Long acknowledged as the leading international circuit for classic and vintage sailing yachts, the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge celebrated its 13th outing in 2017. The circuit spans 10 of the world’s most fascinating and maritime tradition-rich regattas on a calendar that has become a reference point for lovers of the stunning beauty, glorious history, and absolute uniqueness of all classic craft.
“I can say with great pride that our commitment to safeguarding and fostering classic sailing is both unparalleled and unprecedented on an international level,” Angelo Bonati, Officine Panerai CEO.
As per tradition, the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge rounds in France, Italy, and Spain to make up the Mediterranean Circuit. The yachts participating in each of the events on the Circuit build up points which go towards winning the overall Trophy. The Marblehead, Newport, Nantucket, and Bristol regattas allows participating boats to compete for the second Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge Trophy, which is presented to the winner of the North American Circuit, staged each August and September in the waters of New England.
Aside from the two overall Mediterranean and North American Trophies, the winners of the individual events, including the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and the Panerai British Classic Week, which for geographical reasons are not included in either Circuit. will receive a Panerai watch as their prize. Since it designed and produced the first watch for the Italian Royal Navy’s specialist diving corps in 1936, Panerai has been creating precision instruments that combine striking Italian design with leading-edge Swiss watchmaking technology, making them ideal for sea-lovers.
To mark this remarkably long-lived relationship, a series of watches have been designed for lovers of the sea, with a distinctive vintage appearance, yet they are absolutely contemporary in terms of the excellent technological solutions chosen. The two new Luminor 1950 PCYC 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic watches reveal their association with the world of classic yachting through a masterly combination of technology, design, and fascinating little details, such as the engraving of an elegant classic yacht on the back. But the powerful sporting identity is primarily demonstrated by the chronograph flyback function of the Manufacture P.9100 automatic calibre. The push-piece at 8 o’clock instantly zeroes the chronograph hands and immediately restarts them, without it first being necessary to stop them and return them to zero by pressing on the stop and reset button at 10 o’clock.
Distinctive features of the two chronographs are the dial design and the strap. To make reading the dial and its relative functions as clear and as simple as possible, the chronograph minute and seconds hands are of different colours and positioned centrally, while the hour counter is at 3 o’clock and the small seconds dial is at 9 o’clock, its hand being the same colour as the central chronograph seconds hand. Another element which expresses the link with the sea, while at the same time performing a useful additional function, is the tachymeter scale in knots printed on the flange, which enables the average speed of the yacht over a particular distance to be measured by the chronograph minute hand.
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