TAG Heuer - Oracle Team USA wins the America's Cup
Pulling off one of the greatest comeback in the history of competitive sailing, Oracle Team USA won an astounding eight back-to-back races with Emirates Team New Zealand.
"We are extremely proud of every member of this extraordinary crew and every component on this incredible boat. Oracle Team USA showed amazing drive and guts, overcoming incredible adversity-losing boat one, getting docked two races and having to give up their star wing trimmer, but they kept their nerve, worked harder, and plowed on. And they pulled it off. It was a great and glorious moment, unprecedented in the world of competitive sailing, and we are very grateful to have been a part of it." said Stephane Linder, TAG Heuer CEO and President. "To keep your focus and stay confident under such intense conditions and against such incredible odds is a remarkable demonstration of mental force and commitment," said Linder. "These men are true exemplars of performance and audacity at the highest level. We couldn't have hoped for a better representative of TAG Heuer's DNA and values." The crew, led by helmsman Jimmy Spithill, at 34 the youngest skipper in America's Cup history, refused to surrender and successfully fought off eight match points by taking early leads and pushing their foiling AC72 to its fastest recorded speeds in the regatta.
In adverse weather, Spithill, along with Oracle Team USA tactician, Ben Ainslie, and strategist, Tom Slingsby, were able to quickly analyze the varying conditions and decide on tactics quickly in part thanks to the onboard connectivity equipment and very innovative and intelligent smartwatches co-invented by the R&D departments of TAG Heuer and Oracle Team USA. The embedded system uses special editions of the Aquaracer 500M Calibre 72 Countdown chronograph. Customized for each sailor's specific tasks and wirelessly linked directly to the boat's computers, the extremely resilient and waterproof Aquaracers (impact resistant to 5,000 G) gave the crew constantly updated information on how the boat and its sails were behaving, including boat speed, foil balance, sail pressure, true wind speed, true wind direction and true wind angle. "This has been a great learning experience," said Linder. "Together with Oracle Team USA -- a group of dedicated we've put together something that has the potential to change the face of competitive sailing. It's a first for sailing and a first for Swiss watchmaking. We can't wait to get back to the labs -- and then back out on the water."