Garmin, the global leader in satellite navigation, returns as Official Marine Electronics Partner to the 10th Clipper Round the World Yacht Race – the world’s longest ocean race.
Garmin will also return as a Team Sponsor in the Clipper 2015-16 Round the World Yacht Race, following the brand’s successful sponsorship in the last edition of the ocean adventure. The Garmin team will be led by 31 year-old British Skipper, Ashley Skett.
Garmin’s continued relationship with the gruelling ocean race will see each of the 12 Clipper 70s fitted with Garmin’s advanced navigational equipment and sailing instruments, with the important task of supporting the teams as they sail around the world.
On-board each boat will be Garmin’s innovative marine products, including two GNX 130 10-inch large format marine instrument, which will provide the data necessary for the teams to make confident decisions. The instruments display more than 50 marine and boat parameters for wind, sea and vessel conditions, with bold 70mm digits that are the largest in class. Garmin’s latest product for serious sailors creates a beautiful “glass mast” with its carbon fibre mast bracket, providing quality, precision and total integration. Featuring a high-contrast monochrome LCD screen for superior readability day and night. The instruments allow seamless sharing of sailing data between Garmin devices and are controlled from a compatible GNX keypad.
The boats will each be fitted with five GMI colour marine instruments that support multi-sensor connectivity, such as depth, wind and GPS information, and can display this data as either digital values or as analogue gauges. The GMI unit offers a streamlined approach to marine instrumentation by displaying data from multiple remote sensors on one sunlight-readable, 3.5 inch screen.
Also on the boats will be the GPSMAP 6012 – a full-featured, premium chartplotter, with video-quality resolution and the option for total system integration, allowing support for the addition of sonar, radar and wind sensors. Garmin’s VHF 200i radio and cockpit handset will allow teams to communicate with confidence and enhance safety as it provides full Class D Digital Selective Calling (DSC) capability. If trouble arises, DSC provides distress calls with the push of a button. The VHF 200i is compatible with the GPSMAP 6012, which provides mayday signalling and a digital broadcast of the boat’s position.
The teams will benefit from Garmin’s AIS 600 black box transceiver, which will add a new level of safety and convenience to the vessels. This black box AIS transceiver will allow teams to receive AIS target data as well as transmit their own vessel information to other AIS receivers in the area, aiding in collision avoidance.
Garmin’s next-generation, 4 kW high-definition GMR 24 xHD dome radar pairs ease of use with advanced open-array features. The GMR 24 xHD has a narrower beam width that paints a very precise, high-resolution image. New Dynamic Auto Gain and Dynamic Sea Filter continually adjust to the boat’s surroundings, providing optimal performance in varying conditions, making it a well-suited addition to the Clipper 70s’ journey.
The diverse range of Garmin’s marine electronics on-board will provide teams with accurate positioning for the 40,000 nautical mile circumnavigation. The crew and Skippers will also use products from Garmin’s other sectors, such as fitness trackers and the brand new VIRB XE action camera to document their exhilarating journeys.
The skippers have received specific training from Garmin for all products on-board. This included the capabilities of the products such as the log, depth and wind sensor as well advising the teams on how to get the best information from the system for their needs.
Chairman and Founder of the Clipper Race, legendary yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, comments, “We are happy to welcome back Garmin. The majority of people using Garmin’s products are ordinary people that benefit from the technology that allows them to do what they love – explore the world safely. This aligns perfectly with who our crew are – ordinary people setting out to achieve extraordinary things on the Race of Their Lives.”
Mattias Daldborg, EMEA Marketing & Communications Manager for Garmin, Marine, says, “Garmin has seen the first-hand benefits of being a Team Sponsor and Official Supplier during the Clipper 2013-14 Race.
“When the opportunity arose to once again be a Team Sponsor and have a Garmin yacht, we were thrilled to do it again. The global communication strategy of the Clipper Race enables us to communicate and engage with a global audience with all that Garmin has to offer from our marine electronics through to our VIRB action cameras and dedicated fitness products.”
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race starts on Sunday 30 August from London. For more information please visit: www.clipperroundtheworld.com
To find out more about Garmin’s range of innovative marine products, please visit: www.garmin.com