Garmin returns as Team Partner in world’s biggest Ocean Race

by Morgan Kasmarik on 28 Jul 2017 Garmin, the Global GPS Navigation and Wearable Technology company, is returning for a third consecutive campaign as a Team Partner in the Clipper 2017-18 Race, which starts in Liverpool on Sunday 20 August, 2017.

The Garmin team will be led by Gaëtan Thomas, 29 from Brussels, who is making race history as the first Belgian Skipper to complete in the twenty-year history of the event.

Clipper Race Chairman and Founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world in 1968-69, welcomed Garmin’s return, and said: “Just as the Clipper Race provides people with the skills, tools, and opportunity to circumnavigate the globe, Garmin develops and builds products to enhance the lives of its customers, so people can make the most of the time they spend pursuing their passions.

“I’m very pleased a Garmin boat will once again be racing around the world. This partnership will allow our crew to continue to work with and use the latest Garmin products, to aid and capture the race of their lives. I wish Gaëtan and his Garmin team all the best for the Clipper 2017-18 Race.”

Garmin made its debut as a Team Partner in the Clipper 2013-14 Race, and finished an impressive fourth in the previous 2015-16 edition.

A global brand, Garmin will use the global circuit of the Clipper Race, which visits six continents across eleven months, to connect with customers and communicate stories and content all over the world.

Mattias Daldborg, Garmin EMEA Marketing and Communications Manager Marine said: “When the opportunity arose to continue our official supplier partnership and once again be a proud Team Sponsor, we were thrilled to do it for the 2017-2018 Clipper Race.

“The global communication strategy of the Clipper Race enables us to communicate and engage with a global audience with all that Garmin has to offer from our marine electronics through to our VIRB action cameras and dedicated fitness products.”

As well as actively supporting the Garmin team throughout its 40,000 nautical mile journey, Garmin will be the Action Camera Provider for the entire Clipper 2017-18 Race fleet. All twelve yachts will have VIRB Ultra 30 and a number of VIRB 360 action cameras will also be rotated throughout the fleet during the circumnavigation. Both are engineered on the inside for life on the outside, and designed for adventurous people like the Clipper Race Skippers and crew.

Garmin Skipper Gaëtan Thomas added: “I am very proud to be representing Garmin in the Clipper 2017-18 Race. “My team wants to be competitive so it makes sense to us to be partnering with such a successful company.

“Garmin is the best when it comes to navigation software and my crew are really looking forward to sharing our journey through the Garmin VIRB action cameras.”
The VIRB Ultra 30 is an ultra HD 4K action camera, which captures smooth and steady video, even at 45 degrees in the Southern Ocean.
The VIRB 360 shoots spherical video at up to 5.7K and is one of the highest-resolution consumer 360 cameras available. Waterproof to ten metres, it allows users to create data overlays, including speed, GPS coordinates and distance travelled, and is compatible with Garmin’s heart rate monitoring accessories.
Garmin will also supply marine navigation equipment across the Clipper Race Fleet as the Official Marine Electronics Partner.
The Clipper Race is the world’s greatest ocean challenge and is raced by people like you. More than 700 non-professional sailors, representing over 40 nationalities, will compete for eleven months on a fleet of twelve identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts, each led by a professional skipper.

The Clipper 2017-18 Race will start in Liverpool on Sunday 20 August 2017 and return almost a year later on Saturday 28 July 2018, after following a global route which includes stopovers in Punta del Este, Cape Town, Fremantle, Sydney, Hobart, the Whitsundays, Sanya, Qingdao, Seattle, Panama, New York, and Derry Londonderry.