Bols spectacular

As Gordon Kay's 93ft maxi gets a spirited send off in Rotterdam

The Daily Sail was fortunate to get a trample around the new Hugh Welbourne-designed 93ft maxi Bols when she was freshly dipped in Auckland.

Today the commercial reasons for the existence of Gordon Kay's blue hulled racing machine became apparent when the maxi was formally launched at a corporate extravaganza in Rotterdam.

Founded in 1575 and owned by the Remy Cointreau group since 2001, Bols is the world's oldest distiller and have launched phase one of a 25 million Euro initiative to establish themselves as one of the top 15 international liquor brands within the next three years.

First markets to be targeted are Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Phase two will see this marketing push taken to the US. Bols are looking to repeat the success they have experienced in Poland where over the course of the last 10 years they have come from being an unknown brand to having the country's number one selling vodka and seeing awareness in their brand rise from 18-90% in just four years.

Central to Bols' success in Poland was their old maxi, the former Martella. The new Bols maxi will again form the cornerstone of their campaign as it takes part in promotional tour of the Baltic over the course of this summer.

At today's press conference Huub van Doorne, board director of Remy Cointreau, explained their strategy: "When Remy Cointreau bought Bols in 2001 they understood that they were buying a brand that, while known for quality, was not being used to its full potential.

"The idea of using the new Bols super maxi is not only a great way of reaching thousands of consumers in new markets but also sends a powerful message to the trade, industry and global distributors that Bols is on course to becoming a truly global brand.

"The real beauty of this campaign is that the Bols super maxi represents a potent symbol of change that makes the link between the sailing heritage of our historic Amsterdam company and the modern success of our Polish business.

“Our announcement today is about Bols claiming its rightful inheritance as a major global drinks player. Today’s events and the launch of our maxi yacht is the first important step in realising that ambition”.

With the global HQ in Zoetermeer near Rotterdam, Bols currently sell vodka, liqueurs and gin in 110 countries around the world. They employ 2,000 people and had a turnover in 2002 of 120 million Euros.

As previously reported on The Daily Sail plans for the Bols maxi will include a mixed program of offshore races and report attempts. These will include the monohull 24 hour record, the west to east transatlantic record and also a round the world record attempt.

Her racing schedule kicks off with the Sjaelland Runt on 20 June, from Helsingor in Denmark. Among her 20 crew for this will be two well known Danes navigator Philipp Skafte-Holm, a veteran of the Sjaelland event, and Kasper Vang, who was part of the Swedish America’s Cup team in 2002/3. Pelle Petterson, winner of three Olympic gold medals for Sweden, will also join the crew. She will then go on to take part in the Gotland Rund on 29 June.


Above, Skipper Gordon Kay (left) with Huub van Doorne, Executive Board Director of Remy Cointreau

Global Bols Brand Group Director Stefan Laux says the Bols super maxi offers a fantastic new platform for the company to engage with sailing enthusiasts throughout Europe and to bring the excitement of big boat sailing to a much larger audience. “Since 1575 the Bols brand has enjoyed a reputation for being adventurous and pioneering. The new sponsored Bols super maxi maintains that tradition and revives and captures the original Bols spirit of pure adventure.

“The Sjaelland and Gotland Runt events are just two of the highlights on our tour of Europe this year and we hope ‘Bols’ will both surprise and delight sailing fans around the world in the course of this epic journey.”

“Bols embodies the spirit of adventure and the Amsterdam attitude, that is all about celebrating and living the positive things in life, and we hope our campaign will help share this spirit, starting in 2003.”

The Daily Sail will be reporting back from on board Bols during the Gotland Rund.

To read more about Bols - see our review of her here , our profile of her creator and skipper Gordon Kay here , and our interview with her builders Peter and Sari Ullrich of BoatSpeed here .