Mississauga, Ontario; August 8th, 2005
CGC Inc, a USG Company, today announced its support of Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges and skipper Derek Hatfield as he sets his sights to win the 2006 5-Oceans global sailboat race. CGC will provide financial support at the Gold Partnership level.
Construction of the new ocean racer, Spirit of Canada is underway with the laying up of the light weight hull and deck. The boat is due to be launched in the spring of 2006 and will take approximately 22,000 hours to construct. Hatfield says that ?Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges is proud to be supported by such a world class company. The fact that CGC has its roots in the Maritimes is a fitting combination?.
Spirit of Canada is the first Open 60 ever built in Canada, as well as the first all pre-preg carbon fiber boat made here. Hatfield will be the first Canadian to race around the world twice solo.
About CGC
CGC Inc. is a leading marketer, manufacturer and distributor of gypsum wallboard products, interior finishing materials and suspended acoustical ceilings in Canada. CGC began in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1907. It was first known as Canadian Gypsum Company and concerned itself primarily with the quarrying and exportation of gypsum rock to the United States.
CGC is dedicated to a philosophy of market leadership through anticipation, innovation and marketplace initiatives, and continuously seeks to improve its products, services and operations for the benefit of customers. The company’s daily challenge is to advance its leadership position and achieve profitability while maintaining its commitment to employees and customers. CGC Inc. is committed to safeguarding the environment and the communities where it operates.
CGC benefits from global affiliations and state-of-the-art research and development facilities through its parent company USG Corporation, the leading drywall manufacturer in North America and a world leader in suspended acoustical ceilings. USG has manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities in several international markets and its products are sold throughout the world.
About the 5-Oceans Race and IMOCA
The 5-Oceans is acknowledged as the longest, hardest event for an individual in any sport. It is a single-handed around-the-world ocean race that spans 8 months and 28,700 nautical miles of grueling competition. These athletes are an elite group of men and women who call on huge reserves of self-reliance, courage and stamina to pass through some of the most remote and dangerous places on Earth, pushing themselves and today?s hi-tech Open 60?s to the limit. The 5-Oceans occurs every four years and the next race in September 2006 will be the seventh running of the event and will be composed of 3 legs, each scored grand prix style. This multi-leg structure provides more leverage opportunities for sponsors, more peaks of excitement and drama for media and race followers, plus a much more international fleet of competing skippers.
The skippers and boats are Members of the International Monohull Open Classes Association (IMOCA) Open 60 Class. IMOCA is the ISAF sanctioned class responsible for the Open 60 and Open 50 monohull racing yachts. It manages the development of the class, the rules and restrictions for boat builders, and co-ordinates the global calendar of racing events.
About Derek Hatfield and Spirit of Canada
Derek Hatfield was the 2003 Canadian Rolex Sailor of the Year and is one of only 139 sailors in history to finish a single-handed race around the globe. Competing in the Open 40 “Spirit of Canada,” he finished in 3rd place overall in Class II in the 2002/03 Around Alone race, despite a life threatening and catastrophic capsize near Cape Horn. For more information on the Spirit of Canada story visit: www.spiritofcanada.net
Contact:
Patrick Lisson,
CGC Inc.
Director of Marketing – Canada
plisson@cgcinc.com
905-803-5665
Patianne Verburgh
Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges
patianne@spiritofcanada.net
416.816.7446