| Italy. XIV Vintage Sails at Imperia: 140 Panerai Classic Yachts off-shore recalled as gale announced |
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; "XIV Vintage Sails at Imperia © Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge")
| Saturday, 16 September 2006 | |
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Fabio Colivicchi: Second day at Imperia for the XIV Vintage Sails Edition , fourth stage of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2006 Circuit, representing a new record for vintage sail meetings with its 140 enrolled boats. A day without races , with boats and crews fighting against a difficult weather . While morning the sun has been going the boats leaving the harbour in sight of the race: to manage 140 vintage boats (between 8 to 40 meters) leaving Porto Maurizio it is a two hours operation , from 10:00 to 12:00 . Around about 14:00 , after a notice of storm broadcast by the Harbour-office, the Comitato di Regata decided to call back all the yacht. The return has been smooth : in the afternoon rain and wind were back at Imperia , now everyone hopes for the weather improvement foreseen for the week-end . The tomorrow (Saturday) race should start at 11:00 a.m. The good morning weather appealed a big audience along the quay , taking the chance to admire from close up all those beauties of the historical yachting. A lot visited the training ship Palinuro of the Italian Military Navy, authentic ambassador of our navy culture, to strain then their eyes among big and small boat’s woods . The admiral is Sylvia, a two mast ketch of 42 meters, 1925 Camper & Nicholson built for long cruises with a 80 millimetres teak planking . Today’s German owner has restored it and he’s just back from a world tour with a long stop in the Pacific Ocean. Few smaller is Zaca, amazing 36,55 meters schooner , a Garlan Ruch design built in 1929 by Nunes Brothers, portrayed by an intriguing life among bankers, world tour, and scientific expedition to the Galapagos. In 1941 it became a coastal patron by the US Navy . In 1944, it was bought for only $14.000 by the actor Errol Flynn , which afterwards spent $50.000 in re-making the interiors. At his death in 1959 the schooner has been abandoned at Nizza and since 1991 it is run by Italian family Memmo. More over, the small boats are protagonist too at Imperia’s meeting. Among these, one is of the oldest and in better shape, the 9 meters cutter Jap, a William Fife III’ s design built in far-off 1897 , nowadays back to its splendour thanks to an American owner. A season news (debut at the Argentario) is Maurizio Manzoli’ s Lona II , another very ancient gaff rig cutter ( of 1905), still equipped with the original lead ballast weighing 2,5 tons. At Imperia are present three boats from the renowned Pen Duick’s series (remake of the first Pen Duick, Pen Duick II and Pen Duick V) of the mythical French sailor Eric Tabarly, run by the national French sailing school. |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 September 2006 ) |
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