Antibes

Classic Yachts Battle It Out at Panerai Regatta in Antibes

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Events, Sports

The first Mediterranean leg of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2010 sponsored by the luxe Italian watch brand is now complete with an impressive showing amongst the elegant craft. The yachts Mariska, an auric cutter from 1908; Rowdy, a Marconi cutter from 1916; and Chaplin, a 16-metre Italian Navy vessel built in 1974, won in the "Big Boats", "Vintage" and "Classic" categories respectively during the race days at the famous French resort of Antibes on the Cote d'Azur. The winners each received a Radiomir Regatta 1/8th Second Titanio - 47 mm watch, specially created by Officine Panerai for this new season of regattas and produced in a limited edition of just 500 pieces. In total 51 boats split into seven categories participated in the event which was organized by the Yacht Club d'Antibes and the Club Nautique d'Antibes. Also present in Antibes, though not participating in the regattas, was Eilean, the classic 1936 yacht built by Scottish boatyard Fife, recently restored by Officine Panerai, which we wrote about in April.

Gallery: Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge 2010 Antibes

Tags: Antibes, classic yacht, Cote dAzur, France, Mediterranean, Officine Panerai, Panerai, regatta, sailing, sailing yacht, watches, yacht, yacht racing

The Classicist: A Toast to F. Scott Fitzgerald

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, The Classicist

Drinking, if done well and stylishly, can lead to literary inspiration. Or at least not impede it too much. Take that great chronicler of wealth and society F. Scott Fitzgerald, for instance, whose 112th birthday is about to be celebrated; some of his best work was clearly done under the influence. Just look at Tender Is the Night (1934). Of course the intemperate author, left entirely to his own devices, might have been less poetical in his consumption of alcohol and thereby rendered a less perfect work of art. But his great friends, patrons and mentors Gerald and Sara Murphy, upon whom Tender Is the Night is based, showed him how to do the thing properly.

The beautiful, rich and clever Murphys, central figures of expatriate social and cultural life of the Jazz Age in France, held court at their villa on the French Riviera in Antibes - this was long before the Russian billionaires arrived, before there even was such a thing in fact - and dispensed cocktails at the dazzling dinner parties immortalized in the book. Gerald tried to limit his guests' consumption of same in order to prevent the gatherings from devolving into total inebriation, though Fitzgerald usually managed to down more than his fair share. This often led to breakages, shouting matches and even suicide attempts, proving Murphy right.

The Fitzgeralds of course, were legendary boozers. When they later lived in shabby gentility in Great Neck, Long Island, they would drive back and forth to Manhattan for binges in a second-hand Rolls-Royce. Their houseboy would frequently find them passed out on the lawn in the morning, the car more or less in the driveway. For Murphy, however, drink-making was a stylish ritual imparted by his father, owner of the Mark Cross luxury goods company.

Tags: Antibes, Cary Grant, CaryGrant, Cocktails, f. scott fitzgerald, F.ScottFitzgerald, France, French Riviera, FrenchRiviera, Gerald and Sara Murphy, GeraldAndSaraMurphy, Gin, Jazz Age, JazzAge, Mark Cross, MarkCross, Rolls-Royce, Summer drinks, SummerDrinks, Tender is the Night, TenderIsTheNight, The Philadelphia Story, ThePhiladelphiaStory, Whitney Museum, WhitneyMuseum