealand Team) and in 2003 (with Alinghi) and has dominated the cup circuit longer than anyone else. The demission of Alinghi in 2004 was followed by a creative phase, during which the RC 44 was created. Since 2007 Russell Coutts has been carrying on with his RC 44 work, in parallel with his preparation for the next America s Cup with the BMW ORACLE RACING team. Russell Coutts was born in Wellington, New Zealand in He studied engineering and picked up his first gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in the Finn-Dinghy Gold race. Russell Coutts has won countless other world championships, including three match race World Championships. Russell Coutts was named a Commander of the British Empire and has twice been elected World Sailor of the Year by the ISAF. Andrej Justin - designer of the RC 44 yacht Andrej Justin was born in 1959 in Koper, Slovenia. He studied electrical and civil engineering in Ljubljana, Slovenia and architecture in Graz, Austria. In 1993 he graduated from the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology with a degree in yacht design. Justin developed his first boats for the largest Slovenian yacht builder ELAN. Andrej Justin has designed numerous vessels, from agile match race yachts up to very large yachts like the eighty-foot Canting-Keeler MaxiJena. 4/8

5 DHL The Logistics Expert DHL is market leader in the international logistics industry and the logistics company for the world. It has achieved this position through its competence in the international express delivery business, air and sea freight, road and rail transport, contract logistics and in the international mail business. With a global network and local expertise and the emphasis on service and quality, some 310,000 DHL employees in 220 countries and territories offer unique and innovative solutions tailored to every customer requirement. The company also takes corporate responsibility seriously with programs for climate protection, disaster management and promotion of education. DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. In 2008, the Group generated a turnover of more than 54 billion. The Logistics Services DHL is the official logistics partner of the RC 44 class. As the general contractor for the logistic needs of the RC 44 Championship Tour, DHL s Global Forwarding, together with the RC 44 management, the sailing teams and the local providers ensure the efficient, safe and punctual transport of the boats and the sailing gear to the various destinations. In this way, DHL is contributing to the expansion of the international regatta series. DHL furthermore ensures that the environmental friendliness of sailing continues on land. Through careful forward planning and improved tour design and the controlled use of nonpolluting technologies and transport means, the impact on the environment of the transport of the boats is kept to a minimum. Unavoidable carbon dioxide emissions are offset by internal and external climate protection schemes within the Go Green climate protection program. Transporting the high-performance carbon yachts is a challenging task. This task has however been made easier by the intelligent design of the boats and the associated transport containers, both designed by Russell Coutts and Andrej Justin, which allow the complete yacht to be stowed in a single container. The stern of the yacht is removed, the mast is pulled out of its mountings and split, and keel and rudder are removed. Other items of equipment are stored in a separate container. To load or unload the container, a crane needs only a comparatively short period of around twenty minutes. The complete dismantling or reassembly of the boat including loading can be done in less than 24 hours. 5/8

6 DHL is also responsible for the transport of important documents and parcels to the various venues of the RC 44 Championship Tour. To give an example: for the racing days on Lake Garda, DHL shipped approximately 300kg of express consignments with additional sails and boat components to the venue. DHL is also responsible for obtaining customs clearance documents needed in order to take containers and equipment to the various countries. Climate Protection Program of Deutsche Post DHL Through the launch of the environmental protection program GoGreen and as the first company to set itself a measurable climate protection target, Deutsche Post DHL has become the global pioneer of the whole logistics industry. The Group aims to reduce its carbon footprint for every letter mailed, every container shipped and every square meter of warehouse space used by 30 percent by the year 2020, compared to To exploit its potential for energy savings, Deutsche Post DHL presses ahead forcefully with the modernization of its air and ground fleets. In addition, innovative technologies such as hybrid engines and route planning will be further expanded to reduce the fuel consumption of the Group s road fleet. In order to measure the Group s carbon footprint on a regular basis and make achievements transparent, Deutsche Post DHL is currently setting up a comprehensive carbon-accounting system. As part of the carbon-accounting system DHL Deutsche Post also provides for the CO 2 neutral transport of the yachts and the further equipment for the regatta event. DHL s competency for climate protection ensures that the environmentally friendly character of the sailing sport can be extended to land for the first time. Through anticipatory logistics planning, improved route mapping and the targeted use of environmentally friendly technology and vehicles DHL attempts to keep the impact of the boat transport on the environment as low as possible. Unavoidable CO 2 emissions are compensated for by internal and external climate protection initiatives. In the first half of 2009 alone it was possible to reduce the CO 2 emissions of the RC 44 Championship Tour by approximately 16 tons, and at the end of the regatta season the estimated reduction will amount to around 36 tons. 6/8

7 The Logistics Scope* Here are some facts relating to the logistics partnership between DHL and RC 44 Transport of up to 76t of material Deployment of eight low loaders and four semi-trailers Employment of thirteen people transporting twelve yachts and associated equipment The Logistics Timetable* Sunday 16:00 After the last race, the yachts tie up. 16:30 Any loose equipment is stowed by the crew in the twenty-foot team container. 17:00 The yacht is lifted by crane into a special flat rack container. This has its own built-in hoisting system to facilitate dismantling of the yacht. 17:15 The mast is lifted. 17:30 Rudder, keel fin and keel bulb are removed. The keel bulb weighs 2.2t. Rudder and keel fin on the other hand are made from delicate but high-strength carbon fiber. 18:30 The remaining equipment is stowed in the floor compartment of the special container. 19:45 Removal of the stern section. This shortens the RC 44 to a length which can be accommodated in a forty-foot standard container. 20:00 The RC 44 hull is rotated into the transport position with the container loading aid. The position is angled for maximum use of the container space. 20:45 Due to the angled transport position of the hull, it is possible to store the boom, the stern section and the mast sections in the container. 21:30 The various parts are securely lashed in position for transport. 22:00 Some teams use tarpaulins to cover the boats. Monday 09:00 Transporting the yachts by special low loader trailers. 7/8

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