Panerai Presents 2013 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta

APRIL 2013 – Officine Panerai is proud to announce the 26^th annual Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, taking place April 18^th through 23^rd.  Nearly 60 yachts will participate in the Caribbean event, which marks the start of this year's Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, an international regatta circuit for classic and vintage yachts sponsored by Officine Panerai.

THE ANTIGUA CLASSIC YACHT REGATTA

USHERS IN PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE 2013

This unparalleled international classic sailing event combines a record number of participants with Antigua's incomparable atmosphere, backdrop and racing conditions. Each April, the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta celebrates the end of the classic sailing season in the Caribbean. Dozens of classic and vintage ketches, sloops, schooners and yawls all come together to put on a magnificent show alongside a fleet of stunning J Classes, Tall Ships and Spirit of Tradition yachts. The latter category first debuted in Antigua in 1996 and is a testament to the pivotal role the event plays on the international classic sailing scene. In the 26 years since the event's inception, the Antigua regatta has attracted more than 450 different yachts.

The fleet participating in the 2013 Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta is made up of 7 to 45-metre yachts from ten nations. They are then divided by construction year and type into six categories – "Vintage", "Classic", "Traditional", "Modern Classic", "Spirit of Tradition" and "Tall Ships".  Wood, metal and fiberglass yachts may enter permitting full long keel and a provenance in wooden boat designs. Applications from other types of boats are welcome for evaluation by the special expert committee.

Participant arrival and registration is scheduled for April 16^th and 17^th, with The Concours d'Elegance, the Classic Single-handed Race and the official Skippers' Briefing all taking place on Thursday, April 18^th. The four fleet races are scheduled to take place from April 19^th through 22^nd in the stretch of sea between English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour. Owners, crews, guests and international media attending the regatta are invited to enjoy the dockside Panerai Lounge as well as the Antigua Yacht Club, each of which will serve as a beautiful meeting place for post-race discussions and strategy planning. 

The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta provides the truly unique opportunity to admire the rare surviving designs from the drawing boards of the most legendary designers in yachting history, including Nathanael G. Herreshoff, Sparkman & Stephens, John G. Alden, William Fife, Vincenzo Baglietto and Van de Stadt. 

Participants will include Lone Fox, a 1957 19-metre ketch attempting to repeat her victory of 2012; the 1961 Stormvogel, used in the movie Dead Calm starring a young Nicole Kidman; the 43-metre luxury charter schooner Zaca a Te Moana; and the two-master Bolero, a historic 1949 ocean racer  that once served as the New York Yacht Club's flagship.    

Antigua will also be welcoming back the Spirit of Tradition, Wild Horses, the first of the new W-Class 76. Built in 1998 after a design by Joel White from cold-moulded cedar and Douglas fir, this 23-metre spent several seasons sailing the Mediterranean before returning home to the US.   

New entries include the Marconi cutter, The Blue Peter, a 1930 20-metre which has been an eager participant in other Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge regattas since 2005. Matthew Barker's The Blue Peter finished third in the Panerai Transat Classique 2012 – a 3,100-mile dash across the Atlantic between Portugal and the island of Barbados held last December. 

Another new entry is Sincerity, a stunning 28-metre ketch entirely designed and built at the Baglietto yard in Varazze, Italy in 1928. During a 1980s restoration, fittings from a former Orient Express cabin were installed in her interior.  Over the last decade, Sincerity has sailed extensively between the USA, Northern Europe, the Baltic States and the Mediterranean.

In the context of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge calendar, the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta remains independent of both the Mediterranean and North American circuits. The Mediterranean circuit begins with Les Voiles d'Antibes (May 29^th – June 2^nd 2013), and the North American Circuit kicks off with the Corinthian Classic Yachts Challenge (August 9^th-11^th).

OFFICINE PANERAI

Founded in Florence in 1860 as a workshop, shop and school of watch-making, for many decades Officine Panerai supplied the Italian Navy in general, and its specialist diving corps in particular, with precision instruments. The designs developed by Panerai in that time, including the Luminor and Radiomir, were covered by the Military Secrets Act for many years and were launched on the international market only after the brand was acquired by the Richemont Group in 1997. Today Officine Panerai develops and crafts its movements and watches at its Neuchâtel manufacture. The latter are a seamless melding of Italian design flair and history with Swiss horological expertise. Panerai watches are sold across the world through an exclusive network of distributors and Panerai boutiques. www.panerai.com

PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE

In honour of its historic links to the sea, Officine Panerai has promoted classic sailing culture for many years through its sponsorship of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge, the leading international circuit for these vintage craft. In 2007, the company also acquired and restored the Bermudan ketch Eilean. Built in 1936 by the legendary Fife yard at Fairlie in Scotland, she is now the brand's ambassador at vintage and classic boat rallies and regattas. www.paneraiclassicyachtschallenge.com

Press Release