“We wanted a watch that would stand up in the surf,” says
Buckett, who retired from active duty in August this year. “We
wanted it to be legible—and given what we do in the SEALs, it
had to be black.”This kind of special-request watchmaking has a parallel with One
More Wave’s core activities. The group provides equipment for
veteran surfers, sometimes at the beginner level but often on a
custom basis, enabling the surfer to tailor the performance of
the surfboard to their skill level and/or disability. On an aesthetic
level, many of the veterans decorate their boards with unit insignia
or tributes to fallen comrades—an entirely new area of graphic
surf culture.M
ark Thornton, a retired army staff sergeant working as
a defense contractor in the Middle East, was thrown
35 feet in the air when the fuel tank he was inspecting
suddenly exploded. He landed on a string of barbed wire with
life-changing consequences. A spinal injury in his mid-thorax left
him paralyzed from the chest down. Thornton’s challenges are,
to varying degrees, shared by thousands of injured American
veterans. His therapy, however, is not. Thornton decided to
pursue surfing, using a specialized board for his disability. He
credits his time in the ocean, more than anything else, for giving
him a renewed sense of accomplishment.“Surfing is actually one of the most effective therapies we’ve ever
found for combating depression as well as post-traumatic stress,”
says Kyle “Buck” Buckett, CEO of One More Wave, a San Diego-
based nonprofit founded within the U.S. Navy SEAL community to
enable veterans from all services to take advantage of surfing’s
healing properties. “When veterans are in the ocean environment,
they are completely in the moment and can escape from their
injuries and traumas. It’s our job to put them out there with the
right equipment and tie them in with the growing community of
surfing veterans.”Managing an historical supplier of timepieces and nautical
equipment to the U.S. Navy, François-Xavier Hotier, president
of Ulysse Nardin Americas, found an immediate affinity with One
More Wave and has formed a partnership with the organization.
The partnership includes the creation of a special, limited-edition
version of Ulysse Nardin’s Deep Dive model ($13,900), with the
group’s trident insignia on the case back. The design was finalized
at an impromptu meeting at Danny’s Palm Bar & Grill in Coronado,
a local spot popular within the SEAL community and not far from
the Naval Amphibious Base where recruits undergo the rigorous
BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training.Healing
Waters
Ulysse Nardin partners with
One More Wave to offer veterans
the therapeutic power of surfing.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION“We wanted a watch that would stand up in the surf,” says
Buckett, who retired from active duty in August this year. “We
wanted it to be legible—and given what we do in the SEALs, it
had to be black.”This kind of special-request watchmaking has a parallel with One
More Wave’s core activities. The group provides equipment for
veteran surfers, sometimes at the beginner level but often on a
custom basis, enabling the surfer to tailor the performance of
the surfboard to their skill level and/or disability. On an aesthetic
level, many of the veterans decorate their boards with unit insignia
or tributes to fallen comrades—an entirely new area of graphic
surf culture.M
ark Thornton, a retired army staff sergeant working as
a defense contractor in the Middle East, was thrown
35 feet in the air when the fuel tank he was inspectingsuddenly exploded. He landed on a string of barbed wire with
life-changing consequences. A spinal injury in his mid-thorax left
him paralyzed from the chest down. Thornton’s challenges are,
to varying degrees, shared by thousands of injured American
veterans. His therapy, however, is not. Thornton decided to
pursue surfing, using a specialized board for his disability. He
credits his time in the ocean, more than anything else, for giving
him a renewed sense of accomplishment.
“Surfing is actually one of the most effective therapies we’ve ever
found for combating depression as well as post-traumatic stress,”
says Kyle “Buck” Buckett, CEO of One More Wave, a San Diego-
based nonprofit founded within the U.S. Navy SEAL community to
enable veterans from all services to take advantage of surfing’s
healing properties. “When veterans are in the ocean environment,
they are completely in the moment and can escape from their
injuries and traumas. It’s our job to put them out there with the
right equipment and tie them in with the growing community of
surfing veterans.”
Managing an historical supplier of timepieces and nautical
equipment to the U.S. Navy, François-Xavier Hotier, president
of Ulysse Nardin Americas, found an immediate affinity with One
More Wave and has formed a partnership with the organization.
The partnership includes the creation of a special, limited-edition
version of Ulysse Nardin’s Deep Dive model ($13,900), with the
group’s trident insignia on the case back. The design was finalized
at an impromptu meeting at Danny’s Palm Bar & Grill in Coronado,
a local spot popular within the SEAL community and not far from
the Naval Amphibious Base where recruits undergo the rigorous
BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training.
Healing
Waters
Ulysse Nardin partners with
One More Wave to offer veterans
the therapeutic power of surfing.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION