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Hitting the line on time with a Swiss regatta watch.
by James Malcolmson
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08/01/2007
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One piece of yacht racing equipment you won’t find at any chandlery is the high-end Swiss
regatta wristwatch. Regatta timers, like many of the top range Swiss watches,
are purely mechanical on the inside, rather than electronic, as is the case with
the new breed of racing timepieces with digital readouts. Essentially
chronographs, which normally measure specific intervals of time, they have been
modified to count down a 10-minute starting sequence. Their utility—as opposed
to their obvious fashionable qualities—may have more to do with what kind of
sailor you are than with the watch itself.
 The rose gold Audemars
Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team Chronograph is a classic chronograph with a functional
10-minute countdown window on the dial from 12 to three o’clock. Like most
chronographs, it is started and stopped by a pusher above the crown, and reset
by the one below. This indicator counts backward according to a standard
10-minute start sequence. The other indicators, including the essential second
hand, count forward like typical chronographs. The difference is a quirk that
will take a little getting used to in a race situation. (Click image to enlarge)
 Girard-Perregaux Laureato Regatta
Tourbillon. (Click image to enlarge)
But even if you never actually use this sought-after timepiece,
you will certainly admire the fact that it will be the one piece of equipment on
your boat that will not depreciate in value. Some collectors have reportedly
made offers as high as double the original $49,900 retail price, meaning that
actually getting your hands on this limited edition may be more challenging than
the race itself.
Keeping track of the starting sequence is something usually
left to the helmsman or tactician. The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Regatta Tourbillon chronograph, on the other hand, is one watch
that is unlikely to be found on any wrist except that of the yacht’s owner. The
regatta timer is one of the better mechanisms currently made, with legible
readouts for both minutes and seconds that operate cleanly through a single
pusher. But even more prominent than the color-coded countdown readout is the
mechanical contraption visible on the dial at seven o’clock.
 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II. (Click image to enlarge)
In theory, this "flying vortex" is supposed to counter the
deleterious effect of gravity on the timepiece’s regulating organ. Watch
collectors today, however, buy these pieces for the sheer prestige and beauty of
a highly complicated mechanism. In many ways, the pleasure is equivalent to that
of owning a thoroughbred racing yacht—both have evolved over centuries and are
beautiful as they run along. Owning one of the just 32 pieces the company will
make, which retail for $265,000 apiece, will tickle the collector gene in many.
 Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team Chronograph. (Click image to enlarge)
Given that many high-level racing yacht owners hire
professionals to steer their starts and call tactics, a different type of
chronograph from a typical regatta timer might be more desirable. The
Panerai Luminor 1950 Regatta
Rattrapante retails for $12,200
and has an interesting functionality. Rattrapante, or split-second, chronographs
can track an intermediate time along with a primary time, making them ideal for
tracking the length of a lead at a certain mark or checking finish times in a
handicap race by comparing the two times. The Panerai registers this
intermediate time with an additional blue second hand, which can be stopped with
a third pusher while the main chronograph is still running.
Lest you feel these features are more suited to the armchair
variety sailor rather than the active type, you may be comforted somewhat by the
fact that the Panerai brand was originally developed as an equipment maker for
Italian naval commandos. Panerai’s brawny-yet-Italian-styled looks have inspired a virtual army of collectors who vie for limited editions like
this one.
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