GRYPHON SOLO Gryphon Solo Campaign Sponsorship Proposal 2006-2008 1 WELCOME Welcome to Gryphon Solo, America’s finest solo offshore racing team, ready to compete in the tough, international world of single-handed ocean racing. Welcome 1 Why Gryphon Solo? 2 Applauding Sponsors Say… 3 The Campaign 4 The Skipper 5 The Team 6 The Yacht 7 Events 8 Branding Examples 11 What’s the Deal? 12 Sponsor Benefits 13 Summary 15 GRYPHON SOLO WHY GRYPHON SOLO? 2 WHY GRYPHON SOLO? Ⅵ BRAND AWARENESS - Over the next three years, Gryphon Solo will compete in a series of premier international offshore races, all of which will receive extensive media coverage and high public interest. By sponsoring Gryphon Solo, your company will gain unique exposure through what is essentially a massive global billboard, reaching millions of people worldwide. Ⅵ CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT - With wide, spacious decks and a "thrill-ride" that’s second to none, Gryphon Solo is the ideal platform for entertaining clients or hosting company VIPs. A day aboard is sure to leave a lasting impression. Ⅵ EMPLOYEE INSPIRATION - With its unique focus on self-reliance, determination and resilience, solo sailing is a natural fit for employee motivational programs and initiatives. Solo sailing proves that creativity and determination can make anything possible. Ⅵ CORPORATE TEAM BUILDING - Members of the Gryphon Solo team are available for motivational seminars or as keynote speakers at corporate functions. Employees are also invited to join the boat for informal racing sessions. APPLAUDING SPONSORS SAY… 3 APPLAUDING SPONSORS SAY… Due to its tremendous international exposure and the public’s insatiable appetite for extreme sports, single- handed offshore racing has rapidly become a popular sponsorship venue. Dozens of major corporations have committed marketing dollars to solo sailing with impressive results. Here’s what a few of them had to say: "Our sponsorship of Brad "Pindar has sponsored Van Liew and Tommy Hilfiger- Emma Richards for the last Freedom America has proven "During the Transat Race our four years, each year extremely successful. We employees and clients were increasing our involvement in were able to reach and riveted to the hourly race her sailing activities. The connect with new customers updates and inspired by Joe’s publicity given to Pindar has around the world through the heroic efforts. After a sail on been tremendous, and using incredible press exposure we the boat, our clients come the boat for corporate received on this sponsorship. away glowing. We are very entertaining with Emma as a Our partnership yielded pleased with the sponsorship" central motivating figure for tremendous results our employees has been and exceeded our invaluable." expectations in every way." Tommy Hilfiger Christopher J. Jordan Andrew Pindar Chairman Executive Vice President Chairman Tommy Hilfiger Corporation Wells Fargo & Company Pindar/Alphagraphics In the 2001 Vendee Globe race, Ellen MacArthur and the Kingfisher campaign generated media exposure with an Equivalent Advertising Value of $55 million USD over a three year period. Put your name on Gryphon Solo and earn your share. THE CAMPAIGN 4 THE CAMPAIGN The torch of American single-handed offshore sailing has been passed from recent Around Alone race winner Brad Van Liew to Joe Harris, an experienced offshore sailor with the right combination of skills, desire and resources to carry forward Van Liew’s success in a sport traditionally dominated by Europeans. Harris will campaign in a series of Trans-Atlantic ocean races, culminating in the 2007 Global Ocean Challenge Race around the planet. This sport pits one man and one boat against nature’s most isolated and formidable environment - the sea. Success, however, will require a team of professionals backing the skipper, as well as partnerships with sponsors and suppliers that showcase the very best of American creativity, enterprise and technology. The Gryphon Solo campaign has already taken bold steps toward winning the Global Ocean Challenge including: Ⅵ Purchased the fastest 50-foot sailboat in the world - Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America won the 2002/03 Around Alone race. Renamed Gryphon Solo, she holds the 24 hour speed record for Open 50 class. Ⅵ Assembled a formidable team - PR professional Talbot Wilson will provide extraordinary coverage for sponsors; Hugh Piggin, a Kiwi sailor with vast ocean racing experience and a broad boatbuilding skill set is Gryphon Solo’s boat manager; Blake Jackson, internet guru, manages the GS web site and communications. Ⅵ Sailed to second place finish in the solo 2004 Transat Race from Plymouth, England to Boston, MA - Joe sailed across the Atlantic twice in the Spring of 2004 and took a second place finish in the 50' monohull class of the Transat Race in a time of 16 days. Ⅵ Sailed to a first place finish in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre race - Joe sailed from LaHavre France to a victory celebration in Salvadore, Brazil in a time of 19 days. SKIPPER & CAMPAIGN MANAGER 5 SKIPPER & CAMPAIGN MANAGER LIFELONG SAILOR - Born and raised in Greenwich, CT, Joe Harris grew up sailing on Long Island Sound. He was mentored by his father- an offshore racer with 18 Newport-Bermuda Races to his credit - and his grandfather, a veteran of five Trans-Atlantic voyages. COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN AND BOAT BUILDER - After graduating from Brown University in 1981, Joe spent his summers working as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and his winters as a boat- builder in New England. SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS EXECUTIVE - In his thirties, Joe received an MBA from Babson College and embarked on a career in real estate finance. He advanced rapidly to his current position as CFO of New Boston Fund, Inc., a $1.5 billion real estate investment and development company. EXPERIENCED OFFSHORE RACER - Joe has owned and campaigned a series of boats over the last 15 years, competing in every major East Coast regatta and offshore race, including eight Newport- Bermuda, four Marblehead-Halifax, two Bermuda One/Two races, the 2004 Transat Single-handed TransAtlantic Race, the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre race. Joe has sailed over 40,000 offshore miles. RIGHT FOR YOUR BRAND - Joe will project an image that is right for your business. He is a sailor and a business executive. Joe is a professional and will represent the sponsor’s brand with integrity and a highly positive image. THE TEAM 6 THE TEAM Boat Manager - Hugh Piggin: Hugh was born and raised in New Zealand and has been a sailor from an early age. Hugh began big boat sailing with the famed “Kialoa” program and went on to become involved with the French trimaran program of Yvan Bourgnon, the Team Adventure catamaran program, and then a series of maxi monohulls called “Harrier” in the U.S.. Hugh is a world class bow man and an expert rigger. Public Relations Manager - Talbot Wilson: A PR professional, a sailor, and owner of Talbot Wilson & Associates, Talbot has managed media centers and PR for match races, ocean races and individual sailors. He was a manager of the US Admiral’s Cup teams four times from 1989-1999. Talbot has been the Press officer for the Newport Bermuda Race since 1989 and Bermuda’s King Edward VII Gold Cup since 2004. His role is to acquire sponsorship and tell the story of the Gryphon Solo adventure. Communications Manager - Blake Jackson: After a career in electrical engineering, his focus on internet development formally began at iXL, previously a global internet consulting firm, and then at Performix Technologies. Since 2002, Blake has run an internet consultancy, and developed the web management software platform on which this site runs. With 10 years of experience, Blake offers a rare balance of creative and technical problem solving skills. THE YACHT 7 THE YACHT Dubbed the world’s fastest 50-footer in 2003, Gryphon Solo won Class II of the Around Alone Race by an unprecedented 21-day margin. The boat, then named “Tommy Hilfiger-Freedom America,” also holds the 24-hour speed record for a 50’ yacht, having covered an astounding 345 miles in 24 hours. Designed by Group Finot and built without compromise by JMV Industries in France, Gryphon Solo is a thoroughbred racing machine. The boat is capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots while remaining stable and under control. Gryphon Solo is built entirely of carbon fiber and uses a hydraulically operated canting keel for added stability. The boat has twin daggerboards and twin rudders to provide added ”lift” to windward. The combination of voluminous sail area, stability and light construction gives the boat tremendous power and acceleration. Moreover, the yacht carries the latest high-tech electronics and communications equipment, allowing the skipper to not only sail competitively, but also to stay in touch with sponsors and the media from anywhere on earth. EVENTS 8 EVENTS The principal objective of the Gryphon Solo campaign is to win the 2007/2008 Global Ocean Challenge Race (GOC). Gryphon Solo will also compete in a number of other high-profile ocean racing events leading up to the GOC start in September 0f 2007. June 2004 - Transat 2004: From Plymouth, England to Boston, MA. Joe sailed Gryphon Solo to a second place finish in the 50' Monohull Class with a solo trans-atlantic passage time of 16 days. Joe experiencedCOMPLETED continuous cold, fog and headwinds, making the race a true test of endurance as well as sailing skill. July 2005 - Marblehead to Halifax race: Gryphon Solo raced in the double-handed class of this bi-annual New England classic. This race is a navigational challenge as the twenty-foot tides of the Bay ofCOMPLETED Fundy make rounding Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia tricky. Fog is pervasive and the finish in Halifax is generally an “instruments- only” landing! Gryphon Solo took first in class.