Page 77 - Sharp: The Book For Men FW21

King of the Sea
Rolex lends its five-pointed crown to the world of ocean racing
By Jeremy Freed
IN MAY OF 1967, AFTER 226 DAYS AT SEA AND NEARLY 30,000 KM travelled, Francis Chichester sailed into Plymouth, U.K., to a hero’s wel- come. Chichester’s triumphant return marked the end of a voyage that would make him the first person to sail solo around the world from west to east, an incredible feat by any measure, but especially so for a man in his mid-sixties. To navigate around three capes on this history-making journey, Chichester relied on the sun and stars, a sextant, and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Chichester’s successful circumnavigation and his praise for the Oyster Perpetual’s performance at sea couldn’t have come at a better time: Rolex had recently begun a voyage of its own as a partner to the world’s greatest yacht races and clubs. It’s a journey that continues 60 years later with a marquee presence at the world’s foremost yachting events.
Among the newest of these, and perhaps the most intense, is SailGP. With nine events spread across the globe over the year and eight national teams competing for money and glory, SailGP is akin to Formula One racing, with the notable difference that the competing vessels are powered by the wind, not engines. Launched by tech billionaire and sailing enthusiast Larry Ellison in 2019, this globe-spanning contest features some of the most advanced water- craft on the planet pushed to their limits by the world’s top sailors. The F50
catamarans used in this event are relatives of the boats used in the America’s Cup and can reach speeds of nearly 100 km/h by flying above the surface of the water on curved hydrofoils. But unlike the America’s Cup, in which teams compete in secret to build the fastest boat, all the boats in SailGP are owned and maintained by the competition itself, allowing for more sharing of information and a more level playing field.
If the foiling catamarans of SailGP are F1 cars, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is a race for luxury motorhomes. Maxi yachts are big (at over 21 metres long, they’re some of the biggest racing yachts in the world) and expensive, and can require crews of a dozen or more experienced sailors. This competition in the Mediterranean each September is their ultimate proving ground. Launched in 1980 by the Costa Smeralda yacht club and its then-president, the Aga Khan, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup brings together 50 or more of the world’s biggest and fastest sailing yachts, many skippered by their owners, for one of the most thrilling races on the water. With challenging conditions, spectacular scenery, and a fleet of giant monohulls under black carbon-fibre sails, it remains one of the most anticipated races on the sailing calendar for good reason.
Each year on Boxing Day, during the height of the Australian summer, one of the world’s most famous regattas — the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race — sets sail from Sydney Harbour to Hobart, Tasmania. The journey takes up to five days, and the conditions are notoriously challenging due to fluctuating temperatures, unpredictable winds, complex currents, and occasional hurri- cane-force squalls. All of this, plus the race’s 76-year legacy (interrupted for the first time since 1945 by the pandemic), makes it one of the most prestigious sailing events in the world. While part of the race’s charm is the variety of yachts found at the starting line, from small wood-framed cabin cruisers to eight-figure “super maxi” racing yachts, it is the biggest and fastest of these vessels that capture the most attention as they compete to achieve the race’s highest honour, a finish clocking in under 40 hours. In 2021, all eyes will be on the race’s front-runners and their high-tech maxis to see if they can beat that record, first achieved in 2017.
One of the most unusual (and exclusive) sailing events in the world takes place every two years in September on the azure waters of Porto Cervo, Sardinia. An owners’ meetup on a particularly luxurious scale, the Rolex Swan Cup is open to anyone with a yacht made by Finland’s revered Nautor’s Swan. Founded in 1966, Nautor’s Swan pioneered the use of fibreglass to create thinner, lighter hulls, and has built a reputation over the past 50 years for crafting some of the finest racing yachts on the planet. For Swan owners, it’s a rare opportunity to show off their hardware — as much works of art as ocean-going watercraft — and compete against other like-minded connoisseurs. As it has for more than three decades, Rolex’s five-pointed crown is proudly affixed to each hull, a symbol of luxury, innovation, and the never-ending quest for superlative performance on and off the water.
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