| Italy. XIV Vintage Sails at Imperia: Heavy rain & strong winds keep 140 boats in harbour |
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| Friday, 15 September 2006 | |
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Marcella Magliola: First day without races and heavy rains, but intact enthusiasm at Imperia for the XIV Vintage Sails Edition, fourth stage of Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2006 circuit , representing a new record for vintage sail meetings with its 140 enrolled boats. The Porto Maurizio dock crowded at each available mooring , nonetheless the colourful population of the crews did not get discouraged because of the weather. During the night before it has been raining hard and by the morning the wind as well turned stronger. At 11 a.m. in the race-village a busy briefing took place with sailors , organizers and Race Committee: besides the rain 500 owners, skippers and crews, among which well-known faces, champions and protagonists of Sail. Like the ISAF(worldwide federvela) vice-president , Lady Nucci Novi Cepellini as sailor herself on her “Chaplin”, the famous USA skipper Dennis Conner from America’s Cup and regular at all the vintage sails metings, Doug Peterson, the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup winner Luna Rossa designer , the solitary sailor Franco “Ciccio” Manzoli winner of OSTAR in 2005 and the Lona II, fitter-out with his brother Maurizio, the sailor-skippers Beppe Zaoli and Marco Pomi, the ex Azzurra’ s Dani De Grassi, naturally the top management of AIVE (Associazione Italiana Vele d’Epoca): the president Gianni Loffredo and vicepresident Angelo Lattarulo, let alone the Spanish CIM (Comité International du Mediterraneé) president Damien Ribas. At 13 p.m. the Committee has definitively cancelled the first day races. The weather troubles (the nightly flood called for declaration of natural emergency on the city) , didn’t stop works on decks nor on land . In the afternoon crowded introduction of the last commander Flavio Serafini book, expert writer of vintage sails and navy museum editor at Imperia: “Vintage Sailing Yacht”, with files and details about 300 classic sailing boats it is the richest in worldwide editorial landscape . The book cover reports an engagement between the most beautiful sailing history’s schooner , Altair e Mariette. Both these boats, coming out from two design schools such as USA (Nat Herreshoff) and England (William Fife III), were present in 1982 at the first vintage sails meeting , and again they both are here today at Imperia. Yachting tradition together with extraordinary and increasing passion for its culture. Creativity along times: Exclusive Panerai exhibition in the Liberty Palace Great glamour for the exhibition “Creativitŕ nel tempo”, that will be held in the Liberty Palace, edited by Officine Panerai, where historical heritage and modern creations have room. Many Panerai watches , some of them rare like the first 1936 Radiomir , which was the starting point for Panerai innovations, making possible the first real historic professional diving watches . Or like the Mare Nostrum, a 1943 watch holding the name of torpedo timer, intended only for officers. Dennis Connor with Cotton Blossom II challenges Bona Fide Right in the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge circuit it has began , by itself , the great competition between Cotton Blossom II, 15 meters and Bona Fide, 13 meters. Different boats for period and conception but a common destiny: winning sails, great racehorses . Today, after 10 years, they are again in the same field race, for the pure entertainment of fans, curiosity of researchers , satisfaction of yachting lovers. It was just Dennis Conner symbolically starting the fight, a character and winning sailor , even just for a Vintage Meeting prospective . The match is going to be between two steersmen , because beside Conner there will be Beppe Zaoli on Bona Fide , one of the best Italian sailor. The challenge , “derby” between 2 “not-impoverished aristocrats” is going to be at Imperia . There is no date nor fixed track. Maybe the Gallinara island , a buoy or something else. It could be a sudden start at the end of a normal race already scheduled at Imperia . The competition rules between gentlemen, respecting the culture of the pleasure navy (today forgotten), ask for absolute lack of any interest or prize besides the satisfaction of being the faster ship and ending up drinking a good Italian “spumante” . No doubt, one reason more for being at Imperia! |
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