Stepping in as main event sponsor for a round the world race can prove to be the right investment for companies seeking to assert their global presence. Firstly, it offers the event sponsor the unique opportunity of moulding the circuit with stop overs according to its key markets. The kind of sailing support chosen, one-design or box rules classes, mono-hulls or multi-hulls, as well as the complexity of the operations will of course impact on the overall budget required from the main sponsor, but they are not necessarily out of reach for a large SME with a global presence. Secondly and lastly, one of the great things about sponsoring the event, as opposed to a team, is that the level of exposure, whilst still dependent on the quality of the activation, is more or less guaranteed and not dependent on sporting results.