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Dalton teaching through racing

Hexagon was designed by Owen Clarke

LONDON, England -- Round-the-world hopeful Graham Dalton, the older brother of Amer Sports One skipper Grant Dalton, has unveiled his new monohull in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hexagon, the new Open 60 monohull, was built to compete in the Around Alone race that starts from Rhode Island, U.S. on September 15.

Unlike his veteran racing brother, Graham is new to the professional racing circuit even though he has cruised and raced over 50,000 miles.

With the Hexagon project, he has managed to combine his main interest - education through journalism and publishing – with sailing.

Funding for the multi-million dollar project is from HSBC, one of the worlds largest banks, as part of a global education programme developed by the HSBC Education Trust.

Dalton said: "As a school boy in 1967 I was inspired by the round-the-world solo voyage of Sir Francis Chichester and decided one day to do it myself.

"Setting education as the goal of the project was not a cynical ploy to get money, it was a condition that I set when I went out to raise funds."

"Sport is a great way of motivating young people, it involves taking personal responsibility, teamwork, self belief and striving for excellence," he added.

Mary Richardson, head of the HSBC Education Trust, said: "We will use Hexagon's progress in the Around Alone race as a means of fundraising as well as an online education project."

"The race combines the latest technology with the environment, biology, geography, the weather as well as the different history and cultures of the various stopover ports," she said.

Dalton: Sport is a great way of motivating young people

The seven-month, 28,000-mile race takes place every four years and includes stops in England, South Africa, New Zealand, and Brazil before returning to the U.S..

Hexagon was designed by Owen Clarke design, co-designers of Ellen MacArthur's Kingfisher that finished second in the non-stop Vendee Globe. The boat was built at Southern Ocean Marine in Tauranga, New Zealand.

Designer Merfyn Owen said Hexagon was considerably lighter than Kingfisher with more sail area. The boat has the same water ballast and canting keel with a single dagger board in front of the mast, rather than the twin boards on Kingfisher.

The Open 60's are under half the weight of a Volvo 60, making them easier to sail with a higher top speed potential. Owen believes Hexagon is a new generation of Open 60 with twin wheels for steering and complete PBO fibre standing rigging for less weight aloft.

Hexagon will be the first ever serious entry by a New Zealander in the world of round-the-world single-handed racing.