B&G selected as Official Volvo Ocean Race Supplier for 2017/18

by Laura Tolmay on 23 Nov 2016 B&G®, the world’s leading sailing navigation and instrument specialist are proud to announce it will be an Official Volvo Ocean Race Supplier for the 2017/18 race. B&G will be the heart of the entire fleet of Volvo Ocean 65 yachts with state-of-the-art navigation systems, tactical software and Grand Prix level instrument systems.

B&G will also be providing race support to the organisers and crews of the 2017 Volvo Ocean Race, which begins on the October 4th in Alicante, Spain.

“Since the inception of the world-renowned Volvo Ocean Race, every winning team has relied on sailing instruments from B&G.” said Leif Ottosson, CEO of Navico, parent company to B&G adding, “In 2017 this brilliant racing heritage will continue to deliver the teams with the very latest racing equipment to confidently navigate each leg of this gruelling 45,000 nautical mile race.”

B&G’s vast array of instrument and navigation equipment will be based on WTP3 – the extremely powerful Wave Technology Processor that monitors the yacht's systems and eliminates the effects of boat motion from critical wind data. Integrated with wind, boat speed, heading, GPS, load cells, keel angle and rudder angle sensors - to name but a few – WTP3 provides the teams with highly accurate real time information. Additional equipment will include with B&G’s new Zeus3 high-performance multifunction widescreen display, incorporating SolarMAX™ HD technology for brilliant daytime visibility and ultra-wide viewing angles, and Broadband 4G Radar™, Class-B AIS systems, 20/20 HV displays and a range of high precision sensors.

Nick Bice, Boat Yard Director for Volvo Ocean Race said: 'The Volvo Ocean Race pushes people and boats to their limits and having accurate essential information on board and sent to Race Control is vital to the success of the race. We need technology that is super reliable and a partner that provides the best support available, which is why we chose B&G.'

Ottosson continued, 'We have worked closely with the Volvo Ocean Race team and their partners to provide technical solutions that integrate the Volvo Ocean 65's systems together.” Adding “These highly tuned yachts and their crews rely on B&G to ensure they are at the peak of their performance abilities, our products are put through extreme conditions, which in turn helps us develop better sailing equipment for our sailing customers in the future.'

As well as a complete line-up of B&G products, racing teams will be supported at every stop-over by a team of B&G specialist support staff and crews will have 24/7 emergency technical assistance no matter where they are in the world.

The Volvo Ocean Race, technical race and media teams are also supplied with live data transmitted from the B&G systems on board, to the race HQ in Alicante via Inmarsat communications, this allows monitoring of each vessel, as well as providing an overview of current weather, boat location and overall leader positions.

For more information on the B&G range of marine electronics, whether for Grand Prix racers or cruising click here.

To keep an eye on the progress of the Volvo Ocean Race and its teams visit website.