Sorcha a vele spiegate
durante Les Voiiles de
Saint-Barth. Al timone
del Maxi 72 Harrison sarà
al via del Fastnet e delle
regate di Porto Cervo.Sorcha in full sail during
Les Voiles de Saint-Barth.
Harrison will be helming the
Maxi 72 in the Fastnet and
the Porto Cervo regattas.Then there is the excellent work done by Fran-
cois Tolède and Luc Poupon who founded the
event.
This is Richard Mille’s 10th year to be pres-
ent. Is it a major milestone?
If we look at how far we’ve come in those 10
years, we can only be proud of how much the
regatta has grown in terms of the quality and
quantity of the participants. I was also very
impressed by the solidarity I saw from all the
entrants in 2017 who did their bit to help the
island after it was devastated by a hurricane.
What do Richard Mille and sailing have in
common?
Research and development are as fundamental
in horlogerie as in yacht racing. The approach
and the methods that yards use to find ever
more efficient aerodynamic solutions and light-
er and tougher materials also underpin Rich-
ard Mille’s work. A Richard Mille watch, just
like a racing yacht or racing car, is the product
of very complex engineering work that takes
many hours and requires huge precision. For
example, our tourbillon watches are subjected
to tests in which the loads are up to 10,000 G.
We also draw on other sectors, such as aero-
nautics, Formula 1 and sailing to introduce ma-
terials like Carbon TPT and Graphene.
So was the RM 60-01 Flyback Chronograph
Regatta designed to meet sailors’ needs?
It is a very useful watch in cruising and racing
conditions of all kinds. Time really is key in com-
petitive sailing. The rotating bezel has the four
points of the compass and two coloured scales- one showing degrees up to 360 and the other
24 hours – which allow to you to find your po-
sition in an offshore race. But in a triangle race,
the chronograph flyback and central second
counters as well as the 30-minute countdown
function at 9 o’clock are very useful.
What do you think of the new foiling
monohulls that will be used in the next
America’s Cup?
Fascinating to look at but I don’t feel any great
desire to get aboard one.