[Watch House, Watch Chairs] Speaking of sailing, it seems to be far away from us. Except in the Olympics or very few sports reports, we can occasionally see reports about sailing. At other times, we can hardly even see the shadow of sailing. If you live in a coastal city, then you may be no stranger to sailing boats. They "float" on the sea, like white gulls passing by, spectacular and beautiful. Sailing is a "luxury" maritime sport. If you want to play sailing, you must have capital. The most ordinary sailing boat costs tens of thousands, while a better sailing boat costs 500,000 or even millions is normal. Because it "burns money", sailing is not a mass sports event worldwide, but it is undeniable that this is a very exciting maritime sport.
Crew members perform their duties and over-controlled sailing ships
are different from many ships and boats. The biggest feature of sailing ships is to sail with the help of wind power. These sails are connected to the mast through ropes and directly affect the hull. Because sailing boats need to rely on wind, in real sea navigation, you must master some aerodynamic knowledge and skills in controlling sails. In my country, sailing is still very niche. At the Qingdao Station of the just-concluded 2017 International Extreme Sailing Series, my country's extreme fleet has not achieved good results. Although there is no shortage of sailing experts in China, such as Wei Jun, , Guo Chuan , etc., sailing is still at a disadvantage internationally.
Volvo Sailing Race
For sailing enthusiasts, being able to participate in internationally renowned sailing regatta is a dream. This maritime sport full of excitement, danger, skills and teamwork attracts many young people who like adventure. Not long ago, the famous sailing race Volvo Global Sailing Race announced a series of changes to welcome the upcoming competition. The Volvo World Race is held every three years and is a grand ceremony in the sailing regatta. This change first introduced a hydrofoil monomer regatta designed by French design genius Guillaume Verdi, while the harbor race uses a unified design "flyable" catamaran. This means that crew members need to master the operating skills of a variety of hulls and be familiar with the performance of new craft, especially in ocean-going races, which require full reliance on sailor experience and skills. There is no doubt that the ocean-going regatta combines adventure, sport and high technology. Compared with F1 on land, it has many variables because it is largely facing various unpredictable changes caused by changes in sea weather.
Copa America
In addition to this, the most famous event in the sailing regatta is Copa America 4. At the end of last year, the 35th America's Cup Sailing World Tour Series was held in Fukuoka in Japan, giving us the opportunity to experience the America's Cup at a relatively close distance. However, because of the special competition system of the Tour series, it is not the core of the America's Cup. The core competitions of the America's Cup are very fierce. It relies not only on the technology of sailing, but also on the financial and technological level, because the boats competed here are all high-tech regattas that are integrated with high-tech. Currently, only the United States, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand have won the America's Cup. Because the Copa America has a great influence around the world and is very expensive, a large number of wealthy people have gathered, and major brands are competing to sponsor, and some brands even form their own teams to participate.
There are many brands that are close to sailing regatta in the luxury circle, among which Louis Vuitton should be the most recent one. After the birth of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1983, Louis Vuitton not only directly participated in the sailing regatta, but also closely joined hands with the most prestigious event in the world. At that time, Louis Vuitton sponsored the Copa America, so the conference decided to hold a series of preliminary rounds, which can also be called qualifying matches or trials. The team that wins the Louis Vuitton Cup can enter the finals. This qualifying match or trials is the Louis Vuitton Cup. Now, the Copa America is divided into three parts: the Copa America World Tour Series, the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Copa America. Louis Vuitton has even become the official timing of the Copa America. Not only that, LV's support for this sporting event has involved many aspects, including the development rights of shore and water commercial activities, the media rights of international television and online platforms.On May 27 local time, the 35th America's Cup qualifiers kicked off in Bermuda . Five world-leading sailing teams competed fiercely with the defending champion Oracle in the United States and will eventually compete for the championship.
According to the competition system, six teams will have two round-robin competitions in the qualifying round. Each fleet will play two-way matches with the other five fleets, and the winner will get one point in each game. The last champion, Oracle, entered the Copa America finals directly, and the remaining five teams ranked in the top four in the standings and entered the Challenger knockout round. The team that ranks first in the qualifying round will gain a one-point lead if it enters the Copa America final. From June 17 to June 27, the Challenger who won the Challenger knockout round will compete with the defending champion Oracle Team for the championship, and the team that won 7 points will eventually win the championship trophy that represents the highest honor of the American Cup Race.
In the past, LV has launched a special edition watch in order to commemorate its origins and cooperation with the Copa America and sailing events. These watches are specially designed for sailing events. They strictly follow the timing standards of the event and design the core functions of the watch, including 10-minute and 5-minute countdowns, etc. Because there is no more convenient time tool on sailing boats than watches. Because it is water sports, many electronic devices are not convenient to carry. Watches are equipment that sailors need especially, especially watches with chronograph functions, which can help crews take the initiative to grasp time information and prepare in the competition.
Rolex and Sailing Regatt
Rolex Yachts
In addition to LV, Rolex is also one of the enthusiasts of sailing regatta. Its sponsorship events include the Farr 40 World Sailing Championships, the Fastnett Race, the Sydney to Hobart Race, etc. Rolex has a relationship with the sailing regatta for more than 50 years, and it is even longer than LV. As we all know, Rolex has a famous series - Yacht Master. Yes, this watch with special timing function is the best testimony of Rolex's connection with sailing. This watch has a 10-minute countdown function and a mechanical memory function. It is the most suitable professional mechanical watch for sailors. It is not specially launched for a certain event or a certain fleet. It has already formed a series and is the only watch with a chronograph among the many Rolex water sports watches.
Panerai America's Cup special watch PAM00725
Panerai is unquestionable for sailing regatta. From the Panerai Classical Sailing Challenge to sponsoring the America's Cup, Panerai has also taken the lead in the World Sailing Race. The Oracle Team is an elite team in the Americas Cup. It successfully won the championship after counterattacking the New Zealand Chiefs in 2013. This year, the British Ben Ainslie team sponsored by Land Rover attempted to compete for the championship and bring the Americas Cup trophy back to the UK. Obviously, facing this powerful fleet, Oracle still has a lot of pressure, because the Land Rover is currently ranked first in the standings and has a 1-point lead over Oracle. As the official partner of the Americas Cup, Panerai has specially launched five sailing watches, namely Luminor Marina 1950, Luminor Marina, Luminor 1950 Regatta, Luminor 1950 Flyback, and Luminor Marina 1950. It has to be said that these watches are very beautiful, with outstanding designs and bright colors. Panerai itself has a deep connection with the ocean, and the design of Panerai watches is very MAN. Therefore, from a personal perspective, Panerai's nautical sports watches not only have the functionality of nautical timing, but also have unique beauty.
Athen's watch Sponsored by Artemis Racing and the special watch launched by Athens
This year, Athens, a Swiss high-end watch brand that has always been closely linked to the ocean, released a watch with Athens special patent. This watch is specially designed for sailing racing and can set a countdown within 10 minutes. After the countdown is completed, the two-way second hand will immediately move in the clockwise direction and start to time the race.What's special about it is that the movement contains a countdown timer, so that the central second hand can rotate counterclockwise or clockwise, and the contestants only need to start the countdown and do not need additional operations. The watch is the result of a collaboration between Athens watch and its partners, the Swedish Artemis Racing team member, famous sailor, brand ambassador Loïck Peyron and Iain Percy, so they are more aware of what is the key timing factor in sailing competitions.
Omega sponsors New Zealand Chiefs
Omega Speedmaster Series X-33 "Race" New Zealand Chiefs Limited Edition Watch
Omega Seahorse Series Ocean Universe "Deep Sea Black" New Zealand Chiefs Watch
This year's America's Cup, the six teams are the British Land Rover, the American Oracle (also the champion of the last Cup of America), New Zealand Chiefs, Swedish Artemis, Japan's SoftBank and UNITA. Obviously, if nothing unexpected happens, the championship should be produced among the top three teams. Omega has always been very supportive of sports events, and is even the closest and longest-cooperated official timing partner of the Olympics so far. Since 1995, Omega has devoted itself to the sport of regatta. Sir Peter Blake, the famous global sailing captain and legendary American Cup, was Omega's celebrity ambassador. This year, as a strong contender for the championship trophy, Omega specially launched two new watches for its partners - the Omega Speedmaster Series X-33 "Race" New Zealand Chiefs Limited Edition watch and the Omega Seahorse series "Deep Sea Black" New Zealand Chiefs watch, hoping that the New Zealand Chiefs can win the championship again.
In 2017, the most popular sailing event - the Copa America - This ancient event, which has only been held once in four years, is about to usher in the final final. After the competition from Bermuda, no matter who competes with the defending champion, the United States Oracle team for the final championship, it will definitely be the most exciting maritime sailing competition. Behind this, a carnival of luxury brands and title sponsors will be staged. (Photo/Text Watch House Wu Yibing)
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