The Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge: man, watches and the sea

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Luminor 1950 Flyback Regatta 2006 © Officine Panerai

Luminor 1950 Regatta Rattrapante 2007 © Officine Panerai

For more than a century, Panerai has nurtured a passion for the sea, something which CEO Angelo Bonati wholeheartedly shares and brings to life through the brand’s support of vintage yacht regattas.

Thierry Castagna / La Cote des Montres

Opus I, season III

On June 18th, 2005, Angelo Bonati, CEO of Officine Panerai, gave the starting signal for the first Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge in Porto Santo Stefano (Italy). This small Tuscan port, nestled at the foot of Mount Argentario, was proud to welcome some fifty of the last century’s finest classic yachts. Three Challenges later, on the eve of the Royal Cannes Regattas - the last series of regattas for the 2007 season, from September 24th to 30th - the moment has come to look back at this remarkable human adventure…

When Officine Panerai, decided to bring the deep-seated connection between the brand and the sea to the fore by associating its image with the world of sailing and vintage yachts, it drew on the experience of the Italian Vintage Yachts Association (AIVE) and the International Mediterranean Committee (CIM) to found the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. By committing to the competition with an initial three-year contract as partner and official timekeeper the celebrated Italian brand had an opportunity to make known the values it shares with dedicated followers of classic sailing boats: passion, team spirit and devotion.

Panerai and the sea, a longstanding love affair

Guido Panerai & Figlio, future Officine Panerai, has been official supplier to the Italian Royal Navy since the second half of the nineteenth century, when Panerai mechanical calculators, sighting devices, depth gauges, compasses and chronometers were exclusively designed for military use. In 1938 Officine Panerai developed the first genuinely watertight underwater watch for marine commandos. This ultra-sensitive project was classified "top secret" by the Italian Navy.

Angelo Bonati, a passion for the sea

Captivated by yachts from his earliest childhood, Angelo Bonati knows that vintage yachts are one of the most dynamic and fascinating categories in sailing. Crowds gather in increasing number at major events where sailors, enthusiasts and admirers of every stripe come to admire these magnificent "ladies of the sea."

"Like a watch in the face of time, a yacht confronted with such vast and powerful elements as the wind and waves can exist only as a product of the finest human intellect. And when I say yachts, I refer here to vintage yachts, directly born of the mind and the hand, where the skill of the master joiner becomes the natural continuation of calculation and design. More than creations, they give us marvellous creatures, the visible trace of human history whose fascinating forms are silhouetted against the horizon of humankind. The very sight of these remarkable craft defying wind and sea after years of painstaking restoration is an exalting experience as much for the onlooker as for the professional. To have helped preserve the tradition of vintage yachts, through growing sponsorship activities, has never ceased to bring me immense pleasure, combining my managerial role with a passion that goes well beyond considerations of profit or gain. This twofold union of sea and time, of watches and yachts, has revived in me the emotion of dreaming and contemplation which all too often vanishes in adult life." From the foreword to Mare, Uomini, edited by Officine Panerai published by Electa. ■

PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE

Opus I, participants:
2005: 220 yachts, winner "Cholita"
2006: 250 yachts, winners "Bona Fide and "Émeraude"
2007: 300 yachts expected in all

Season III, 2007 circuit

Five races and three off-shore transfers from one leg to another, giving a total of eight events for which participants are allotted points that count towards the final classification. The boats are divided into two categories: Vintage Yachts and Classic Yachts.

Sailing into the future

Inspired by the extraordinary success of the first three Panerai Classic Yachts Challenges, Officine Panerai has of course renewed its contract. What’s more, Officine Panerai recently became the proud owner of a yacht - qualifiable but in need of restoration - at the last Antigua Classic Week. A new chapter in the Officine Panerai adventure that we look forward to sharing, with passion

NB: Officine Panerai continues to demonstrate its commitment to vintage yachts across the Atlantic, through its sponsorship of the Antigua Classic Week in the West Indies, and at Newport, Rhode Island and Nantucket, Massachusetts in the United States.

As an aside, Officine Panerai is again this year celebrating its partnership with this extraordinary nautical adventure with a limited-edition watch, engraved "Classic Yachts Challenge" on the back. The model chosen for 2007 is a Luminor 1950 Flyback named the Regatta Rattrapante 2007. It will be issued as a limited edition of just 500 (ref. PAM00286). T.C.

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