A Watch a Week

The Tudor Pelagos FXD Alinghi Red Bull Racing Chronograph

You wouldn’t think that a landlocked country like Switzerland would have much in the way of involvement with competitive yachting, but thanks to two reasons, it does – Team Alinghi. The first reason – or reasons – are Switzerland’s enormous lakes, including Lake Geneva and Lake Neuchâtel (and there are plenty of others). Sailing is a popular sport in Switzerland; the Société Nautique de Genève alone has around 3,000 members. The other factor is money – putting a modern sailing yacht in the water, especially one of the latest hydrofoils, costs tens of millions, and Switzerland has the highest wealth per capita in the world. Between the two it was probably inevitable that Switzerland would sooner or later have a team competing in the single oldest and most prestigious event in yacht racing – the America’s Cup, which has been going on since 1851 when the yacht America won the eponymous Cup (colorfully called the Auld Mug) in a regatta around the Isle of Wight, racing against 15 yachts from the Royal Yacht Squadron. America successfully defended the America’s Cup from 1857 to 1983, which is the longest winning streak in any sport.