Dawn was lighting up the sky when Nicorette's crew, proud wearers of Rudy Project eyewear, sailed across the finishing line of one of the world's most testing races, the Sydney-Hobart. Skipper Ludde Ingvall succeeded in staying ahead of Skandia and Konica Minolta, which were literally battered to pieces by a storm with winds of up to 60 knots through the Bass Strait, one of the stretches most feared by seasoned sailors.

These are the kind of conditions in which Rudy Project usually tests its eyewear. Style is obviously important, but the technical characteristics of Rudy Project eyewear are what the italian firm really focuses on.

Ludde Ingvall, Nicorette's skipper, uses the Rydon model. "I spend a lot of time out on the sea, either training or racing, he says, and my Rydon glasses do a great job of protecting my eyes from the sun and the elements. On bright days I use Polar 3FX lenses, which eliminate all the glare generated by reflective surfaces, such as the sea. When the weather changes, though, I love to use Laser Clear Deg lenses."

This is the second year that Nicorette and Rudy Project have joined forces and this year was essentially special as the crew enjoy crystal clear vision with Rudy Project’s latest Polarized lenses – “Polar 3FX” fitted to their Rydon models.

The Polar 3FX effectively block reflected glare, a situation which occurs primarily near water or snow or off reflective surfaces, such as car windows, metallic objects, etc… Light which strikes a horizontal reflective surface is reflected back into your eyes. You then get a “double dose” of light energy, some of which falls directly on to you. Polarized lenses offer an interesting advantage: because they dramatically reduce or eliminate the reflected light energy which might account for the majority of the annoying glare, you can use a lighter tint to achieve the same (or better) degree of glare reduction and comfort compared to non-Polarized dark lenses