YACHTSMAN ÉRIC PÉRON BECOMES ONE OF ALPINA’S AMBASSADORS
Alpina, Official Timekeeper for the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest, today welcomes Breton yachtsman Éric Péron as one of its Ambassadors through until 2027. The top-level skipper has sailed in major crewed and single-handed yacht races on Olympic courses and ocean-going challenges in French waters and worldwide. Both Alpina and Éric Péron nurture a passion for outdoor sports, a taste for challenge, and human endeavour. Attention to detail and technique are key ingredients in his yachting success – and two of the values on which Alpina established the modern sports watch. Together, Alpina and Éric Péron will be striving for every second of the forthcoming races.
“You have to know how to handle complex, extreme, and dangerous situations”. Éric Péron’s description of what it takes to be a professional yachtsman says it all. The role requires nerves of steel, the ability to draw on longstanding experience, and reliable, high-performance gear. That of course includes his boat, and also his timepiece: the race here is against the clock, and for Éric Péron time is of the essence in every sense of the expression. His watch and its accuracy underpin every decision and every move.
It was only natural for Alpina to connect with the champion given his love of the extreme and his taste for a challenge. Like any ocean-going voyage involving a team, support for the sportsman is all about the people involved, something that fits right in with the Alpina ethos: the firm was originally set up by mountaineers, for whom being ‘roped together’ and team spirit are fundamental values.
Founded in 1883, Alpina established the fundamental characteristics of the modern sports watch: shock-absorbent, non-magnetic, water-resistant, and made of stainless steel. These four features are crucial at sea amid the constant presence of water and its corrosive potential, as well as the repeated impacts a watch has to endure on the wrist of a skipper sailing single-handed. Alpina has extensive experience in the field: its first watches destined for marine environments were developed in the 1960s. Today, its Seastrong collection continues to offer enthusiasts timepieces fit for the ocean waves.
This expertise was also a decisive factor in Éric Péron choosing Alpina. The watchmaker’s constant commitment to developing watches that are ever more reliable, robust and accurate has created the illustrious heritage that has made the brand what it is today. Like watches, monohulls and multihulls have come a long way in the past sixty years. Now, Éric Péron will be getting them to work together to break new records.
“I love wide open spaces, whether it’s the open sea – my own sporting realm – or the mountains, Alpina’s home ground. Partnering with Alpina really makes sense for me; I love their spirit of trail-blazing, adventure and innovation. The way Alpina’s embedded its foundational values in its products is remarkable and I can totally relate to that mindset. I’m very proud to be joining Alpina’s team of athletes, all of whom love to scale new heights”, says Éric Péron.
“I also enjoy the challenge involved in sailing a new boat single-handedly”, he adds. To take up this challenge, the Quimper-born helmsman needs to be able to rely on a robust relationship between man and machine. Every yachtsman needs his vessel, and every race requires a watch: skipper, boat and timepiece form an inseparable trio. “Extensive knowledge of all the systems on board is at the heart of the exercise”, explains Éric Péron, for whom timing and accuracy are everything.
Clearly, he and Alpina are very much made for each other; races are all about timing. Power naps? “17-20 minutes”. Endurance? A vital quality for watch and wearer alike. As Éric confides, “You have to know how to make your body deliver performance” – and he expects his precision instruments to do nothing less. Éric Péron needs to be able to count on them, their reliability and their robustness, from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn and for weeks at a time. As the skipper says, "I love working in the climate of trust all that provides".
“You have to know how to handle complex, extreme, and dangerous situations”. Éric Péron’s description of what it takes to be a professional yachtsman says it all. The role requires nerves of steel, the ability to draw on longstanding experience, and reliable, high-performance gear. That of course includes his boat, and also his timepiece: the race here is against the clock, and for Éric Péron time is of the essence in every sense of the expression. His watch and its accuracy underpin every decision and every move.
It was only natural for Alpina to connect with the champion given his love of the extreme and his taste for a challenge. Like any ocean-going voyage involving a team, support for the sportsman is all about the people involved, something that fits right in with the Alpina ethos: the firm was originally set up by mountaineers, for whom being ‘roped together’ and team spirit are fundamental values.
Founded in 1883, Alpina established the fundamental characteristics of the modern sports watch: shock-absorbent, non-magnetic, water-resistant, and made of stainless steel. These four features are crucial at sea amid the constant presence of water and its corrosive potential, as well as the repeated impacts a watch has to endure on the wrist of a skipper sailing single-handed. Alpina has extensive experience in the field: its first watches destined for marine environments were developed in the 1960s. Today, its Seastrong collection continues to offer enthusiasts timepieces fit for the ocean waves.
This expertise was also a decisive factor in Éric Péron choosing Alpina. The watchmaker’s constant commitment to developing watches that are ever more reliable, robust and accurate has created the illustrious heritage that has made the brand what it is today. Like watches, monohulls and multihulls have come a long way in the past sixty years. Now, Éric Péron will be getting them to work together to break new records.
“I love wide open spaces, whether it’s the open sea – my own sporting realm – or the mountains, Alpina’s home ground. Partnering with Alpina really makes sense for me; I love their spirit of trail-blazing, adventure and innovation. The way Alpina’s embedded its foundational values in its products is remarkable and I can totally relate to that mindset. I’m very proud to be joining Alpina’s team of athletes, all of whom love to scale new heights”, says Éric Péron.
“I also enjoy the challenge involved in sailing a new boat single-handedly”, he adds. To take up this challenge, the Quimper-born helmsman needs to be able to rely on a robust relationship between man and machine. Every yachtsman needs his vessel, and every race requires a watch: skipper, boat and timepiece form an inseparable trio. “Extensive knowledge of all the systems on board is at the heart of the exercise”, explains Éric Péron, for whom timing and accuracy are everything.
Clearly, he and Alpina are very much made for each other; races are all about timing. Power naps? “17-20 minutes”. Endurance? A vital quality for watch and wearer alike. As Éric confides, “You have to know how to make your body deliver performance” – and he expects his precision instruments to do nothing less. Éric Péron needs to be able to count on them, their reliability and their robustness, from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn and for weeks at a time. As the skipper says, "I love working in the climate of trust all that provides".
