Hugo Boss Watches back NY harbour race

US$10,000 to go to the charity of each team's choice in next Thursday's race

Hugo Boss Watches has announced its sponsorship of the IMOCA 60 Class Ocean Masters Manhattan Charity Race, scheduled to take place next Thursday, 29 May within New York Harbour. Following on from this Saturday's prologue from Newport to New York, this race continues the build-up to the IMOCA Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race, starting from New York on 1 June, 2014.

With guests and media onboard the five IMOCA 60 racing boats, their ten skippers will start the race at 12:00 noon EST from a line off North Cove Marina, sailing around Governors Island, past the Statue of Liberty and back to the finish line.

Each team will be racing for its charity of choice, to be declared at the morning’s welcome reception. Hugo Boss Watches will make a $10,000 donation to the winning team’s selected charity, to be awarded that afternoon during the post-race awards ceremony.

Hugo Boss has been involved with the IMOCA class for more than 12 years through their sponsorship of British skipper Alex Thomson. While the team will again depart New York Harbour for the transatlantic race on 1 June, it will on this occasion be under the guidance of Spanish sailor Pepe Ribes and his American co-skipper Ryan Breymaier, as Alex Thomson’s wife is expecting their second child during the race.

“This is a fabulous opportunity to celebrate the lead up to the inaugural IMOCA Ocean Masters New York to Barcelona Race,” commented Xavier Gauderlot, President of Hugo Boss Watches. "We are very excited to sponsor this special event here in New York and to raise awareness for the winning team’s chosen charity with a contribution to their worthy cause.”

“It is fantastic to have the support of Movado Group and Hugo Boss Watches for what promises to be an incredible spectacle in New York Harbor”, said Peter Bayer, Managing Director of Open Sports Management. “These boats are majestic and the guests and visiting media will have the chance to experience the action for themselves – and to win a generous prize for the charity of their choice.” Open Sport Management (OSM) was set up by Sir Keith Mills in 2011 to manage and optimize the commercial and marketing rights of the IMOCA Class and this event demonstrates their commitment to internationalizing the program and bringing onboard commercial partners.