13 July 2007
At
an informal dinner in Cascais last night, Mr Wakuyama, SEIKO Chief
Operating Officer , addressed an audience of international media,
sailors and SEIKO employees.
"Ladies and gentlemen,
I hope you have had a good day and have recovered from the ride out on the water. I think you
will agree that it was a privilege for us all to see the great sailing
action today, and to sailors like Jorge Paul and Mark, , whom we are
delighted to have here as our guest, I offer my admiration and thanks
for providing us with such exciting sport today.
We
would not be here in Cascais if it were not for the vision and
determination of many people who have helped make our partnership with
the 49er Association possible. Seiko is the
first company ever to make an agreement with an Olympic sailing class,
and this very innovative partnership could not have happened if we did
not have good friends in the world of sailing to help and advise us. I
am delighted that two of these friends, Edward and Inga Leask are here
tonight to celebrate our partnership with the Association and I would
like to thank them for their support and their assistance.
But
most of all, I would like to thank the 49er Association itself. As we
all saw today, the 49er is a remarkable boat and , once you have seen
it fly through the water, it is not so surprising that it is such a fast growing class. Its Association President, Malav Shroff, is
our co-host this evening and I would like to thank him and his
colleagues for their vision and determination which has allowed us to
open for us both the door to a new type of sailing sponsorship.
Malav,
please accept our thanks for all you have done and may I ask us all to
raise our glasses to the success of the best sailing class in the
world, the 49er!
