COUNTDOWN BEGINS TO THE 18TH ARGENTARIO SAILING WEEK, THE SECOND ROUND OF 2017 PANERAI CLASSIC YACHTS CHALLENGE

THE CLASSIC AND VINTAGE SAILING CIRCUIT MOVES TO TUSCANY FOR THE ONLY ITALIAN ROUND OF THE 2017 SEASON JUNE 2017 – All is now set at Porto Santo Stefano in Tuscany for the 18th edition of the Argentario Sailing Week. The Yacht Club Santo Stefano-organised event, which runs from June 14 to 18, is the second round of the Mediterranean Circuit of the international Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge sponsored by Officine Panerai. For the first time in the regatta’s history, the 40-plus yachts, divided into Classic, Vintage, Big Boats, Spirit of Tradition, Metre and One Design Classes, will compete in four races (one per day) rather than the three races that were the rule until 2016. The prize-giving ceremony will be held after the final race on Sunday, June 18, on the Molo della Pilarella wharf where the fleet will be moored. The opportunity to compete in this extra race has attracted some very large yachts back to Tuscany. These so-called Big Boats are always on the lookout for longer events where they can do extended battle against other equally keen competitors. These will include the 40-metre giantess Cambria (1928), the sole surviving International 23-Metre Class. Fresh from major restorations in England, Cambria won the Panerai Big Boats season trophy in both 2010 and 2013. Her rivals in the category this year include 2
Moonbeam of Fife, the centenarian gaff cutter built in Scotland in 1903 and also known as Moonbeam III. Other attendees will be Cholita, a 1937 California 32 designed by American pen Nicolas S. Potter. Cholita had the honour of being the first season winner of the Panerai circuit in the Vintage category in 2005. Also competing will be the two New York 40s, Chinook and Rowdy, both built in 1916, Naïf (1973) and the Italian Navy’s training vessels, Stella Polare (1965) and the historic Bermudan yawl Artica II, splashed by the historic Ligurian yard, Sangermani, in 1956. It is a new racing season also for Spartan (1913). This 22-metre gaff sloop is the only surviving member of the New York Yacht Club 50’ Class penned by American design maestro Nathanael G. Herreshoff. Having competed on the Panerai North American circuit between 2010 and 2015, Spartan was cargo-shipped to Spain in 2016 to compete on the Mediterranean Circuit. After taking part in the first round at Antibes in France, Eilean will also be returning to competition at Porto Santo Stefano. Panerai’s 1936 22-metre has been sailing the seas since 2009 as an ambassador for both the brand and maritime culture. Four Wianno Seniors are also entered for the Argentario Sailing Week. President John F. Kennedy is just one luminary to have cut his sailing teeth on this 7.6-metre one design class launched over a century ago in the US and now enjoying a revival thanks to the building of new hulls of late in Tuscany. For the duration of the Argentario Sailing Week, owners and crews will be able to avail of the Panerai Lounge and the Race Village on the dockside at the Piazzale dei Rioni. Both are warm welcoming venues where they can gather to grab a bite to eat, discuss the day’s results and plan race strategies. The port area is also open to the public who will be able to get an up-close look at the moored yachts as well as watch and photograph the racing from the Lungomare Navigatori waterfront. 3
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 www.facebook.com/paneraiofficial www.twitter.com/paneraiofficial www.instagram.com/panerai 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 www.eilean.it www.youtube.com/pcycofficial www.facebook.com/PaneraiClassicYachtsChallenge The Panerai Guide to Classic Yachts Yachts is available for download at: www.paneraiclassicyachtschallenge.com/panerai-guide- to-classic-yachts/