Round the Island Race - Team Richard Mille to campaign Foiling GC32

by Cision on 31 May 2014 Richard Mille is delighted to support the all British sailing team managed by Pete Cumming and the cutting edge GC32 Foiling Catamaran in which they will be attempting to break the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Sailing Race record set by Olympic Medallist Sir Ben Ainslie in 2013.

Manufacturer of extraordinary and uncompromising watches, Richard Mille is proud to be involved in the team’s ambitious aim of beating the current record of just 2:52:15. The Swiss watch brand’s involvement in the sailing world already stretches across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, where it sponsors the Voiles de St Barth Regatta, the latest addition to the Caribbean Racing Series.

In its 83rd edition, the 50 nautical mile race will take place on Saturday 21st June, when as many as 1500 yachts will sail around the Isle of Wight, starting and finishing in Cowes, the home of British sailing.

The team of talented multihull sailors who hope to break this record will be helmed by Paul Campbell James, member of the AC34 Luna Rossa Challenge and past winner of the Extreme Sailing Series. He will be joined by fellow AC34 Luna Rossa team mate, Nick Hutton; previous winning skipper of the Extreme Sailing Series, Pete Cumming, and GC32 expert Adam Piggott. The sailors’ technical clothing will be provided by Musto from their new Dynamic range.

Project Manager Pete Cumming comments 'Having won line honours five years ago on an Extreme 40 and with Sir Ben setting such an impressive record on his AC45 last year, the Foiling GC32 was the obvious choice to race this year. With the support of Richard Mille, we will be training on the boat in Austria and the UK before the Round the Island Race, and hope that conditions are favourable on the day.'

'It’s extremely exciting for us to be involved in what is considered to be the most technologically advanced and high performing sailing out there says Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille Europe Middle East and Africa. The association with the Foiling GC32 confirms the brand’s strong connection with the world of sailing. Richard Mille pioneers and revolutionises high-end watchmaking by applying concepts and materials from disciplines as diverse as motorsport, aerospace and not least yacht racing. The Round the Isle race is arguably one of the best and most prestigious races in the calendar and it’s a perfect setting to demonstrate our nautical enthusiasm once more.'

In true Richard Mille spirit the four GC32 crew members will wear a selection of diver’s watches, the RM 028 Automatic, the RM 032 Flyback Chronograph and the new RM 60-01 Flyback Chronograph Regatta, a state of the art navigation timepiece featuring annual calendar, complete flyback chronograph and UTC functions, and a special rotating bezel indicating the four cardinal points combined with a graduated 360° and a 24-hour scale disk.