New limited edition Panerai…PAM 343

The association between classic yachting and Officine Panerai has been renewed for 2010, with the sixth edition of Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, an international circuit of regattas reserved for vintage and classic sailing boats.  In keeping with annual tradition, Officine Panerai has created a special limited edition watch – The Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second Titanio, a split-seconds chronograph with a 1/8th second foudroyante function and an express scale in knots for the calculation of the average speed of the vessel.  Quite nicely it will be the prize for the winners of each heat in the different construction classes of the Panerai Challenge!

Panerai Radiomir Regatta 2010 (PAM 343) – Limited Edition of 500

47mm brushed titanium case, “OP” crown, Panerai OP XXI caliber (automatic mechanical), 1/8^th second counter at 9’oclock, Water resistant 100 meters, Leather strap with brushed titanium buckle

Panerai Press Release:  For the 2010 edition of the Panerai Classic, 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.

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.