Transatlantic ocean rowing hero Mark Slats secures his place in the Globe as Ohpen becomes his main sponsor

Amsterdam, 4 June 2018 – Mark Slats was in need of a main sponsor. He did not have enough funds, having sold his house for his previous adventure, to participate in the greatest, most gruelling round-the-world sailing race. The Golden Globe Race is a non-stop 30,000 nautical mile solo race, without any modern technology or outside assistance. Core banking provider Ohpen stepped in, with just a week and a half before Slats has to set sail from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom for the start of the official program.

Mark Slats, a carpenter by trade, had never rowed before and decided to participate in the 3,000 mile Atlantic Challenge after his mother became seriously ill. He sold his house to fund his adventure and last January he broke the world record solo-ocean-rowing race by 5 days and did it in less than 31 days. Having completed this challenge, Slats wanted to embark on the world’s most challenging retro sailing race. He will compete with 17 other participants, most of whom have been preparing mentally, physically, operationally and financially for months. Some even years.

Instead of securing a main sponsor for the Golden Globe Race, Slats was busy setting a world-record in his rowing boat ‘Peanuts’. Upon his return, Slats really had to focus on the Golden Globe Race and sell everything he had left to finance his new adventure. Even the boat with which he had been so much through is up for sale. But it was not enough; there was a big chance of Slats having to withdraw from the race. With hope fading, a chance encounter on May 22nd 2018, with Chris Zadeh, founder and CEO of Ohpen changed the course of his adventure.

“When a mutual contact introduced me to Mark, I immediately saw the spitting image of our core values. I have never met a person that embodies ”give it all” as much as he does. The word “impossible” is not in his dictionary. Based on mental strength, tactics and pure perseverance, he overcomes and takes on new challenges. Quite like the journey we have been on in building the world’s first cloud-based core banking engine. With this sponsorship, I want to set an example for our team and our customers, that we can achieve anything if we just set our mind to it”.

With the financial support of Ohpen, Mark and his team, which is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans, can now focus on getting ready for the 7 to 9 month sailing race.

Charity
By participating in the Golden Globe Race, Mark Slats raises money for Sailing4Cancer. To learn more about Sailing4cancer, please visits Mark Slats website: www.markslats.nl/en

About the Golden Globe Race
18 sailors will try to recreate the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world that takes place over 30,000 miles; this feat was originally completed/done by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the first Sunday Times Global Globe Yacht Race back in 1968/69. The sailors will depart from Les Sables d’Olonne (France) on July 1st, 2018. As part of the rules of the competition, the competitors will all race without modern technology or navigational aid and even weather forecasts. For more information please refer to www.goldengloberace.com.

About Mark Slats
Mark Slats (41 years), is a true adventurer. He thinks big and believes that nothing is impossible. When he became a kickboxing champion in Australia he used the price money to buy a boat and sail back to his home country the Netherlands. He sold his house to fund joining the world’s toughest Atlantic rowing challenge. He beat the world record by 5 days and rowed 3.000 miles in just under 31 days. ‘The Gentle Giant’ is now preparing for his next adventure in which he will sail in the Golden Globe Race; 30,000 miles, non-stop, solo, without any modern technology or outside assistance on his boat the Ohpen Maverick – a Holman and Pye Rustler 36. For more information, please see www.markslats.nl.

About Ohpen
Ohpen uses its core banking engine to deliver BPO services and SaaS solutions to financial services providers, such as banks, insurance companies and asset managers. Founded in 2009 by a team of experienced bankers and software engineers, the Ohpen platform supports the savings and investment propositions of its clients. Employing over 150 people, Ohpen has offices in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Spain. For more information, please refer to www.ohpen.com. Click here for images, the Ohpen logo and diverse portraits.

Press release from Ohpen

More: goldengloberace.com