Omega and Emirates Crushed the Competition at the America’s Cup World Series
Inside the world’s most dangerous sailboat race.
Omega, the Swiss luxury watch brand behind the iconic Speedmaster, joined forces with Emirates Team New Zealand to crush the competition in the America’s Cup World Series over the weekend, a spectacle that returned to New York City for the first time since 1920.
In the epic sailboat race, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, the Omega and Emirates crew out-sailed rivals including BMW/Oracle and Land Rover BAR, with all of the 45-foot-long carbon fiber boats being ferociously fast, with rigid sails capable of catching winds and hitting up to 60 mph.
Despite being plagued by unpredictable winds, Emirates Team New Zealand powered up from 6th place to the lead with 8 points over chief rival Oracle, owned by ultra-competitive billionaire Larry Ellison. The victory for Omega and co. was especially astounding considering they their port hull was punctured early on while their rudder git hooked to the starting buoy.
Points accrued in New York count towards overall scores going into the Louis Vuitton Challenger series, in which the winner will take on defending champion Oracle in the actual America’s Cup being held next year in Bermuda.
Aside from being insanely expensive, the races can be dangerous and even deadly; British sailor Andrew Simpson was killed when his boat capsized at the Cup in San Francisco in 2013. Up next, the series heads to Chicago, with the action taking place from June 10-12.
Another clear winner this season is Omega’s Seamaster Diver ETNZ (Emirates Team New Zealand) edition created for the America’s Cup. It features a black ceramic unidirectional rotating bezel with a polished diving scale with indications created in relief using laser ablation.
A dot at the top of the bezel at 12 o’clock is coated with white Super-LumiNova that emits a green light. It’s a watch as tough as the race it’s made for.
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