Yesterday saw the start of the world famous Giraglia Rolex Cup, an annual yacht race that has been based on the island of Giraglia since it’s inception in 1953. The prestigious event was first sponsored by Rolex in 1997, and has been ever since.
The highly exclusive race is organised each year by the Yacht Club Italiano with the aid of Yacht Club de France. The event lasts for a week in total and consists of various small in shore races around St. Tropez before culminating in the main event, a race beginning in St. Tropez and ending in Genoa, Italy at a distance of 243 nautical miles.
Rolex Yachtmaster
Of course, it’s quite appropriate that a prestigious event such as this should have the backing of Rolex, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of luxury watches. In long distance races such as this precise time keeping is vitally important and Rolex has a long history of various nautical ties, you only have to look at the names of popular Rolex time pieces such as the Rolex Yachtmaster and Rolex Submariner to see this. With time pieces such as these, designed specifically for use by seafaring individuals it is little wander that Rolex is keen to maintain their connections to the world of nautical sports by supporting events such as the Giraglia yacht race.
The 2010 Giraglia Rolex Cup will be the 14th time that this event has been sponsored by Rolex, and it’s likely that this tradition will be continued for many years to come.