Anonimo Riding the ocean waves with SFS sailing What better way to launch the new Anonimo Nautilo SFS Sailing Edition watch than on the open sea aboard SFS II.

  • WatchEast
  • June 12, 2017
  • Comments Off on Anonimo Riding the ocean waves with SFS sailing What better way to launch the new Anonimo Nautilo SFS Sailing Edition watch than on the open sea aboard SFS II.

After industrial action in France turned what would normally be a relaxing high-speed train journey into a drive to Lyons airport to catch an aeroplane that was cancelled, leaving our intrepid driver Anthony to drive us all the way to Marseilles and stop the night without so much as a toothbrush, tackling the winding gear on a 70-foot round-the-world yacht under the clear sunny skies of the Mediterranean seemed almost like child’s play.

I was one of a number of guests to join the crew of SFS II, a former competitor on the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012 skippered by the veteran Lionel Péan, who won the Whitbread round-the-world yacht race in 1985-86. We took to the boat five years and one day after it first entered service and accompanied the crew on a training outing ahead of their participation in the 2016 Giraglia Rolex Cup, which the team completed last weekend. Such training days involve unfurling and furling any number of combinations of the ten different sails carried on board. Lionel Péan told me that what seemed like an inordinate amount of changes during our five-hour stay on board was nothing compared with the conditions of a race, where the sails could be changed countless times for optimum speed, each change requiring fast, muscle-sapping work on the winches, not to mention precarious scrambling around the bow as the waves crash over it, drenching the unfortunate individual tasked with attaching and detaching the sails.

Anonimo Lionel Péan

Luckily, our guest involvement was limited to the occasional bout of winching, with the remaining time left to quiz the amiable skipper on the ins and outs of offshore racing, the meaning of the bewildering multiple electronic displays on the mast and how to steer the boat correctly. Like most experienced skippers, Lionel Péan exudes an air of supreme calm that no doubt comes from having to endure some of the most extreme conditions in ocean racing, as he explains the details of the yacht while simultaneously keeping an eye on the many things that need to be checked, rejoicing quickly in passing when the speed tops 20 knots for the first time of the day.

On his wrist was the new Nautilo SFS edition by Anonimo, one of the principal partners of SFS sailing. Decked in the same red and black colours as the yacht, and with a new optional NATO strap in the same colours, it was the perfect companion and the envy of the relatively large crew. Its 44.4mm stainless-steel case features the brand’s signature crown in the 4 o’clock position and recalls the distinctive and dominant “12, 4, 8” markings of its Marina Militare brother in the form of double hour markers at these locations. The titanium case back and rubber strap, together with a unidirectional rotating bezel and water resistance to 200 metres ensure that the Anonimo Nautilo Sailing edition can easily stand up to the rough treatment aboard an offshore racing yacht. A Swiss Made self-winding movement with a Sellita SW 200-1 base ensures perfect timekeeping.

ANONIMO-NAUTILO-SFS

The partnership between Anonimo and SFS Sailing has been concluded for three years, although Anonimo’s International Marketing and Communication Director Julien Haenny suggests it may be extended based on his initial impressions of a great partnership between the two teams. Expect more special edition watches to follow, therefore.

SOURCE:http://en.worldtempus.com/article/events/sport/anonimo-riding-the-ocean-waves-with-sfs-sailing-21936.html