Dubai International Marine Club to host the RC 44 Championship Tour Finale

Dubai, December 13, 2007 - Team OMEGA, the international sailing team competing in the RC 44 Championship Tour, has sail at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) for its next and final regatta of the season: The Dubai Gold Cup, which is scheduled for December 13 to 16, 2007.   

Seven RC 44 Class boats along with the Team OMEGA boat are in Dubai to race the Dubai Gold Cup, the final regatta of the RC 44 Championship Tour, which also comprises the Portoroz Cup in Slovenia, the Croatia Boat Show Cup, Oeiras Cup in Portugal, Lugano Yacht Club Cup in Switzerland, and the Malcesine Cup, the RC 44 SLAM Cup of Santa Margherita Ligure, and the RC 44 Trieste Cup in Italy.

Team OMEGA is led by Russell Coutts, the legendary three-time Americas Cup champion and former skipper of the Team New Zealand boat. Three Omega Ambassadors: Russell Coutts, Mateusz Kusznierewicz, and current skipper of the America's Cup Team New Zealand Dean Barker, will be racing during the Dubai Gold Cup.

Russell Coutts has translated his long-standing passion for yacht design into a new light-displacement 44-foot boat, the RC 44. The RC 44 was created for top level racing in international regattas under strictly controlled Class Rules. The concept and the design features of the RC 44 are dedicated to the amateur helmsmen racing in fleet racing sailing events.

OMEGA has been a key sponsor and official timekeeper of various sailing events world wide. The link between sailing and timekeeping has existed ever since sailors relied on high-precision marine chronometers for navigation. In spite of there being numerous specialist manufacturers of such timepieces, OMEGA was the only company to produce a wristwatch that received marine chronometer certification. French sailing legend Eric Tabarly, winner of the OSTAR east-west transatlantic race in 1964 and 1976, used the Omega Marine Chronometer wristwatch as a navigational aid.

Though these precision timepieces have since been superseded by satellite technology such as GPS, there is still a strong demand for OMEGA's robust and highly water resistant Seamaster watches and the brand retains its strong nautical links as a sponsor and official timekeeper of the world's top competitive sailors and sailing events.

Omega first came into contact with Russell Coutts through its involvement with the America's Cup, as a partner of Sir Peter Blake's 1995 challenge syndicate in San Diego. The New Zealander's success there paved the way for the Swiss watchmaker to become official timekeeper for the America's Cup 2000 in Auckland, where Sir Peter and Team New Zealand successfully defended their title. In 2003, the brand was once again official timekeeper of the America's Cup. In 2005, Omega continues its partnership as the official watch of one of the top syndicates: Emirates Team New Zealand, whose skipper Dean Barker is also an Omega ambassador.

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OMEGA was founded in 1848 and is a company of the Swatch Group, the world's leading watch manufacturer. For more than 150 years, the brand has been synonymous with excellence, innovation and precision. Faithful to its original pioneering spirit, OMEGA continues to make technical and watchmaking history with innovation in areas as diverse as sports timing, precision technology and design - innovations that led to the conquest of ocean depths and space. Through numerous partnership agreements at the top level of competition in various sporting disciplines such as golf, bobsleigh, yachting, athletics and swimming, OMEGA has actively supported for many years the ideal of perfection and precision. Since 1932 OMEGA has been the Official Timekeeper of 22 Olympic Games, a role it will also fulfil in Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

For more information, please contact:
In Dubai:
natallah@horizon.fcb.com
Tel: +97142825826 Ext: 146

In Switzerland:
OMEGA International Press Office,
Rue Stämpfli 96, 2504 Bienne,
Switzerland
Tel. +41 32 343 9211 
Fax +41 32 343 9715
E-mail: press@omega.ch
Internet: http://www.omegawatches.com

OMEGA is a company of the Swatch Group, the largest manufacturer and distributor of watches and jewellery in the world

© Press Release 2007