It was one of those meetings destined to take place and the start of a great shared adventure between JEANRICHARD and Franck Cammas. The famous watchmaker has had its name inscribed in the annals as a legendary pioneer of Swiss timekeeping for over three centuries now, constantly challenging accepted wisdom and refusing all compromise to ensure the best possible quality of design and performance for its products. A quest for authenticity and the highest standards that enables JEANRICHARD to offer today exclusive and accessible high end watches to be worn on the wrists of those who are fueled by a spirit of independence and adventure – people like Franck Cammas, in fact! In his early days he was nicknamed “the little Mozart of sailing.” This skipper, sponsored by Groupama, has gone from success to success ever since, collecting trophies at the most prestigious yacht races around the globe. His latest challenge has been to take on the Volvo Ocean Race, sailing’s equivalent of Everest, and until now, primarily the preserve of Anglo-Saxon yachtsmen. A race during which the crews spend eight months at sea, and which features nine different ports of call. Franck Cammas set sail with the Diverscope and the Aquascope, the JEANRICHARD diving watches perfected by the brand’s Research & Development Department and meticulously tested in its Swiss laboratories. This was to be the start of a great relationship.
JEANRICHARD Aquascope watch
Saturday June 11, 2011, Lorient, France
CHAMPAGNE & NEPTUNE
It’s raining in Lorient – but the clouds are full of confetti. The big orange and green boat is ready and waiting. Over 50,000 hours of work by architects and engineers were required before this 70-foot giant, destined to brave the oceans of the world, could take to the waves. State-of-the-art techniques were used for its construction using materials such as carbon and Kevlar, very similar to the technology used in Fine Watchmaking by JEANRICHARD. Before finally taking to sea, Groupama 4 takes part in the traditional launching ceremony. A bottle of champagne is broken over its hull to bring good luck and fortune from Neptune. The master of ceremonies is Gérard Petitpas. A friend and former right-hand man of Eric Tabarly, in 1973 he took part in this race around the world as a crewmember on Pen Duick VI, the first French boat ever to take part in the competition. Nearly 40 years later and just a few months before the race’s start, the crew is now preparing for long weeks of training and practice.
Franck Cammas with JEANRICHARD watch
Saturday November 5, 2011 - Alicante, Spain
SAILING INTO THE UNKNOWN
The 11th Volvo Ocean Race gets under way. Next stop Cape Town, the end of the first leg. The crews of each boat follow their skippers down onto the embarkation platform without really knowing what to expect, waving a little stiffly and smiling politely toward the admiring crowds. Massimo Macaluso, the CEO of JEANRICHARD and Jean-Luc Baucherel, the CEO of Groupama, have turned out to cheer on Franck and his boys, newcomers to the sport who suddenly find themselves up against a host of seasoned rivals. The first few knots promise to be tough, with a strong headwind. Two boats soon drift off-course. On emerging from the Straits of Gibraltar, however, Groupama 4 has already shown what it’s made of by passing the flotilla of boats that tends to form for a good part of the race. The bid for freedom doesn’t last long, but the declaration of intent has been made, and the learning process is well under way.
Anglo-Saxon yachtsmens with Diverscope and Aquascope watches
Monday December 12, 2011, Cape Of Good Hope, South Africa
ROUNDING THE (FIRST) CAPE
The day after the start of the 2nd leg to Abu Dhabi. Groupama 4 is by now in third position in the provisional overall standings. It is in the lead as the boats round the famous Cape of Good Hope, and is just about to enter the Indian Ocean. Franck Cammas is at the helm in the early morning hours, sporting on his wrist his inseparable companion of adventure, the JEANRICHARD Diverscope.
Saturday March 10, 2012, Auckland, New Zealand
VICTORY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE
Victory in Auckland! What a way to enter the sailing pantheon, with a victory snatched right under the noses of the New Zealanders, world renowned sailors who are generally considered unbeatable on their home turf. Certainly a major triumph for Groupama 4, and an unprecedented exploit in the Volvo Ocean Race. This legendary performance was achieved in seas generally shunned by the majority of sailors. Groupama 4 faced strong winds, often blowing at over 30 knots, and waves reaching 20 feet high, head on. After nineteen days of highly competitive racing from Sanya in South-East China, 100 knots from the finish line, an unexpected encounter with a “UFO” – an “unidentified floating object” caused a leak at the front of the vessel. Franck Cammas masterfully navigated the course to a hard-earned victory. The French team is now provisionally in second place on the podium. Could they defy the famous adage concerning this competition, which has it that you need “one race to learn the ropes and another to win”?
Franck Cammas with JEANRICHARD watch
Friday March 30, 2012, Cape Horn, Chile
THE LEGENDARY ROCK
Here is Cape Horn at last, and Groupama 4 is in the lead at this exit point from the Pacific, with its mountainous, hostile seas conjuring up fearsome names like the “Roaring Forties” and the “Furious Fifties”. Here sailing conditions are extreme, with boats flying little sail and carried forward by never-ending gusts of wind, while the crews come close to fighting for their lives. And then suddenly, deliverance! A small grey rock at the end of the world, lost in the drizzle. It reads five to two on the dial of Franck Cammas’ faithful JEANRICHARD watch.
Friday June 15, 2012 – Lorient, France
A MIDSUMMER AFTERNOON’S DREAM
It’s just like a dream! Groupama 4 wins in Lorient, on their home turf and rockets up in the overall standings. After a cataclysmic night for the flotilla, exposed to the raging elements but never yielding to the strong winds and the heaving seas, the men keep fighting on, despite their fatigue. Victory has to be earned, but the prize once achieved is truly magnificent. The gentle rain falling endlessly on the port in Brittany is mingled with tears of happiness and emotion. So much hard work, so much perseverance and abnegation for over two years has finally been rewarded. The combined efforts of a huge team of remarkably skilled people, on land, as well as at sea, and led by an exceptional yachtsman. A slight breeze blows now over this penultimate port of call before the final triumph, bustling with thousands of spectators come to see the heroic boats as they stroll through the Race Village – where they will find JEANRICHARD’S Pop-Up Store.
a midsummer afternoon's dream
Tuesday July 3, 2012, Galway, Ireland
THE IRISH CONSECRATION
These people never sleep! It is nearly three o’clock in the morning and the whole of Galway seems to be out in the streets in the little port, despite the rain. The last few knots before the finishing line were the longest of the whole race for the crew of Groupama 4. The problem was the wind and its caprices, but it was not only that. You should never celebrate a victory before it has been won, even when it seems as sure as this one does. It’s a combination of extreme precaution and secret superstition. But the oppressive silence that had fallen over the orange-andgreen boat is soon lifted by the noisy cheers of the nocturnal Irish crowd. Groupama 4 has just won the Volvo Ocean Race, and Franck Cammas has just passed into sailing legend!
Franck Cammas with JEANRICHARD Aquascope watch
Quick Interview
FRANCK CAMMAS: “MY FINEST VICTORY”
Q. This victory is just amazing!
A. Yes, it’s awesome! Winning the Volvo Ocean Race without any previous experience involving this kind of race, especially for a French team! That’s what really motivated us: achieving something that nobody expected. At the outset, we were neither favorites nor underdogs; we were just there to learn. Even if many people are surprised that we won it, it was also the result of an enormous amount of hard work over the last three years. This victory will remain forever etched in my memory.
Q. What memories will you retain from this race?
A. There are so many that it’s difficult just to select a few. There are all the moments of strong emotion spent on board with my crewmates. And also the victory at Auckland, which is usually the exclusive preserve of the New Zealanders. And then, of course, the tremendous joy of coming in first in Lorient or of being given such a fantastic welcome here in Ireland.
Q. Do you always have a JEANRICHARD watch on your wrist?
A. Yes, I never take it off! On Groupama 4, you know, there is only room for the bare essentials, for the equipment you can really rely on. My JEANRICHARD watch is one piece of equipment I can rely on. I know it is made according to the same strict standards of quality that we have put into practice here in Team Groupama. They represent the same common values of excellence that we are constantly searching for. We have gone around the world together. And, if I may say so, my watch is also one of the winners!
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