LUXURY SWISS WATCHMAKER ULYSSE NARDIN SETS SAIL WITH 11TH HOUR RACING TEAM
With a shared commitment toward positive impact for ocean health, Ulysse Nardin and 11th Hour Racing Team join forces to promote awareness of climate change and ocean health
Luxury Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin announces its partnership with round the world offshore sailing outfit, 11th Hour Racing Team, joining the team as Official Timekeeper. Both share an intrinsic connection to the ocean and champion a message of the importance of ocean health for everyone.
Ulysse Nardin recently announced its role as the Official Time Partner of The Ocean Race and now they are excited to support one of the race’s competing teams.
Since its founding in 1846, the brand has historic ties to the maritime world having designed and manufactured some of the world’s most accurate mechanical marine chronometers allowing for precise nautical navigation and exploration. Today, Ulysse Nardin honors this tradition and passion for the world’s ocean seen both in its use of sustainable materials in the contemporary collections and through the brand’s partnerships.
11th Hour Racing Team is the only US team taking part in The Ocean Race 2022-23—billed as the world’s longest and toughest sporting event. With a home base in Newport, Rhode Island, the team has sustainability ingrained at the core of all team operations and the five-strong crew of professional sailors are supported by an international shore crew. The sailors will race their foiling 60-foot race boat, Mālama, 31,700 nautical miles [59,000 kilometers, 36,000 miles] around the world through some of the most inhospitable waters on the planet including the notoriously tough Southern Ocean, inspiring positive action for long-lasting change for ocean health.
Patrick Pruniaux CEO of Ulysse Nardin North America, said, “11th Hour Racing Team is the ideal partner for our brand. Like us, they are explorers. We strive to innovate through use of novel materials that lessen our impact on the environment and 11th Hour Racing Team employs cutting edge technology that proves sustainability can win the race.”
11th Hour Racing Team founder, Mark Towill, commented, “Time is ingrained in everything we do at 11th Hour Racing Team. From the precise second we cross the startline of The Ocean Race, the hundreds of thousands of minutes we will be pushing ourselves and the boat on each leg, to the critical hour we are at in relation to climate change. We are proud to be carrying the marque of a sustainably focused brand such as Ulysse Nardin and look forward to our partnership on this epic race around the planet.”
About Ulysse Nardin – Manufacture of Freedom.
Ulysse Nardin is the Manufacture inspired by the Ocean, producing advanced timepieces for explorers in pursuit of freedom.
Founded by Mr. Ulysse Nardin in 1846, the company owes its reputation to its links with the sea: its onboard marine chronometers are among the most award-winning and reliable ever designed.
A pioneer in innovative technologies and the use of high-tech materials such as silicium, Ulysse Nardin is one of the few integrated manufactures with the in-house expertise to produce its own high-precision components and movements. In 2001, the Maison changed the face of contemporary watchmaking by launching the first Freak.
To underscore its commitment to its favourite environment, Ulysse Nardin is active in supporting the preservation of the Ocean, focusing on two major areas: encouraging upcycling to reduce marine plastic pollution and developing scientific knowledge concerning the preservation of the sharks, its emblem.
Today, in the Swiss towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds, Ulysse Nardin remains devoted to its quest for watchmaking perfection in four collections: Marine, Diver, Blast and Freak.
As of 2022, Ulysse Nardin and sister Maison Girard-Perregaux have formed an independent collective of high horology Manufactures.
About 11th Hour Racing Team
11th Hour Racing Team was formed in September 2019 and is led by American offshore sailors Charlie Enright and Mark Towill. Supported by title sponsor 11th Hour Racing, the Team’s mission is to build a high-performance ocean racing team with sustainability at the core of all operations, inspiring positive action among sailing and coastal communities, and global sports fans to create long-lasting change for ocean health. Towill and Enright have competed in the last two editions of The Ocean Race and the team is set to race in the inaugural, fully crewed IMOCA Class of The Ocean Race 2022-23 with their next-generation race boat – Mālama.
