One Thousand Miles From Shore

“Being warm and wearing the right clothing is very important to survival.”

Those are the reflective and advisory words of Doug Peacock, Maui Boat and Yacht Clubmember who experienced extreme weather conditions delivering a boat to its new owner on the Californian coast… all while wearing his Original Breton Shirt.

What may be lost with time, especially in fashion, is purpose.
Take the UGG boot, they were initially designed in the 1920’s by rural Australian sheep shearers for the purpose of resistance to wool yolk, unlike their walking boots.
Fast forward to present day, and UGG are one of the most popular casual footwear brands in the world – but does anyone still wear them while shearing their sheep…?

One of the most amazing elements of this story therefore, is that regardless of time and the alteration of fashion’s purpose, our Original Breton Shirts are still worn out at sea to keep people warm.

Doug and his team members, Lyn Silva and John Hayes set out across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to deliver a recently maintained Locomotion boat to its new owner in California.
Packed up with ample provisions and daily weather forecasts from the boat’s previous owner, the team were in high spirits for their journey.

However, on their last night Doug said there was a, “huge BANG, that physically reverberated through the carbon-fibre hull of the vessel”.
After a short period of haste and confusion, the team found the cause of the bang.
The rudder post had broken, and as well as the boat taking on mass amounts of water, the rudder was swinging wildly inside the hull.

Doug and his team managed to contact help in the form of two rescue choppers, but at this point in the evening winds were hitting 30 knots so the warmth of their clothing was paramount in keeping them well and safe. As well as wearing all his safety clothing, Doug was also wearing an Original Breton, The Nautique shirt as his bottom layer. This ensured he stayed warm and alert in taking out tasks such as continuously pouring buckets of sea water out of the hull and back into the ocean.

After a three-hour struggle, the team finally made it to California safely and unharmed.

On reflection, Doug says that he feels bittersweet about the event; Even though his story has raised awareness for others who are due to take similar journeys, he is also remorseful for leaving the Locomotive behind. One thing he is certain on however, is his customer loyalty to The Original Breton Shirt Company,

“Gift season is coming, so I will definitely order again soon.”