Wednesday, May 18, 2022
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News
Brought to you by: Monaco Life
Tom Hill one month before London to Monaco Cycle for charity. Photo: Tom Hill/ Glenn Hampson.[/caption]
On September 18, the first London to Monaco cycle charity ride will begin – an epic 10-day journey starting from the Tower of London, and arriving at the Prince’s Palace in Monaco on September 27, to coincide with the launch of the Monaco Yacht Show the following day.
An initiative of London-based Winch Design, the award-winning company “specialising in the exterior and interior design of yachts, aircrafts, residential and commercial properties”, 73 cyclists from the superyacht industry – Burgess, Rivergate, Oldenburger, Boat International, Icon Connect, Arcon Yachts and Reef Knots – will saddle up for the 1500 km challenge over three countries, hitting peaks of 12,000 feet, to raise awareness and money for the Blue Marine Foundation, which was founded in 2012. Organisers hope to hit £500,000 to go towards two projects targeting ocean protection, in the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily and the remote island of Ascension in the tropical Atlantic.
Winch Design has long supported Blue Marine, including the “Whale Room” design by William Blomstrand at Sweden’s Ice Hotel in 2012, which replicated the ribcage of a whale.
Andrew Winch, remarked, “I’m passionate about the oceans and know that we must ensure the future of our seas. As a great supporter of Blue Marine Foundation, I wanted to make a real contribution to their wonderful work in celebration of our thirtieth year in business. The entire team at Winch design is inspired to do their bit to help and I hope people within our industry will get behind this event to show their support for Blue and the environment.”
The four stages of London to Monaco
Thomas Hill, 23, Associate Director of Rivergate Marina and Shipyard in Brisbane, Australia, will be the only Australian saddling up for the charity ride (and burning 3 million calories along the way).
ML: Tell us about Rivergate in Brisbane and its connection to MYS.
TH: Rivergate is a family owned award-winning marina and shipyard with a service-based model that is world renowned for focusing on every aspect of superyachts.
Rivergate exhibits at the Monaco Yacht Show every year as part of the Australian contingent. Australia is a major player in the global superyacht refit and maintenance industry, as well as a fantastic cruising destination along with New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti and New Caledonia. But the Monaco Yacht Show is the epitome of the work we do, and it’s very humbling to be a part of such a prestigious and high-energy show. This is where trust and communication happens.
ML: How did you become involved in the London to Monaco charity cycle?
TH: Martin Redmayne [Editor-in-Chief, The Superyacht Group] was at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show, one of Australia’s biggest industry events. We got talking and one thing lead to another. I’m passionate about protecting the ocean. Our family gives fisherman polarised glassed to help them to see the fish they want to catch as to avoid overfishing. So I am happy to get behind the Blue Marine Foundation and what is stands for.
ML: What kind of training did you do?
TH: I was a swimmer at the national level and have always been very active. I played cricket, rugby, I surf, I do Pilates, I started cycling four years ago … I’m always super active. So in a sense, I never really started training for this ride. I was cycling already 300-350 km a week but I guess it became more of a focus around five months ago but then I found out I had to have surgery on both my knees for meniscus. I cycled the morning of my operation up “The Best of All” on the Gold Coast at about 1100m. The scheduling was all in the rehabilitation post-surgery, with a watchful eye from my coach, physic and surgeon. The knees feel strong; they have to be because I have no Plan B.
ML: You’re an only child. How do your folks feel about you riding so soon after surgery?
TH: They are always supportive, even if they’re concerned. My mom told me, “Ride well for you, your family and your reputation. But have fun.”
ML: What do you hope to take away from such a monumental challenge?
TH: Personally, the people participating from the industry are names I really look up to. From a business perspective, as we are sponsoring the Monaco to London charity cycle and providing everyone with two water bottles, which will have the Rivergate name, website and map of Brisbane, I’m hoping my fellow riders will look at those bottles down the road and remember a moment we all shared riding a mountain together.
Donations for the London to Monaco Cycle challenge can be made via 
Presentation by Alain Bensoussan to the representatives of the private sector. Photo: Michaël Alesi/DC[/caption]
At the initiative of the Prince's Government, a day of information sharing on new EU regulations on the protection of personal data was held on Monday, May 7.
Meetings were organised for representatives of the main economic players in Monaco’s private sector, and representatives of the public sector, para-public and institutional entities, chaired respectively by Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and by Serge Telle, Minister of State.
Presentations of the General Regulation on Data Protection (RGPD) and its impacts for Monaco were provided by Alain Bensoussan, a lawyer specialising in the law of new technologies.
The RGPD is the new European framework for the processing and circulation of personal data. This text, which will be applicable from May 25, 2018, standardises the laws of EU Member States with regard to personal data. Its aim is to give all EU residents more control over their personal data, to increase the accountability of processors and subcontractors while reducing their prior formalities with regulators and to strengthen the role of regulators and data protection authorities.
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Guy Magnan, Chairman of the Commission for the Control of Nominative Information, Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Alain Bensoussan, and Serge Telle, Minister of State. Photo: Michaël Alesi/DC[/caption]
Although outside the EU, the Principality is concerned by the provisions of the new European Regulations, since the GDPR is applicable to companies outside the EU that process personal data of natural persons residing in the EU.
Monaco has had data protection rules in its legal system since 1993. Now, in this new context, “the modernisation and adaptation of Monegasque legislation to the new European rules is one of the priorities of the government and work is already being done in this direction,” Minister Tonelli said.
The Minister of State for his part stressed that there is “an opportunity that the Government wishes to seize, through several important projects: the development of the smart city, the strengthening of our digital ecosystem and the implementation of a real strategy on these subjects, including the appointment, a few weeks ago, of an Interministerial Delegate for Digital Transition.”
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