Corum, a key player in the sailing world, now establishes itself in all the major competitions on the circuit. After announcing a double in 2009, partnering alongside team Okalys-Corum and giving its name to the Corum Grand Prix (one of the major races of the Challenge Julius Baer), the independent watchmaker is continuing its conquest in 2010, recruiting the talented and charismatic Loïck Peyron and announcing its partnership with the Bol d’Or Mirabaud in April. A prestigious calendar echoing the 50^th anniversary of the iconic Admiral’s Cup collection. The waters of Lake Geneva are now under the Corum flag that today celebrates the 2010 season opening of the Challenge Julius Baer by launching a Grand Prix Corum 2010 limited edition timepiece.

In 2010, it is aboard team Okalys-Corum at the Grand Prix Beau-Rivage Palace that Corum will begin its Challenge Julius Baer. From May 8 to May 9, 2010, twelve D35’s will compete on the waters of Lake Geneva in the vicinity of Ouchy (Lausanne) down to the heart of the great lake to inaugurate a season that will honor the best crew.

Last year, team Okalys-Corum, helmed by Loïck Peyron, came close to victory by winning a silver medal in the final of the Challenge Julius Baer. The winds have always been unpredictable at this event, which is usually the final race in the sailing season. This year the AMC (Association of Multihull Competition) has decided to reschedule the 2010 Challenge Julius Baer. Located between the Ouchy waterfront and Lavaux vineyards, the Grand Prix Beau-Rivage Palace now opens the season, heralding a wind that should be more supportive. Indeed, the Lausanne region is less favorable to thermal currents and the start of the season should provide a more sustained wind.

Having concluded the 2009 season tied in points with Team Alinghi, we can expect that team Okalys-CORUM will stand out from the start of the season as an exceptional challenger. As for the ambitions of the crew, team Okalys-Corum has always started its season with a team which, by its characteristics and cohesion quickly finds its benchmarks. Nicolas Grange, owner, helmsman and skipper of the boat is aiming therefore for a victory. Year after year, each step gained is crucial in view of the tight gap remaining between the competitors in the final.

As an official partner of the Corum Grand Prix and the Okalys-CORUM team, the brand is this year launching an official Grand Prix 2010 timepiece with the Okalys-Corum team colors. In line with the Admiral’s Cup collection, this new timepiece joins the iconic models of the brand. With a titanium case and a dodecagonal bezel in rubber, the Admiral’s Cup Chronograph 48 provides a dial decorated with monochromatic nautical pennants contrasted by the hour markers, a second hand and two counter’s hands (minute counter at 3 o’clock and small second counter at 9 o’clock) enhanced with the Okalys-CORUM team’s iconic orange color.

The Admiral’s Cup Chronograph 48 Grand Prix 2010 Corum houses the caliber CO753, a mechanical chronograph movement with an automatic winding COSC certified chronometer, a reference in terms of reliability and accuracy. This Corum Grand Prix 2010 watch is perfectly suited to the technical performance of the Decision 35 OKALYS-Corum. This model will be available at authorized Corum retailers by the end of June 2010 with a retail price of 10’200 Swiss Francs.

Chief Executive Officer of Corum, Antonio Calce said: "Today Corum immerses itself in the sailing world by linking its name to sailors, its ambassadors and also to prestigious competitions. These great waters allow Corum to evolve in its element while evoking the historical connection of the brand to yachting. Today we participate in internationally renowned Swiss regattas, and this allows us to solidify the identity of the brand. These events anchored in Swiss territory; let us share with our markets and our customers our passion for watches and sailing. These moments are privileged ones that reinforce ties and unite teams. Sport competition as a backdrop, exploits, victories as goals, a new chapter will be written."

Nicolas Grange, owner, skipper and helmsman of the Okalys-Corum added: "After an outstanding 2009 season with Okalys-Corum finishing on the podium at every race - which allowed us to end the season tied on points with Alinghi, winner of the Challenge Julius Baer 2009 – the 2010 season promises to be another exciting year with very high-end participation, combining the best multihull sailors in the world, while the best of them are now participating in our world championship. My partnership with Corum allows us to continue to place Okalys-CORUM on top of the ranking and our goal is clearly to finish on the podium of the Challenge Julius Baer once again and to win the Bol d’Or for the 3 rd time, as this race has become THE Regatta everyone wants to put their name on, even after having already won it twice! In addition, Corum’s involvement in organizing this event will only increase our motivation to win this regatta which is usually successful for us as we have been on the podium for the last 5 years. Sailing is often the venue of great sporting and human stories and I am very proud to have helped Corum and Loïck Peyron to come close. With Loïck Peyron and Ben Ainslie on board, Corum can be pride itself on having 2 exceptional ambassadors”!

To those passionate about fine watches and to sailing lovers, see you at Leman Lake in Ouchy from May 8 to May 9, 2010, to watch the tournament of the Challenge Julius Baer.

May 8 and 9	Grand Prix Beau-Rivage Palace	CVV
May 22 and 23	Realstone Cup	SNNY
June 4 and 6	Open de Versoix	CNV
June 5	Genève-Rolle-Genève	YCG
June 12	Bol d’Or Mirabaud presented by CORUM	SNG
August 21 and 22	Open de Crans	CNC
September 4 and 5	Sogeti Cup La Réserve	CNV
September 17 to 19	Grand Prix CORUM	SNG

www.corum.ch
www.challengejuliusbaer.com

Over the past few years, Corum has undergone a complete transformation that has enabled it to achieve a perfect match between the product and the demands for quality and creativity that are the very foundations of its credibility. Its firmly upscale move is a logical result of the brand’s efforts to recapture its historical standing while significantly reinforcing its horological substance. Corum’s substantial investments have led to the integration of watchmaking professions, the development of production tools, the enhancement of human resources and the promotion of staff training. The result is a brand once again entirely in tune with its genetic heritage.

Positioned as an exclusive brand, Corum offers high-quality watch collections featuring an innovative and distinctive design, and equipped with sophisticated mechanical movements. Its 150 current references, spread between four key pillars – Admiral’s Cup, Romvlvs, Golden Bridge and Artisans – enjoy a legitimacy rooted in the brand history. The full set of collections comprises models at prices ranging from 5,000 to 1 million Swiss francs and giving pride of place to precious metals and horological complications.

In 1960, the first interpretation of the Admiral’s Cup model paved the way for Corum’s success. This model celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2010 and remains emblematic thanks to its history, which is inextricably bound up with major sailing competitions and prestigious sailors, as well as for its inimitable esthetic based on a twelve-sided case and a dial set off by twelve nautical pennants. These are its distinctive and unmistakable identifying characteristics.

The Decision 35 is a 35-foot (10.81 meter) catamaran made entirely of composite materials. It has three hulls, of which two are floats and the third, in the center, supports the foot of the mast. This innovative structure is lighter and offers a higher level of performance and better aerodynamics. With a sail area of over 160 square meters (close-hauled), these watercraft are well suited to Lake Geneva’s demanding sailing conditions and can reach a speed of 30 knots (about 50 km/h).

D35 Technical Specifications
Hull length	10.8 m /td>
Overall length	14 m /td>
Overall width	9 m /td>
Mast height	21 m /td>
Weight	1,250kg /td>
Sail area, close-hauled	150 m²/td>
Sail area, downwind	210 m²

A brief history of the Okalys-Corum team

When Nicolas Grange began sailing twenty years ago, he raced on the Formula 40, one of the great Lake Geneva trimarans that often won the Bol d’Or Mirabaud. Having sailed with Ernesto Bertarelli for a number of years, the Decision 35’s two owners were able to keep up both their love of competition and their ranking among the top sailors on the circuit. In 2003, a new chapter of this story was written. Extreme conditions during the 2003 Bol d’Or Mirabaud decimated the multihull fleet on Lake Geneva, leading many owner/skippers of the time, including Ernesto Bertarelli, Philippe Cardis, Gérard Gautier and Nicolas Grange, to create the world’s first fleet of large multihulls. Thus the Decision 35 project was born. This dream became a reality in 2004, when a spectacular new multi-colored fleet arrived on Lake Geneva and quickly attracted the best sailors on the planet.

Putting his experience to work, Nicolas Grange built up a young, outstanding and motivated crew that could succeed in combining performance with enjoyment. Maintaining friendly ties with Loïck Peyron, he also called on his services and his talent and experience with multihulls to round out the team. His vision brought success: to date, the Okalys-Corum team is the most decorated Decision 35 on the circuit. Its laurels include two consecutive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge and two wins at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud; three at the Geneva Grand Prix*, four in the Geneva-Rolle-Geneva and one at the Beau-Rivage Palace Grand Prix; and many other triumphs on the Decision 35 circuit.

The pioneering Okalys-Corum was the first boat to dominate the Julius Baer Challenge after its victories in 2005 and 2006, a feat later matched by Alinghi, which also won the Julius Baer Challenge after its wins in 2007 and 2008. The taste of victory is all the sweeter as for the past four years Okalys-Corum has been competing against teams made up entirely of professionals (Foncia and Alinghi), whereas its own crew consists of amateurs (with the exception of Loïck Peyron) who participate in an average of five regattas out of eight during the season. Last year, the Okalys-Corum team even finished the season with the same number of points than the Alinghi team. Finally only the number of second places during the season decided the winner between both competitors and offered the first place of the championship to Ernesto Bertarelli’s team. The new season 2010 will be as challenged as last year and we are looking forward to see the Lake Leman’s Formulas 1 competing against each other.

Sail number	SUI 2
Club	Société Nautique de Genève
Ranking
2004	6th
2005	1st
2006	1st
2007	4th
2008	3rd
2009	2nd

Nicolas Grange
Owner, skipper and helmsman, two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, Swiss champion, holder of the Blue Ribbon and the Lake Geneva Hour Record, winner of all the major Lake Geneva classics, third place at Fasnet. President of the AMC [the Swiss multihull association].

Loïck Peyron
Helmsman, multihull expert, two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins in the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, three-time winner of The English Transat, multiple World and European Championships, second in the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum, and many others. Since April 2010, the French sailor, also considered as on of the world’s best has joined the Corum family and sails under the brand’s flag.

Andrew Graham
Trimmer, winner of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, a crossover from Alinghi, Farr 40 world champion, has won all the major classic races on Lake Geneva.

Damien Cardenoso
A highly talented Lake Geneva trimmer, naval architect and regatta competitor, also winner of multiple Swiss championships, winner of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud in a monohull, victor in the Bol d’Or Mirabaud in a monohull and a multihull, has participated many times in the Tour de France à la Voile on the boat Ville de Genève.

Kristoffer Jonnsson
Trimmer, two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins in the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, trained for the Olympics in a Tornado with Sweden.

Pierre-Yves Bolli
Trimmer and Number 1, two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins in the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, has won all the major Lake Geneva regattas.

Eric Monnin
Tactician and the best match racer in Switzerland (regularly ranked between tenth and fifteenth in the world), two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins at the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, multiple Swiss and European championships on various boats.

Fabien Froesch
Number 1, two successive victories in the Julius Baer Challenge, two wins in the Bol d’Or Mirabaud, one of the most talented sailors of his generation, winner of the Bol d’Or Mirabaud in a monohull, third place in the Melges 24 European Championship.

Malko Pasteur
Outstanding technician responsible for preparing the boat for over ten years.