IWC Schaffhausen Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012, Reference IW390212

IWC Schaffhausen Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012”

IWC Schaffhausen, Official Timekeeper of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012, presents the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012”. As the Official Sponsor of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team, IWC also makes its debut in team sport.

Probably the toughest and most spectacular of all offshore races, The Volvo Ocean Race gets under way with the In-Port Race at the Spanish port of Alicante and takes in six continents and four oceans before the crews tie up for the last time in the summer of 2012 in Galway, Ireland.

In the course of the voyage of 39,270 nautical miles (72,728 km) through some of the world’s most treacherous waters, the crews can look forward to extreme challenges and adrenaline rushes in their battle against ice-cold storms, 15-metre-high waves and seemingly endless calms.

The IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012” (reference IW390212) is a well-designed, highly reliable and elegant nautical sports watch in titanium.

With water-resistance to 6 bar (60 meters) and a screw-in crown with crown protection, the watch is rugged enough to take anything in its stride. It is equipped with the IWC-manufactured 89361-calibre movement, one of the most robust and advanced chronograph movements, and features a fly back function as well as an analogue display with two hands in a sub dial for long stop times. The watch is secured to the wearer’s wrist with a black rubber strap with a folding clasp.

The sapphire-glass back provides a clear view of IWC’s double-pawl winding, while the screw-in metal case-back ring boasts the engraving “Edition Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012”.

Luminescent hands and indices combined with the large, well-organized dial, contemporary design and forward-looking mechanics make this timepiece the perfect chronograph.

IWC is not only the Official Timekeeper of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012, but will also be awarding a prize at the end of each race leg as part of the IWC Schaffhausen Speed Record Challenge. The IWC trophy will go to the team that travels the furthest distance over a 24-hour period during the leg in question. The race includes stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France).

At the end of the race in Galway, Ireland, the Swiss watch manufacturer will present the 11 crew members of the boat that has set the fastest of all the 24-hour records throughout the duration of the event with a Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition “Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012”.

The record currently stands at an impressive 596.6 nautical miles (1,105 km) in one day and was set by Ericsson 4, the overall winner of the most recent Volvo Ocean Race 2008–2009.

Each team will stretch themselves to the limit every day of the race to break this record. It is not without good reason that the ultra-high-tech Volvo Open 70 monohull yachts are built to state-of-the-art engineering standards and enable the crews to maintain incredibly high speeds even in the most difficult conditions.

Apart from its function as Official Timekeeper of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012, IWC Schaffhausen is also the Official Sponsor of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team. The team, owned by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), is the first ever Arabian challenger and is sailing under skipper and two-time Olympic silver medal winner Ian Walker of Great Britain.

The gleaming black yacht which sails under the name Azzam (Arabian: de termination) bears the IWC logo emblazoned across its mainsail together with a soaring falcon, the national emblem of the United Arab Emirates. Among the top international sailors who make up the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team are also two UAE nationals, 22-year-old Olympic sailor Adil Khalid and 27-year-old Butti Al Muhairi, who triumphed over more than 120 other hopefuls in a tough competition to earn their places on the team.

The Azzam is a revolutionary, state-of-the-art racing yacht whose creation required no fewer than 49,000 construction hours. Developed by Farr Yacht Design in the USA and built by Persico SpA in Italy, this 14-tonne masterpiece made of carbon fibre is the distillation of the very best in yacht design and the most advanced technologies. The mast is 31 metres high and the top speed around 72 km/h.

Technical details

Model: IWC Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph Edition Volvo Ocean Race 2011–2012, Reference IW390212

Functions
Stopwatch function with hours minutes and seconds
Hour and minute counters combined in a single totaliser at 12 o’clock
Small hacking seconds
Flyback function
Date display

Movement
Calibre 89361
Mechanical chronograph movement
Winding: automatic
Beats: 28,800/h
Jewels: 38
Power reserve: 68 h

Case
Titanium case
Diameter: 45.4 mm
Height: 14.5 mm
Glass: sapphire, convex, antireflective coating on both sides
Back: transparent sapphire-glass back
Crown: screw-in
Water-resistant: 6 bar

Dial
Carbon-black dial

Strap
Black rubber strap, folding clasp in stainless steel