Rolex’s Fastnet Race got under way at Cowes, Isle of Wight, on Sunday, boasting the largest fleet in the event’s 92-year history.
The Swiss watch giant’s association with the event ties in with its ethos towards sponsorships in general, based on shared values such as excellence, precision, innovation, elegance and reliability.
This approach to sponsorship by Rolex can be traced all the way back to when its founder Hans Wildorf equipped a young sportswoman, Mercedes Gleitze, with a Rolex Oyster, which was the world’s first waterproof watch, when she swam the English Channel in 1927.
Rolex is now present at more than 150 major events in sport and the arts every year.
The Rolex Fastnet Race, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), is considered the world’s largest and most diverse offshore race and is one of three 600-nm offshore races partnered by Rolex.
