Older readers may remember the vintage commercials produced by the Timex watch company. Timex would put one of their watches through some sort of torture and then zoom in close to show it was still working while its spokesman, John Cameron Swayzey (a TV anchorman in the 1950s) intoned, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking!" Now the Elliot Brown watch company has updated the "takes a licking" approach. The company attached one of its watches to the mast of Da Nang – Viet Nam, a Clipper Race boat. The watch was on the mast, exposed to weather and waves, for 41,135 nautical miles. At the end of the race on July 30, 2016, the Bloxworth model watch was still going strong, having survived the following.
- Distance traveled 41,135 Nautical Miles (plus 1 month at sea before the race)
- Temp Range Zero to 36c
- Fastest boat speed 30.7 knots
- Highest Wave 90 ft
- Highest wind speed 86 mph
- 6 continents
- 5 ocean crossings
The company apparently proved its point in a spectacular way that its watches are tough. Watch the video below to get a taste for the extremes of the Clipper Race.
40,000 nautical miles on board a Clipper Race yacht from EBwatches on Vimeo.