Well it didn’t take me long! Pictured with my MK40, let there be colour!

 

congrats!

Looks good on the black NATO

 

The main function of a regate watch is to time the ten minute start so as to hit the line on the start gun hence the Lemania 1345 minute circles and the flyback seconds hand etc. . I noted in this years Olympics yacht races some competitors were wearing watches with that function albeit quartz no doubt . I cannot for the life of me see how this function works on the Wakmann accurately. Anyone know?
Great write up by the way.

 

Great read. Thank You

 

Well, I can’t speak for the nuances of the regatta race etc., but I can say:

This caliber chronograph has a central sweep minute totalizer - the big central hand with orange “airplane” tip - circling the dial once an hour

Starting the chrono, then, would send that minute hand through the regatta colored sections of the inner bezel

For example in the below, there would be ~2.5 minutes left in the 15 minute countdown

 

Thanks cvalue13. I can see that now after your explanation .

 

“
(Anyone have examples of Lemania-branded watches for models otherwise offered by other brands containing Lemania movements?)”
Not sure if I missed an answer to this however the 1345 movement can be found in Lemania Regatta branded watches as well as aquastar and their many distributors such as tissot and Heuer. The 1345 was also used in the Paul Elvstrom regate watch marketed by lemania . Examples below.
As I understand the chrono movement was plonked on the 1340 for aquastar initially

 

Very interesting addition, thank you!

Regarding the last watch pictured, do you happen to be familiar with the arrow markings and nomenclature regarding “first mark” and “reach” etc?

 

Absolutely. That is my ugly arm . The dial was designed by Paul Elvstrom a distinguished Sailor and Olympian. It is designed for use tactically on Olympic courses and also for establishing the the bearing a sailboat would take at 45 degrees to the mark. Forty five degrees being the average closest a sailboat could sail into the wind in those days . For me I would preplan a compass bearing from the centre of the start line to the first mark and move the bezel so the bearing is at 12 and repeat at each mark to the next. That way I knew the optimal bearing without seeing the mark . Especially useful solo racing before electronics took over. Below is an extract from the manual.
As an aside as I understand not that long after these watches were produced Elvstrom signed a contract with Rolex and Lemania’s owners instructed all unsold to be withdrawn and spare parts returned. A Stainless steel and later titanium cases were produced . Mine is titanium.

 

I can’t say I fully grasp it (not being agile with sailing, etc.) but I’m very intrigued! Thank you for this very helpful explanation, frustrated only by my density.

Regatta timers like the ones you shared are a very compelling segment of watches - appreciate you sharing

 

Your not the only person in that boat .I was frustrated lots of times as well . Yacht racing with all its rules and tactics is a very complicated sport at the top.

 

It’s fascinating.

I think this is one of the most interesting threads I’ve read in years.

I had no idea about the complexity of the sport and much less about the usefulness as tool watches of these regatta watches.

such a refreshing read .

Specially loving that this is not a jut value of watches or about high end horological value but rather simple passion .

 

Somewhere (TM) I have a book of the Rules of the Royal Yachting Association (governing body for the UK) that came with two little models with a rotatable "boom" so that the rules could be acted out on the tabletop. But that was thinner than the RAC Rulebook covering most forms of motorsport and that was a lot thinner yet than the FIA International Rulebook. But the last two had a much wider sweep covering organisation, courses, public duties (eg police) technical regulations, etc.

While racing yachts I used this to time starts, and obviously when navigating rally cars etc.

 

Glad you enjoyed. I also have the aquastar regate which I purchased new in 1979
expressly to use for the start of yacht races as well as using as a normal watch before the elvstrom .
The elvstrom has the same 5/10 minute timer and flyback seconds/ crono hand .

 

Thats a nice timepiece.
Typical of RYA ,keep it brief ,give you a couple of toys to practice on the kitchen table then meet you in the protest room when you got it wrong. Actually the toys to practice with are a good idea as the rules are complex compared to other sports and would be great for youngsters to learn the rules with
Not only do the rules apply before the start where jockeying for prime position causes more protests than any other sport but the complexity of the rules for all situations can be a nightmare

 

Since we got into boating watches, thought I’d share this cool little pop culture piece from the period of watches having been shared in this thread. (I thought the discussion of Rolex was particularly interesting, as I wasn’t familiar with the English Channel swim “bump” that is purported in the piece.)

 

I know I'm necro-threading here, but 3/4 of the way through the first page I thought the subject watch was a Walkman, and wondered--for only a minute--how did they make CD's that small in the 70's?

 

I'd like to express my appreciation for the OP!

I have an SS-color )) Lemania version of this watch and have never been able to find any information on it. I randomly found out about the Wakmann connection from a social media watch group and that led me here!

On other Lemania-branded watches: I have a Lemania Benthos (more commonly seen branded as Aquastar).

 

Well there is the universal one-size-fits-all springy top links that are sure to gouge up the inner lugs if used. Very doubtful if Wakmann themselves equipped the watch with that bracelet.

 

Doc is that you?