Panerai - Old-school sailing
Ten yachts and their crews will leave Lanzarote in the Canary Islands today in a race across the Atlantic Ocean to Martinique in the Caribbean. But the yachts are not high-tech, futuristic multihulls (one is nearly 90 years old) and their skippers are far from being superstars of sailing.
As its name suggests, the Panerai Transat Classique is more concerned with reminiscing about the golden age of sailing, pitting the wits of the skippers against the elements and the weather. In keeping with the spirit of the race, some skippers choose to navigate only by sextant.
Gildas Rostain, skipper of , the winner of the inaugural 2008 edition of the race, sums up the atmosphere on this unique regatta: "The days pass too quickly, so you owe it to yourself to remain positive every minute you are aboard, even in the most difficult moments. Make the most of the special moments. Have a drink, sit back and enjoy the sunsets in the trade wind zones, the shine of the varnished wood, that obedient spinnaker... Don't miss a second of it!"
What's more, for the third edition of this transatlantic race, the organisers have made the course even more difficult. Right at the start, the skippers have to take a gamble: head south to pick up as soon as possible the powerful trade winds that will carry them across the Atlantic, navigate through the Canary Islands archipelago to save on distance (it's the shortest route) but risk getting caught in the calm of the lee of the islands, or seek out the ber, but often more fickle, winds to the north. You can follow their progress in real time, and see whose gamble paid off, on the official website of the Panerai Transat Classique.