The Artemis Transat 2008 von Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK) nach Boston - Start 11. Mai 2008 www.jacques-vabre.com - Übersicht 25.10.2007 * IMOCA http://www.imoca.org/ * Class 40 http://www.class40.com/ The Artemis Transat THE TRANSAT 2008: A NEW title PARTNER AS THE LEGEND CONTINUES… In Brief * OC Events have signed a new title partnership agreement with Artemis Investment Management, one of the UK’s leading investment management companies. The 13th edition of The Transat, to be known as The Artemis Transat will start 11th May, 2008 from Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK), and finish in Boston, USA. * Created in 1960 by Sir Francis Chichester and Blondie Hasler, and often known until 2004 as the OSTAR, the oldest solo race in history has created many legends over the last four decades – Eric Tabarly, Alain Colas, Mike Birch, Philippe Poupon, Loick Peyron, Francis Joyon, Michel Desjoyeaux, and Ellen MacArthur amongst them * The 2008 edition will be a monohull only race for the first time since multihulls were introduced in 1964. A return to the mixed format is expected with a new ORMA class in the future. Two monohull classes are confirmed as IMOCA 60 and Class 40 – a mix of pre-eminent ocean racing IMOCA skippers with a class that contains aspiring ocean racing professionals and accomplished amateurs. * Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK) will host the start and Boston Harbor Hotel (USA) the finish – the North Atlantic alone, 2,800 miles against the prevailing winds. * The 13th edition of the race will be once again organised by OC Events, alongside its other properties which include the Barcelona World Race and the iShares Cup Extreme 40 European Series. OC Events is the event management arm of OC Group, the sports management company owned by Dame Ellen MacArthur and Mark Turner. * The skippers will celebrate their achievements with G.H. Mumm, the official champagne of The Artemis Transat. * http://www.theartemistransat.com IN DETAIL: It began as the ‘OSTAR’ in 1960, based on a half crown wager - a group of five pioneers preparing to race solo across the Atlantic to the USA, nine years before Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Today the oldest solo race across the North Atlantic, known as The Transat, welcomes a new title partner and a new class for the 13th edition of the race that will start on 11th May, 2008 from Sutton Harbour, Plymouth (UK) to Boston (USA). Blondie Hasler uttered the legendary words “One man, one boat, the ocean” to describe the race and in 1960 Francis Chichester led the fleet home to become one of Britain’s most famous sea-faring adventurers. Four years later it was Frenchman Eric Tabarly who arrived first, and went on to become France’s greatest ever sailing legend, awarded the Legion d'Honneur by President de Gaulle, that gave rise to the great French solo racing scene of today. A new and important partnership has also been formed with Artemis, one of the UK’s leading investment companies, for the 2008 event, and the legend is set to continue in The Artemis Transat: Artemis Investment Management is committed to promoting offshore sailing in British waters. Artemis manage an IMOCA Open 60 campaign, Artemis Ocean Racing, skippered by Jonny Malbon, and recently organised the Artemis Challenge at Skandia Cowes Week and the Artemis Trophy during the Rolex Fastnet Race. Having joined IMOCA as a Business Club Partner, the Transat sponsorship is another important step in the vision to further develop professional ocean racing in Britain. Speaking on behalf of Artemis, CEO Mark Tyndall commented, "We are delighted to announce our support of such a classic ocean race as The Transat. It takes passion, persistence, skill, knowledge and dedicated teamwork to compete with the best in the offshore ocean racing world. All our activities in sailing reflect our company's core values and philosophy. We look forward to building a successful and enjoyable event with the race organisers." In 2008, the 4 yearly event, will have just two classes of boat, the IMOCA Open 60 and Class 40. This will be the first time since the introduction of multihulls in 1964 that the race will be dedicated to just monohulls. Sailing Director of OC Events, Christine Salen, explains: "We wanted a strong and simple race this time, something the public could understand and without too many different types of boat, and therefore we chose just two strong classes in the professional and high profile IMOCA 60 and its young relation, the rapidly growing Class 40. The Royal Western Yacht Club still run a purely amateur event in 2009, an event that we hope will also benefit from this decision. Although it is in some ways sad to have no multihulls in this edition, we look forward to the rebirth of the ORMA class in the future, which might open up other options for 2012 and beyond." The IMOCA 60 and Class 40 fleets offer a combination of the pre-eminent ocean racing fleet of IMOCA, with a class that contains aspiring ocean racing professionals and determined and accomplished amateurs in equal measures. A mix of innovation, technology, a high level competition and a strong spirit of adventure and human endeavour that will ensure this 13th edition of the race will deliver its legendary brand of sporting stories to capture the imagination of the public. The race will be part of the official IMOCA Ocean Racing World Championship 2008-2009 and importantly it will be the last opportunity to test themselves and their machines for the solo, non-stop round the world Vendée Globe race, starting in November 2008. For nearly fifty years the world's elite sailors have been drawn to the challenge of crossing the large and demanding Atlantic ocean along the 2,800-mile northern route. Even in early summer, huge low-pressure systems bring gale force winds and steep seas into the paths of competing boats. Then, as the fleet close in on the Newfoundland coast, the threat of icebergs becomes a reality combined with the risk of dense fog, making the final section of this 2,800 mile race a stressful one for the already physically exhausted skippers. The sport has moved on, Chichester took 40 days to cross the Atlantic in 1960, however today's latest generation of fast, high-tech IMOCA 60 monohulls will race across in a little over 10 days. The fleet will come together at Plymouth, one of the UK’s most vibrant cities steeped in maritime history and the start port of the race since 1960 - an extraordinary assembly of more than forty IMOCA 60s and Class 40 race boats that will race to Boston in the USA, another city with a significant maritime past. The race village for the start of this event will be situated in the centre of Plymouth’s busy Barbican at Sutton Harbour (UK) where the IMOCA 60 fleet will be on display, with the Class 40 fleet berthed at QAB. And while the sailors are battling their way across the Atlantic, advanced satellite communications will carry their remarkable stories from the heart of the ocean across the world to TV screens, Internet and mobile phones. The fleet’s epic progress will be tracked by OC Technology’s groundbreaking OC Tracker+ units, providing data for sophisticated computer animations – in real time and with breathtaking detail. The Artemis Transat 2008 is organised by OC Events, the event management division of OC Group set up by Ellen MacArthur and Mark Turner. “OC Events took over the running of this legendary race in 2004 and invested heavily to rescue it, and we are now looking forward to the 13th edition of the race in partnership with Artemis,” commented Mark Turner, CEO OC Group. "This race is steeped in history from both sides of the English Channel and the Atlantic. We are honoured to be organising The Artemis Transat 2008, it is a huge team effort and it is fantastic to have the support of Artemis and the host cities of Plymouth and the South West region, and Boston on board with us for the next edition." To win The Artemis Transat is to follow in exalted footsteps, it has created sailing legends over the last four decades, and now provides the stage for the heroes of the future. Artemis and the skippers will celebrate their achievements in this race with G.H. Mumm, the champagne of sailing and official champagne of The Artemis Transat. G.H. Mumm have worked with many IMOCA 60 sailors and the other epic IMOCA 60 races such as the Transat Jacques Vabre, Route du Rhum and Vendée Globe. Supporting The Artemis Transat continues to mark the spirit of the champagne that celebrates remarkable feats of endurance and human achievement. http://www.theartemistransat.com Transat Promotional Video (English http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1265939831/bctid1267577789 | French http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1265939831/bctid1267587757) * For further information, please contact OC Events * T: +44 (0)870 063 0218 * E: info@ocevents.org mailto:info@ocevents.org * For more information on Artemis or for interview requests please contact: * Justine Ozoux - Pitch PR * T: +44 207 494 1616 * M: +44 7824 310 035 * E: justine@pitchpr.com mailto:justine@pitchpr.com Artemis Investment Management Limited One of the UK's leading investment companies, Artemis is an owner-managed investment provider known for achieving superior returns through funds that regularly beat their benchmark and peers. Since the first funds were launched in 1998, Artemis has established a reputation for strong investment performance in up as well as down markets. For more information on the company and the funds Artemis offer, visit www.artemisonline.co.uk or contact the Client Services department on 0800 092 2051. title Partner Plymouth Associate Partner http://www.eventsouthwest.co.uk Associate Partner and Official Champagne Supplier Boston Associate Partner www.bhh.com http://www.bhh.com 1-800-752-7077 Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE