Xplore XCD Tornado Catamaran
Tornado catamaran

Leigh McMillan

XCD Tornado :: Racing Ahead!
Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley represented Great Britain at the 2004 Games in Athens. They sail a Tornado Catamaran, which is the fastest of the 11 sailing disciplines. With two hulls, one often clear of the water, they are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 30 mph while they race against 60 other boats in international regattas around the world.

At 23 and 24, Leigh and Mark are the youngest competitors at the top end of the fleet - they started sailing together three years ago, and have since progressed rapidly, moving up from a world ranking of 34 to a current career high of 4th. This has been achieved through performances at international regattas where results have improved steadily, culminating in winning SPA Regatta in Holland and then a Silver medal at the 2003 World Championships, and subsequent selection to the Olympic Team.

For more info on Leigh and Mark, please visit www.gbrtornadogold.com.

Mark Bulkeley

Tornado Racing :: An Overview
Tornado racing is a combination of outright speed, tactics, and strategy. 60 boats line up on a start line, jockeying for the best position aiming to hit the line when the starters gun goes at full speed. It is then a race to break clear of the pack as you position the boat to take advantage of the best wind on the course.

A typical race would last about an hour and would be raced around a two km course, normally three laps. During this time the boats are travelling at speeds of up to 30 mph pushing as hard as they can to gain every position. Up to three races are sailed a day and an event consists of five days of racing.

As a result of this winners need to be consistent in their results, as the team with the lowest score at the end of the event is the winner.

To view more images of Leigh and Mark on their Tornado, please click here.

Supporting Leigh and Mark
King of Shaves have signed a sponsorship deal with Olympic sailing hopefuls, Leigh McMillan and Mark Bulkeley to promote the King of Shaves brand as well as the 'masstige' range of male cosmetics XCD ('exceed').

The duo will act as ambassadors for the King of Shaves and XCD brands. The deal includes a number of personal appearances as well as logos on the hull of the Tornado, the spinnaker and all clothing.

Will King, founder and CEO of King of Shaves, comments: "King of Shaves shaving software products and XCD skincare are all about exceptional performance, brilliant results and looking great. For these reasons there was an obvious synergy with Leigh and Mark. They're the perfect brand ambassadors and we're very proud to be associated with them."

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