Garmin named as Official Marine Electronics Supplier for new Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet

Garmin Europe Ltd and Clipper Ventures Plc are delighted to announce that the world leader in satellite navigation and GPS technology will be the Official Marine Electronics Supplier for the new fleet of Clipper 70s for the Clipper 13-14 and Clipper 15-16 Round the World Yacht Races. Garmin will provide a complete system of intuitive, robust navigational electronics which will guide the twelve 70-foot boats on their year-long circumnavigation.

The partnership was launched on the Garmin Stand (G026) at the Southampton Boat Show at 15:00 BST on Friday 16 September.

Clipper Race Director Jonathan Bailey, was present at the launch, and said: “We’re pleased to have Garmin on board as an official supplier for our new fleet of Clipper 70s. As a major global brand Garmin recognises the value in being associated with the world’s longest yacht race and we look forward to working with them over the coming months and years.”

Clipper Ventures selected Garmin as its official supplier for the Clipper 70s following a thorough selection process involving the world’s leading manufacturers of marine electronics. The company has offices around the world and has been manufacturing marine electronics since 1989.

“Garmin is proud to be the new marine electronics provider for the Clipper 13-14 and Clipper 15-16 Round the World Yacht Races and we look forward to following the international crews on the twelve Clipper 70s as they race around the globe. This exciting association with Clipper will bring added value to our brand and extend Garmin’s growing presence in the racing sector,” Nigel Craine, Marine OEM Sales Manager, Garmin Europe Ltd, said.

 
In Clipper 11-12, the current edition of the biennial round the world race, a total of ten internationally-backed teams will visit 15 ports of call on six continents over the course of the gruelling 12-month race. The route takes the fleet to Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Geraldton Western Australia, New Zealand, Australia’s Gold Coast, Singapore, Qingdao, California, New York, Nova Scotia, Derry-Londonderry and the Netherlands. The race returns to the UK on 22 July 2012.

The race was established 15 years ago by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Its objective is to give ordinary people the chance to do something truly extraordinary. To date almost 3,000 men and women representing 300 professions and 52 nationalities have participated in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race sailing almost 1.8 million miles.

Clipper Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: “The Clipper Race offers its many partners and sponsors the opportunity to promote their brands on a global stage. We recognise that a brand like Garmin with its global reach and timely support can contribute to the future success of the race and we’re thrilled to have them on board as the Official Marine Electronics Supplier for our new fleet of Clipper 70s.”

 
About Garmin 
The global leader in satellite navigation, Garmin Ltd. and its subsidiaries have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications since 1989 – most of which are enabled by GPS technology.  Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information visit Garmin's media centre at http://garmin.blogs.com/ukpr. Garmin is a registered trademark and GHP, GHC and GWS are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.  All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

About the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
The inaugural Clipper Round the World Yacht Race took place 1996-97 and was established by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston to give everyone, regardless of sailing experience, the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of ocean racing. Clipper 13-14 will be the ninth edition of the biennial event and will be raced on a new fleet of state of the art Clipper 70s. Each of the 12 yachts will be sponsored by cities, regions or countries around the world who use the race as a platform to generate international trade, tourism, business and cultural links. Crew members can sign up for the whole circumnavigation or one or more of eight legs. The only qualification for the race is the minimum age of 18 – there is no upper age limit. The overall race is divided into individual stages and points are accumulated in a Formula 1-style scoring system. The yacht with the highest total at the finish wins the Clipper Trophy.

About Clipper Ventures Plc
More than 40 years have gone by since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's record breaking solo and non-stop circumnavigation in 1968-69. Now, as Chairman of Clipper Ventures Plc, he is at the forefront of promoting round the world yacht racing. Clipper Ventures, the marine events company founded in 1995, is focused on developing and promoting major events capable of attracting significant participation, income, media coverage and associated sponsorship revenue. Sir Robin founded the company on the premise that sailing should be made available to everyone, regardless of age or experience. Almost 3,000 people have now competed in the seven editions of the Clipper Race to date. The company also owns the rights to the VELUX 5 OCEANS race and runs successful Events and Training divisions.

Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 26, 2009 filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-Q can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.