As the Official Timekeeper of the Volvo Ocean Race, OMEGA has been keeping a precise eye on this year’s action at sea. The sailors have now stopped in Newport, Rhode Island, to complete Leg 8 of the race, and OMEGA celebrated the moment by unveiling its newly-designed winner’s watch.
The Seamaster Planet Ocean Deep Black “Volvo Ocean Race” Limited Edition will be presented to the winning team of this year’s race when it concludes in The Hague in June. The timepiece will also be available publicly, but only 73 models have been created overall (in tribute to the year that the Ocean Race first began).
Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of OMEGA, recently spoke about the watch and said, “OMEGA has loved following this exciting and unique race so far. We wanted our winner’s watch to be as beautifully designed as the boats themselves, and also precise and robust to reflect the tough sailing conditions that the competitors face. I think the ‘Deep Black’ is the perfect way to do this and we’re looking forward to presenting it to the winning team.”
The 45.50 mm timepiece is a divers’ chronograph with a black rubber strap, yet its strong design is just as capable of withstanding the extreme pressures of ocean sailing. The casebody has been crafted from black ceramic, while red rubber has been used to cover the first 15 minutes of the unidirectional bezel. Liquidmetal™ then completes the rest of the diving scale.
The brushed black ceramic dial includes each Limited Edition number, as well as 18K white gold hour-minute hands and indexes. On the subdial at 3 o’clock, OMEGA has included a red Volvo Ocean Race ring with coloured hands and number 12. Another reference to the event can be found on the oriented caseback, where OMEGA has included the official “Volvo Ocean Race” logo.
Finally, it’s important to note that the winner’s watch reaches the pinnacle of precision, thanks to its OMEGA Master Chronometer calibre 9900. Having passed the 8 rigorous tests set by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS), this Master Chronometer certification represents the highest standard of performance in the Swiss watch industry.
Prior to the unveiling Brian Carlin former embedded media crew on Vestas gave the press some insight into the life of they lead on the VOR65. The embedded are not allowed to participate in the sailing other than making coffee which he said can make you popular or unpopular depending on your ability to brew a pot.
The coverage a media member on the team has also changed drastically with this edition of the VOR because of the introduction to drone photography and video coverage. They now have the ability to shoot photos and video from above and hundreds of feet away from the boat at distances out to sea that in other races was beyond the reach of chase boats and helicopters. For the first time 1500 miles from land in the southern ocean they have the ability to document and stream beautifully composed documentation of the boats at sea. It gives the audience around the world an ability to see what usually a helicopter would only be able to see. That prior to now has always been an impossibility in the VOR and any circumnavigations of the world where the boats travel well offshore. They can also inspect the rigging from above and meters away from the masts and sails for any impending problems or concerns.
I did have one question I asked Brian and that was if they lost any of those new drones to the ocean. He smiled and declined to tell me the number they have lost only that accidents do happen out there. I took that to mean the did loose at least one prior to arriving in Newport. But for the advantages given by having those drones losing a couple is probably an acceptable risk.
One shot I liked in the photo display at the village was by Media crew Jen Edney was a photo of a crew members watch wrapped on a stuffed animal. A little touch of soft comfy home life in comparison to the harsh environment they face daily and no doubt that stuffed animal was looked at numerous times daily to keep track of time.
Brian also took the press by photos taken by various embedded media crew during the legs so far. There was a display of prints by each boats media crew and some of their favorite shots. As you can imagine it’s difficult to be in a 65 by 20 foot space for months at a time and keep the photography fresh and interesting.
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