Richard Mille Named Principal Partner of the Voiles de Saint Barth Competition
Luxury watchmaker Richard Mille has once again been named the principal partner of the prestigious Voiles de Saint Barth Competition. This technically challenging Caribbean yacht race, which is in its fourth year, will take place from April 8th to the 13th. Richard Mille has long-standing love for the sport of sailing, as seen in their RM 014 and RM 015 Perini Navi sailing watches, as well as the RM 025 Tourbillon Chronograph, the RM 028 Automatic, the RM 028 Voiles de Saint Barth or the RM 032 Flyback Chronograph diver’s watches.
More than fifty yachts from six different classes are already registered for the race. In the “Racing” Spinnaker category, several prominent names are confirmed, from Patrick Demarchelier (Puffy Swan 53) to Raphael Magras (Mae-Lia), Jean-Pierre Dick (JP 54), and Gideon Messink (Satori). Meanwhile in the “Maxi” class, Peter Harrison’s giant ketch Sojana, will go head to head with Jean-Philippe Pinatel’s Med Spirit and Idea of London, a 78-foot super-yacht.
For the first time since the race’s inauguration in 2010, Peter Harrison, the CEO of Richard Mille Europe and a great sailing enthusiast, will also be participating. Harrison will be at the helm of his Jolt 2, a custom one-off racing yacht designed by Reichel Pugh of San Diego. Jolt 2 will be racing in the Spinnaker 1 and 2 category.
The winner of the Voiles de Saint Barth will be awarded an RM 028 Titanium diver’s watch. Featuring a unidirectional rotating bezel, this timepiece is water-resistant to 300 metres (30 ATM) in compliance with the ISO 6425 standard for diver’s watches. The 47mm-diameter case is rendered perfectly watertight by the unique tripartite construction of the case and bezel, completed by lugs incorporated into the case assembly. The skeletonised automatic movement is equipped with Richard Mille’s exclusive variable geometry rotor to adapt the watch’s automatic winding to the activity of the user by the simple adjustment of two white-gold wings.
Photo credit: Laurent Benoit. Photo courtesy Richard Mille.
