New UK Farr 280 ‘Pandemonium’ in Production

Activate·Switch

Specialists in Marine Sales, Marketing, PR, Events, Communication and Graphic Design. UK Agent of the new grand prix one design Farr 280.

Specialists in marine sales & marketing, communication and activation.

Based in the UK, Activate has been set up by Joe Hall who has run his own marketing businesses for over thirty years. Joe is a motivated and creative marketeer, who enjoys challenging communication tasks.

Activate’s  employs a team of diverse specialists involved in design, marketing and sponsorship. This team of professionals can be deployed individually or come together collectively to deliver relevant solutions for our clients.

Activate is currently engaged in sales and marketing of High Performance race boats for the HP30 Class as well as running the annual programme of events.  The company also provides design and event management services to a number of important UK & international marine events, including the Rolex Fastnet Race and Cowes Week.

Based on your needs, we will provide you with a detailed plan, including team members, methods, budgets and timescales. We are happy to work on projects large or small, full or part-time and we can expand and contract the size of your team as required.

We are extremely flexible and will do everything we can to meet your objectives.

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Our promise to you: Your project is in safe experienced hands. We treat it with intelligence and respect. We constantly reflect your message and principles. We work tirelessly to ensure success. We exceed your expectations. We activate your ideas.

Case Studies

See below a selection of our projects.

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Team Origin – Design Services

Launched by Sir Keith Mills, the team’s mission is to win the America’s Cup AND inspire action around climate change. A world class team was recruited including Ben Ainslie, triple Olympic Gold medallist and the team, at full operational mode, consisted of nearly 80 of the world’s leading sailors and marine related professionals, all focused […]

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Weymouth Bayside Festival

The Bayside Festival was a celebration of music and entertainment along with a broad range of exhibitors, retailers and food concessions.  The event formed part of the strategic crowd management plan for the Olympic Games, taking place in Weymouth Harbour and was designed to look after the ‘000s of external visitors expected at this event. […]

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1851 Cup

1851 Cup brought together, two world class sailing teams, racing in identical boats to win the 1851 Cup. The two hottest match racing skippers in the world, Ben Ainslie and James Spithill, went head to head in the Solent during this exciting 5 day event. Client:  BMW Oracle Racing and TEAMORIGIN – America’s Cup Class Regatta, […]

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Cowes Week Parade Village

Cowes Parade Village is at the heart of the World’s oldest sailing regatta.  Located on the waterfront overlooking the Solent, each year the Parade is transformed into a hive of activity and excitement; with retailers, exhibitors, food concessions, bars and live entertainment, attracting in excess of 120,000 visitors each year. The project is run independently […]

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Skandia Team GBR – Sponsorship Services

Over a period of 4 years, we provided sponsorship support to Team GBR (the British Olympic Sailing Team, in training for the Olympics), helping at every level, from sponsorship procurement to design services                    and sponsorship fulfilment. Activate provided a comprehensive service to Team GBR which allowed […]

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America’s Cup World Series – Portsmouth 2015:2020

Working for Origin Sports Group the design team was responsible for delivering two phases of design for this major event. In phase one, essential planning design work was required for this multi-venue sporting event spread across Portsmouth City and the Southsea waterfront. Phase two was a branding exercise, to create the look and feel for the […]

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Launch Events for the 2021 America’s Cup

Project type: Event management, event creation, content development, venue planning, design & production, branding & logistics. Locations: Cowes, UK & Monaco, France Working for the Challenger of Record (PRADA); Acivate Switch was responsible for the event delivery of two high profile media launches in Cowes, UK and Monaco. Both launch events were broadcast live to […]

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Rolex Fastnet 2011 – 2023

The original brief was to provide a 24 hour shoreside event management support, in Plymouth at the end of the 600 nautical mile Rolex Fastnet Race. Services included the provision of a temporary ‘Clubhouse’, media & hospitality lounges for the race organisers and sponsors, along with bars, catering and shower and toilet blocks for the […]

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Activate Switch Appointed UK Agent for Far East Boats

At a recent delegate meeting in Shanghai, FarEast Boats appointed a new UK agent.

Joe Hall (marine marketing specialist and founder & Class Manager of the HP30 Class), has been appointed UK agent for FarEast Boats to help grow sales of this exciting and dynamic range of high performance boats.

plus Farr 280 UK Activate Switch

Farr 280

We are the sole UK sales agent for the new award winning Farr 280 Grand Prix One Design Racing Sailboat. Find out more…

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Premier Composite Technologies

We provide both sales and marketing strategy and facilitate the communication and sales process, providing event, public relations and sales support.

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Rolex Fastnet

The brief was to provide a 24 hour shoreside event, in Plymouth at the end of the 700 nautical mile Rolex Fastnet Race.

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  • June 26, 2015
    joehall
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    Farr 280 Adriatic - Activate Switch

    The Farr 280 One Design has obvious appeal – impressive good looks, spectacular speeds, the cachet and confidence of being the latest one-design from Farr Yacht Design, and a high quality build and finish by Premier Composite Technologies.

    Farr Yacht Design has an unequalled reputation when it comes to creating successful one-design classes including the Farr 40, Farr 30 (formerly Mumm 30), and most recently the Volvo Ocean 65, which has produced boats so equal that podium positions on trans-ocean legs have been separated by mere seconds.

    The Farr 280 is already establishing itself as the one-design of the future: enjoying level-rating racing at this year’s Quantum Key West Race Week, and its own one-design start at Charleston Race Week – the largest keelboat regatta in the USA. In Europe the prestigious Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week expects four Farr 280 entries at this world-famous regatta, which takes place in August from 8-15, 2015.

    However, for the earliest adopters of the new Farr 280 One Design, the boat’s appeal goes far beyond first-past-the-post racing. We caught up with 10 teams on the burgeoning circuit – from the USA, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Dubai – to find out more.

    Read the full article here>

  • June 12, 2015
    joehall
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    Farr 280 Pandemonium

    We are delighted to announce that another Farr 280 will be joining the UK fleet this summer. Richard Rankin is the lucky new owner and will take delivery of his boat ‘Pandemonium’ in time for Cowes Week this summer.

    Richard also test sailed the C&C 30 but the Farr 280’s high build quality and fun factor won him over,

    “The Farr will be fun to sail, full stop. Then there’s a lot to learn if you want to be competitive. I think that’s interesting, to have something you can get better at, but actually enjoy it anyway.”

    Ease of ownership and boat handling were also important factors when choosing his new boat,

    “I used to have a 12-Metre, and gave it up last year. The Farr 280 intrigued me as something completely different, the other end of the scale. I’ve got two children and they’re 24 and 22, and I feel really comfortable with them taking it out with their friends, as opposed to something bigger and more complex that I’d worry about.”

    Richard’s first event on the Farr 280 will be Cowes Week when we expect to see four boats line up against each other in what promises to be an exciting week of racing.

  • June 12, 2015
    joehall
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    With two more Farr 280’s joining us here in the UK this summer, it’s clear to see that the boat lends itself very well to travel and allows crews to campaign international events with ease. It’s the perfect size to fit inside in a 40ft high cube container making the process of moving boats by ship simple to manage and keeping costs down.

    The Farr 280 is also simple to tow. Over the winter we transported hull #3 by road from Cowes, Isle of Wight to Dusseldorf Boat Show and then on to her new owner in Switzerland. The boat’s cradle can be mounted on a specially designed trailer that holds the boat safely at an angle which brings it within road legal dimensions here in Europe and can be pulled behind any large car or 4×4.

    This ease of transportation provides Farr 280 owners with the opportunity to sail their boat in many different locations and we look forward to seeing many Farr 280’s travelling between events both across Europe and internationally.

  • May 27, 2015
    joehall
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    Activate Switch, a full service communications agency from Cowes, Isle of Wight, has been contracted by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, to manage all of the shoreside festivities for the prestigious Rolex Fastnet Race for the third time.

    The expert and experienced events team from Activate will provide, on behalf of the Rolex Fastnet Race management team, 24 hour shoreside service for the 90th anniversary of the event which will see over 300 yachts sailing 600 nautical miles from Cowes to Plymouth in August 2015.

    In 2013, Activate worked closely with the RORC to move the event’s base from The Barbican to Mount Batten Peninsula so that all of the competing yachts could be berthed in one  location and in 2015, the plan is to build on the success of the last event. Activate will create an event village, with state-of-the-art facilities, including luxurious media and hospitality lounges for race organisers and sponsors, high quality catering, modern toilets and showers for the competitors and a 24 hour bar for everyone to take full advantage of!

    The culmination of the event will be the prize-giving, ceremony, complete with air display and a rocking crew party for more than 1,000 competitors, to be staged in the Rolex Fastnet Race, village.

    Activate Switch runs a number of high profile marine events as well as provides graphic design, branding, sponsorship and corporate hospitality services. Anyone wishing to find out more about how Activate Switch could help their event should contact Joe Hall via info@activateswitch.com or call 01983 200901.

     

  • April 28, 2015
    joehall
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    Farr 280 'So Steamy' Downwind

    After a safe trip back from Dubai, a brand new Farr 280 has arrived in the UK. Named ‘So Steamy’ she has been well received by her new owners Nick and Annie Haigh who have been breaking her in during the second weekend of the Warsash Spring Championships. With her fluoro green branding ‘So Steamy’ is hard to miss and certainly turned heads on the water!
    After a full weekend of racing, the crew were enthusiastic about the boat and they had lots of fun on the water. Racing in a class with yachts over 10ft bigger, conditions were no doubt tricky for ‘So Steamy, but we look forward to seeing ‘So Steamy’ going head to head with similar sized performance yachts in the High Performance Class at the Vice Admiral’s Cup later this month.

  • April 16, 2015
    joehall
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    The PCT built Carkeek 40 MKII, ‘Rebellion,’ has arrived in the UK. This is one of the first really high performance IRC racing boats to enter the UK for some years. With fast lightweight boats now starting to rate better under IRC and RORC’s announcement of a high performance class in this year’s Vice Admiral’s Cup, we look forward to seeing more fast planing boats like the C40 appearing on UK waters soon.

    Demand for this size of performance race boat is strong and PCT expects to complete the build of hull #3 by mid-summer 2015.

    ‘Rebellion’ is due to compete at the Warsash Big Boat Series, Vice Admiral’s Cup, IRC Nationals, Round the Island Race, RORC Channel Races, Cowes Week and the Rolex Fastnet.

     

  • March 16, 2015
    joehall
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    Last month we took the brand new TP52 ‘Platoon,’ built by our client Premier Composite Technologies, for a spin. Check out this video of her doing sea trials in Dubai. “Platoon” will competing in the TP52 Super Series this year. Contact joe.hall@activateswitch.com for more information about ‘Platoon’ and PCT’s high spec boat yard in Dubai.

  • February 17, 2015
    joehall
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    The first full season for the Farr 280 class is off to a flying start, with victories won and competitive racing planned under a range of handicap systems.

    In January, four Farr 280s competed in Key West Race Week in the PHRF 1 division. ‘RED,’ racing in their very first regatta with the boat, won the division on handicap, coming out on top of the 280 one design ‘class within a class’ whilst also beating a Farr 30, C&C 30 and two J/122s.

    Over the five days of racing on windward-leeward courses, conditions varied from 5 to 18 knots of wind. Reviewing the results from Key West, the 280s performed very well against the fleet in light to moderate conditions (up to 10 knots), and also excelled on the final day of racing in 16 to 20 knots.

    Meanwhile in the U.K., the Vice Admiral’s Cup – a highly popular three-day event organised by the RORC/Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Cowes – will include a high performance division for the first time in 2015. The rating band for entrants will be determined by displacement-to-length Ratio (DLR), to create a high performance class of planing designs competing against the Farr 280 for fast and spectacular racing, under IRC. This should create excellent opportunities for the Farr 280 – both race results, and rating studies, have demonstrated that the 280 will excel when competing against similar boats.

    The Farr 280 is also planning to create a significant impact at the world famous Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week Regatta, from August 8 – 15 when Farr 280’s from the UK, Europe and Dubai will be racing for the first time in a big fleet. We welcome all new Farr 280’s to come and enjoy this event, which is going to be great fun and highly competitive.

    Click here to read more >>

    BOOK A TEST SAIL…
    Test sails for anyone interested in joining this exciting and rapidly expanding new one design fleet will be available from April 2015. Contact joe.hall@activateswitch.com to reserve your test sail.

  • February 12, 2015
    joehall
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    Nautor's Swan Stand at London Luxury Yacht, Jet and Prestige Car Show

    Nautor’s Swan has again engaged the services of Activate Switch Limited, following the company’s successful event support at the Swan European Championships 2013.

    This time, Activate has been tasked with designing and building a stand at the prestigious Luxury Yacht, Jet and Prestige Car Show at Old Billingsgate in the City of London – 8th :10th April. Positioned in the middle of the largest financial centre in Europe, and just a short distance from some of the world’s most exclusive residential districts, this event is designed to attract London’s elite.

    Scheduled to coincide with a time when many of London’s wealthiest international residents and visitors are ‘in town’, just after the start of the ‘Flat’ racing season; this event is perfectly timed for when many people buy yachts, book-up their summer yacht charters or purchase new cars for the fine weather ahead.

    To fit in with this refined environment, Activate Switch has designed an understated Nautor’s Swan display from which to feature and promote their beautiful range of exclusive and fabulous sailing yachts. From 53’ to 115’ in length, the range is comprehensive. Designed by the Frers Design Team, in Milan, the boats are recognised as the world’s best blue-water sailing yachts; combining performance with beauty and comfort.

    If you have an event that requires an empathetic approach, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Call Joe Hall on 01983 200901 or email joe.hall@activateswitch.com

  • February 9, 2015
    joehall
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    With only six months to go, our preparations are well under way to set up and manage the Rolex Fastnet Race 2015 Race Village and Crew Bars in Plymouth.

    The Rolex Fastnet Race sees more than 300 boats race 600 nautical miles from the UK’s sailing mecca of Cowes, around the Fastnet Rock, with a finish in Plymouth Sound. Celebrating its 90th anniversary, this historic and prestigious event expects an illustrious welcome for all of the crews taking part and we are delighted to be a part of it.

    With thousands of sailors expected to visit Plymouth at the end of the race, our expert events team will provide a convenient temporary clubhouse, 24 hour crew bars, catering outlets, showering and toilet facilities and hospitality lounges to help make sure crews have everything they need to hand after such a demanding race at sea.

    The Royal Ocean Racing Club first commissioned Activate Switch to look after the Rolex Fastnet Race, shoreside programme, in 2011. Since then the event has had to grow, to accommodate the substantial increase in boats taking part and this year, the event ‘sold out’ within 20 minutes of the online system opening! With the race village now firmly established at Plymouth Yacht Haven and on the Mount Batten Peninsular, we are looking forward to welcoming the competitors and visitors to enjoy the ambience and celebration of this incredible yacht race.

    For more information about this event, or to get involved, please call Joe Hall on 01983 200901 or email joe.hall@activateswitch.com.

  • February 6, 2015
    joehall
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    Sailing World Boat of the Year 2015

    Yachts & Yachting’s Best Performance Boat Under 40ft

    As the sole UK agent for the newly launched Farr 280 sports boat, we’re delighted to announce that the yacht has won two prestigious marine press awards in recent weeks. Not only has it been named Sailing World’s Boat of the Year for 2015, it has also won the Yachts & Yachting Magazine’s best performance boat under 40ft category.

    Judges from Sailing World Magazine commented:

    “As a dynamic and technical boat on all points of sail, it’ll be fun in the light stuff, but especially good when the wind gets cranking.”

    They also praised the high quality boat construction and advanced hydraulic rig tuning.

    Yachts and Yachting Magazine awarded the boat an impressive 9/10 in their test sail review and commented:

    “It’s a thoroughbred boat that offers the enticement of plenty of challenges to those who seek to get the very best out of it…this is a Grand Prix boat without the hassle factor.”

    The award comes after a successful season for the Farr 280 in the US with regatta wins under PHRF, ORCi and HPR rules. The class is quickly developing globally and we look forward to welcoming a strong fleet to the UK this year.

    To find out more about the Farr 280 contact Joe Hall on +44 (0)1983 200901 or email info@activateswitch.com

  • September 12, 2013
    joehall
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    Two great events completed; Swan European Regatta and the Rolex Fastnet Race.

    Activate has had a busy summer, preparing two impressive shoreside programmes for the prestigious  Nautor’s Swan European Regatta, sponsored by Gazprom and the Rolex Fastnet Race 2013.

    Following a competitive pitch, Activate was delighted to win the event management contract for the Swan European Regatta, in Cowes.  The company designed an attractive village, featuring a timber decked courtyard, with giant parasols and integrated seating, ClubSwan Vip lounge, overlooking the marina, Gaastra shop, crew bar and screen and stage.

    The objective was to create an attractive area for competitors and crew to relax in, both before and after racing, as well as a venue large enough to cope with 500 guests for the Wednesday night Crew Party.

    The event was blessed with mediterranean-like sailing conditions, which meant that the Race Village was an even more vital part of the infrastructure as crews and guests waited for the wind to fill-in, during the morning.  In the afternoon, live entertainment was provided by a number of local artists,as well as Oomph, an eight piece Soul Band who rocked the stage at the Crew Party on Wednesday night.

    Almost immediately after this event, Activate’s team headed down to Plymouth to begin building the Rolex Fastnet Race Village and Crew Bar.

    Working for the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Activate were employed to develop the shoreside programme, identify the venues, design and plan the layout of the Race Village, Crew Bar, Showers and Loos.  Secure contractors for tentage, power, Security, AV, showers etc and co-ordinate the whole install, operation and extraction, after the event.  In addition, Activate setup and managed the operation of the 24 hour Crew Bar, which was located a short walk from the Race Village.

    The Race Village was open and ready to receive visitors from 1100hrs Sunday 11th August, although with light conditions, boats did not really start to arrive until Tuesday.  The heart of the fleet started to arrive on Wedensday afternoon and from then on the Village, Showers and Crew Bar, ran day and night until 2300hrs Friday night; making for one very long shift!

    The event culminated with the final Prize-Giving on Mount Batten Green and with the back drop of brilliant clear skies, Plymouth Ho and the Citadel, the crowd were entertained to a private air display, by the Aerostars, before the awards ceremony took place.

    Activate was delighted with both events; securing the contracts ahead of other considerably larger mainland agencies and secondly, delivering top drawer projects for global brands, using a professional and experienced Isle of Wight team.  We welcome the opportunity to do more projects of this nature and recommend that event organisers at least approach us for our initial ideas and outline costs, by way of comparison.

Contact Us

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Office:  56 Mill Hill Road, Cowes, PO31 7EQ.

T:  +441983 200901

M: +447774 138777

E: info@activateswitch.com



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