Yacht Timers
BREMONT
REGATTA AC-R-II
With Bremont’s third regatta movement,
this latest model will be made in a limited
edition of edition of 135 pieces. The watch
is a chronograph with regatta 15-minute
countdown function disk and an integrated
internally rotating bezel for added timing
functions. Bremont notes that it specially
hardens the steel in its watches to make
cases to a hardness of 2000 Vickers, seven
times that of average steel watch cases.
Price: $6,495.
These specially made regatta watches
will count down and display the time
until the start of the race.
IF NEEDED, ANY CHRONOGRAPH can substitute as a modified yacht
timer. As the idea for such of timer is to assure the skipper that
he or she starts the race exactly fifteen minutes (usually) from
the sound of the first air-horn blare, an alert skipper could pre-
sumably use a calibrated bezel with a chronograph minute hand
to time that all-important preparatory period. It’s critical that
the skipper has his or her boat at full speed at the sound of the
starting cannon blast.
But with so many good yacht timers with genuine regatta
movements available these days, why should any skipper have
to settle for a substitute when the genuine article can be found
from a handful of top watch companies.
This is in part why we’ve gathered most of these yacht tim-
ers for you on these pages. And with the America’s Cup making
headlines this summer, we thought it even more appropriate
94 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2017
to outline the newest, and fairly new, regatta models currently
available from major makers. With the exception of the Omega
example we’ve pictured, all are mechanical models, which is
why we didn’t include any existing quartz/digital examples in
this showcase. Omega’s long history of timing yacht racing, in
addition to its current sponsorship of the Emirates Team New
Zealand (winners of the 2017 America’s Cup) warrant inclusion,
even with the digital display on the current edition Omega yacht
timer. Several makers, notably Corum, Alpina and Louis Vuitton,
Maurice Lacroix and TAG Heuer, have offered mechanical regatta
movements in previous years.
All the currently available yacht timers we’ve pictured on
the following pages will showcase the first fifteen minutes,
generally as a color-coded display, making the countdown time
extremely clear as the boat prepares for the start of the race.
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