GC32 campaign for Round the Island

Paul C-J and Pete Cumming to front Richard Mille team

Watch manufacturer Richard Mille will be supporting the all-British sailing team managed by Pete Cumming that will campaign a GC32 foiling catamaran in an attempt to break Sir Ben Ainslie's race record during this year's JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. This currently stands at 2 hours 52 minutes and 15 seconds (but is of course outside of the outright record set by an all-star crew on board Michel Desjoyeaux's MOD70 Foncia).

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.

Aboard the Richard Mille GC32 for the race will be a team of talented multihull sailors. Helmsman by Paul Campbell James, past double winner of the Extreme Sailing Series, joined by fellow Nick Hutton, Pete Cumming, and multihull 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.”

Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille Europe Middle East and Africa said : “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 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 Island 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.“

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.