A SWEET LAUNCH FOR THE BT OPEN 60
April 30, 2008 by http://btteamellen.com | 0 comments
* The BT Open 60, skippered by Seb Josse, was officially launched on the River Thames today after an extensive race refit with the support of BT Team Ellen teammates Ellen MacArthur and Nick Moloney. * The all-girl band, the Sugababes, were onboard singing one of their hit records as the boat sailed under Tower Bridge – find out why! * Seb Josse into final preparations for The Artemis Transat – an important stepping-stone to the ultimate goal of the solo Vendée Globe.
Today on the River Thames (London, UK), Seb Josse’s BT IMOCA 60 was officially launched after an extensive race refit. And it proved to be a sweet moment of success for Seb and his teammate Ellen MacArthur as the all-girl band, the Sugababes, joined the duo onboard the BT IMOCA 60 to sing one of their latest hit records as she sailed under Tower Bridge.
The Sugababe trio of Amelle, Heidi and Keisha supported the launch of the BT-branded boat in her new colours to promote BT’s sponsorship of this year’s Isle of Wight Festival. BT Team Ellen are also based in East Cowes at Venture Quays on the Isle of Wight so it proved a perfect opportunity to publicise one of the island’s biggest music festivals which takes place over 13th-15th June. Ellen launched the BT Team Ellen project in Paris in September last year – a three-year partnership with BT through to 2010. The project includes the BT IMOCA 60 skippered by Sébastien Josse and Australian Nick Moloney, skipper of the BT Extreme 40.
After sailing back under Tower Bridge, the BT IMOCA 60 then berthed alongside the Royal Navy’s HMS President where she was officially christened by CEO of BT Global Services, Francois Barrault: “I am delighted to launch the BT Open 60, a unique collaboration that captures the powerful potential of the BT Team Ellen partnership. Working together, we aim not only to win races, but also to demonstrate how innovative approaches to communications and technology can help to create a better world. Developing a sustainable future is an important part of this partnership as businesses and consumers increasingly need to act responsibly towards the environment in which we operate.” A decade-long association with BT as communications partner to the sailing team has now matured into a well-matched title partner relationship.
A perfect ‘Mumm moment’ for the BT IMOCA 60 team as they toasted her christening and future success with G.H. Mumm Champagne, the official champagne supplier to the team.
Seb Josse from Concarneau in France will now race the BT IMOCA 60 in the forthcoming solo transatlantic race, The Artemis Transat, which starts from Plymouth on 11th May. Not only is this race the oldest solo race in history but one of the toughest challenges for any solo skipper to cross the North Atlantic alone and is a major stepping stone towards Seb’s ultimate goal of competing in his second solo, non-stop round the world, Vendée Globe race that starts in November: “I have raced around the globe three times so far – with a crew non-stop, with a crew with stops, solo non-stop – every element of racing and being at sea is a pleasure for me. Every race is a new challenge, a new battle, a new discovery. No ones knows what will happen in the next Vendée Globe – all we know is that never before have so many pro teams lined up on the start line together. Today is a culmination of three months of hard work by the shore team to get our BT IMOCA 60 into the highest possible race spec with the objective of being very competitive but also able to complete a long distance race around the world.”
Whilst Seb is campaigning the BT IMOCA 60 and Nick skippers the BT Extreme 40 in this year’s iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series across Europe, Ellen’s sailing projects for 2008 include the Archipelago Raid on the BT F18 plus helming the BT Extreme 40 in the Round the Island Race before racing on the BT IMOCA 60 in some of the crewed events in 2009. Ellen is also supporting BT’s CSR worldwide programme and continuing with her commitment to pursuing and communicating how to lead a more sustainable life on land.
“It has been a great moment to see the launch of Seb’s BT IMOCA 60. He is a fantastic skipper with a huge amount of experience and as a team we are as excited for him as he is to get the boat launched and ready for her first season of racing. Both myself, Seb and Nick have all raced in the solo Vendée Globe and know what a huge and demanding undertaking it is. He will have our 100% support in the build up to and during both The Artemis Transat and the Vendée Globe and we have absolute confidence in his ability to succeed.”
“Our relationship with BT is not only long but we share many common objectives. We both share a combined passion for both the sport and the world around us, and I am convinced that the projects we will be working on together, both on and off the water, will help us to achieve our mutual objectives of not only being able to win races, but to promote the power of communications and technology to help create a better, more sustainable, world. When you sail around the world you have no choice but to be completely tuned into what is around you. How to harness the power of nature and manage the limited resources you are carrying on board. You sail around our planet and realise it’s not so big after all, and that it has it’s own fragility,”concluded Ellen.
