The Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second TitanioPanerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2010
The association between classic yachting and Officine Panerai has been renewed for 2010, with the sixth edition of Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, the most important international circuit of regattas reserved for vintage and classic sailing boats. For the 2010 edition, the circuit has grown thanks to new and prestigious regatta fields: for the first time, the historical British Classic Yacht Club Cowes Regatta (Isle of Wight, Great Britain) and the Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta (Marblehead, USA) are also part of the circuit. The latter is one of the most famous and exclusive American yachting centres, as well as being the historical birthplace of the American Navy.
The inclusion of the Corinthian Classic Yacht Regatta represents an important change for the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, not just because of the prestige of the event but also, for the first time, the American regattas are combined to form an independent Trophy, parallel to that of the Mediterranean: the North American Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. This Trophy event takes place entirely in the waters of New England and is made up of the Marblehead Regatta, the Newport Opera House Cup and the Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta, also in Newport. The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta Trophy however remains an independent event, and in April, like every year, it will open the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge in the clear waters of the Caribbean island.
The other great change in 2010 is the British Classic Yacht Club Panerai Cowes Regatta. With more than 65 classic yachts expected at the start, this traditional appointment - held every year, in July, in the waters of the Solent, the stretch of sea which separates the Isle of Wight from Great Britain - is likely to be the largest regatta reserved for vintage and classic sailing boats ever held in the region.
Prestigious confirmations for the Mediterranean circuit of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge: as well as Les Voiles d’Antibes and the Régates Royales in Cannes, which open and close the circuit season every year in the Costa Azzurra, the circuit features the spectacular meeting of the Vele d’Epoca in Imperia, which every other year brings to the Ligurian coast an exceptional number of vessels from every class, and the traditional Copa del Rey in Mahon, on the island of Minorca.
In keeping with annual tradition, Officine Panerai has created a special limited edition watch, the prize for the winners of each heat in the different construction classes: The Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second Titanio – 47 mm is a chronograph with a split-second function, that enables the measurement of several simultaneous events, and a foudroyante function to measure fractions of a second. The piece is also fitted with an express scale in knots for the calculation of the average speed of the vessel, a high-tech instrument which perpetuates the long tradition that has always linked Officine Panerai with the creation of tools for life on the waves.
Among the more than 500 vintage boats taking part in the Panerai Classic Yacht Challenge regattas, 2010 will also see the debut of Eilean, the Bermudan ketch built in 1936 in the legendary Scottish Fife boatyards, which was purchased and painstakingly restored by Officine Panerai, as part its commitment to safeguarding and promoting classic yachting.
CALENDAR
ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
April 15th – 20th, 2010
Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda)
LES VOILES D'ANTIBES
June 2nd – 6th, 2010
Antibes (France)
BRITISH CLASSIC YACHT CLUB PANERAI COWES REGATTA
July 17th – 24th, 2010
Cowes, Isle of Wight (United Kingdom)
CORINTHIAN CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
August 6th – 8th, 2010
Marblehead, MA (USA)
OPERA HOUSE CUP
August 12th – 15th, 2010
Nantucket, MA (USA)
COPA DEL REY
August 25th – 29th, 2010
Mahon, Minorca (Spain)
MUSEUM OF YACHTING CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA
September 3rd – 5th, 2010
Newport, RI (USA)
VELE D'EPOCA DI IMPERIA
September 8th – 12th, 2010
Imperia (Italy)
RÉGATES ROYALES
September 20th – 25th, 2010
Cannes (France)