KEY POINTS:
Pindar is not a name that is well-known in New Zealand. But if Andrew Pindar, the man at the helm of the company has his way, that is going to change. Quickly.
Thanks to multimillion dollar investments in the sport, the Pindar name is now synonymous with sailing and particularly short-handed sailing. This week the Pindar team is in action at a different level, contesting the Auckland Match-Racing Cup with British skipper Ian Williams at the helm. They are aiming for a spot at the top of the podium on Sunday.
Last year the 170-year-old printing enterprise with business interests in 20 countries has shifted its attention to New Zealand, both as sponsor of the Kiwi Volvo Ocean Race winner Mike Sanderson, the building of a new Open 60 here and with the purchase of Auckland publishing solutions company, Egan Reid.
A self-described 'incompetent sailor' himself, Andrew Pindar discovered the sailing while supporting a local regatta in his home town of Scarborough. In the early 90s, Pindar took out a small-scale sponsorship in a boat taking part in the Global Challenge. Then in 1998 he met Emma Richards (now Emma Sanderson), who would eventually lead him to New Zealand when, following a win in the single-handed Europe 1 New Man Star (now known as the Transat), she opted to race the 2002-2003 Around Alone, which featured a stopover in Tauranga.
"Tauranga was by far the best of the stopovers in terms of the level of interest and participation," says Pindar, who was impressed with many aspects of the country, particularly the fact the Prime Minister ventured out to restart the race.
From that point on, he sought out business opportunities in this country. At the same time, Mike Sanderson, who with Pindar's help had bought and overhauled Graham Dalton's former Around Alone campaigner, was keen on the idea of building a new Open 60 from scratch, utilising design work done for his Volvo 70 entry, ABN Amro 1.
The idea of building a new boat had been discussed, with the obvious debate about where to build it. "We seriously considered Britain and France, but we were really excited about the ability to build an Open 60 in New Zealand," says Pindar.
He was impressed by the New Zealand sailors he had rubbed shoulders with: people like Dave Endean, Curly Salthouse and Brad Jackson, who were not only exceptional sailors but also talented boatbuilders and tradesmen.
There was also the economic aspect: the Open 60 will cost somewhere between $5m and $6m to build. Yet despite the distance, budgets provided by our marine industry proved very competitive. Plus, everything else stacked up. "You have the best boat builders in the world for building race boats. We weren't going to be penalised for coming to New Zealand."
Pindar says that while Cookson Boats was eventually selected to build the boat, with North Sails and Southern Spars taking care of the sails and rig, any one of several yards had the high standards he was seeking. The team found Salthouse Boatbuilders to be impressive, however Cookson got the nod.
For all of this investment, and an excuse to follow his athletes to stopovers around the world - Pindar also sponsor a number of other sailors - what's in it for the company's bottom line?
"We get a huge commercial return for our sponsorship," says Pindar of the $1.5m per year spend.
"We have to know we are winning more business and making more profit, and sailing as a sport, for the amount of coverage and value that we get, it's powerful. For sponsors getting involved with sailing, there is a subliminal message going out there that exceeds many other sports.
"The ability to follow races on the internet helps the sport to resonate in the public's imagination. And the ability for a sailor in the Southern Ocean to send images, video and share their hopes and fears is a major benefit for us as a race sponsor," he says.
Pindar believes New Zealand companies are missing an opportunity. "From my perception I don't think New Zealand businesses realise how important sailing is, what an opportunity it is they are missing out on. Fisher & Paykel, Enza and Steinlager have received enduring value from their past sponsorships, those brands are emblazoned on our minds in Europe."
And the future of sailing sponsorship is, in his mind, positive: "As the environment becomes ever more important in our thinking, I can't think of any better sport than sailing."
