Ben Ainslie's Titanium Yacht-master

[Alansmithee]

Hello,

I've searched and cannot find a thread on this but apologizes if this has been discussed.

Has anyone got good photos of the custom Yacht-Master that Rolex made for Ben Ainslie?

All the pictures I can find on-line are long-distance and blurry?

[winst]

Originally Posted by Alansmithee

Hello,

I've searched and cannot find a thread on this but apologizes if this has been discussed.

Has anyone got good photos of the custom Yacht-Master that Rolex made for Ben Ainslie?

All the pictures I can find on-line are long-distance and blurry?

I think this is it - looks like the standard one but it is made out of titanium. Scroll down to second picture:

https://www.prestigeonline.com/sg/st...on-in-sailing/

[Alansmithee]

Originally Posted by winst

I think this is it - looks like the standard one but it is made out of titanium. Scroll down to second picture:

Could be but there is an image of a very strange black looking rolex that he is wearing being discussed at Tz-UK - I don't have enough posts to post a link to the thread or to an image (sorry).

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by winst

I think this is it - looks like the standard one but it is made out of titanium. Scroll down to second picture:

https://www.prestigeonline.com/sg/st...on-in-sailing/

The photo of the foiling cat just gives me goose bumps. I'd love to do that but I'd likely get killed. I've got two catamarans in the yard but nothing at all like that. That's just so amazing!!!

[MrGoat]

This is the best pic I could find.

Edit: didn’t realize the link referenced the same pic.


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[Alansmithee]

The mysterious watch does not seem to be a Yatch-Master II but a black Yatch-Master with a matt grey body - you can see it in some videos and pictures.

[Zsprings]

The pic of the 'foiling cat' in the Rolex book, sure does look impressive.
But 'foiling' is surely the same as 'planing', the term we used years ago to increase speed when dinghy sailing?
Nice to get the YachtMaster II in titanium, but it is still a large watch to wear (34mm), and is IMO only suitable when standing watching the racing off Cowes and timing the countdown to start. On board there would be electronic stuff.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Zsprings

The pic of the 'foiling cat' in the Rolex book, sure does look impressive.
But 'foiling' is surely the same as 'planing', the term we used years ago to increase speed when dinghy sailing?
Nice to get the YachtMaster II in titanium, but it is still a large watch to wear (34mm), and is IMO only suitable when standing watching the racing off Cowes and timing the countdown to start. On board there would be electronic stuff.

Not even close to planing. My Cats will plane and even skip across the water. Foiling involves almost no hull friction and is much faster as the hull is fully out of the water and the only contact is with the submerged low surface area hydrofoils. This a dangerous method of sailing due to a fairly high potential for pitch poling in a very large boat.

https://www.theverge.com/2013/9/3/46...ire-death-race

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...impson-autopsy

[Zsprings]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

Not even close to planing. My Cats will plane and even skip across the water. Foiling involves almost no hull friction and is much faster as the hull is fully out of the water and the only contact is with the submerged low surface area hydrofoils. This a dangerous method of sailing due to a fairly high potential for pitch poling a in very large boat.

OK,..whatever,... if the hull lifts off the water, the sailing boat goes faster. I never fancied going to sea in a cat.
I would like to see the Rolex book devoted to more pages to describe watch movements etc.

[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by Zsprings

OK,..whatever,... if the hull lifts off the water, the sailing boat goes faster. I never fancied going to sea in a cat.
I would like to see the Rolex book devoted to more pages to describe watch movements etc.

I've been sailing them for about 30 years; much more adrenaline there for me than looking at watch movements. To each their own!!!

[MrGoat]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

I've been sailing them for about 30 years; much more adrenaline there for me than looking at watch movements. To each their own!!!

I grew up on Hobie cats and Sunfish’s. Been seriously debating picking one up again just to play in the bay on. I can’t imagine the adrenaline on a big monohull or Cat foiling, I bet it’s intoxicating.


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[HogwldFLTR]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

I grew up on Hobie cats and Sunfish’s. Been seriously debating picking one up again just to play in the bay on. I can’t imagine the adrenaline on a big monohull or Cat foiling, I bet it’s intoxicating.


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I'd so love to own a large sailboat and have the time to make real use of it!!!

Back to the original topic, here are a couple of photos!!!

[Alansmithee]

Thanks for that:

Matt grey body?
Mercedes hands
No date?

[winst]

Originally Posted by HogwldFLTR

I'd so love to own a large sailboat and have the time to make real use of it!!!

Back to the original topic, here are a couple of photos!!!

Well hunted down, looks like it may be on either a Velcro or Marine Nationale style strap as well.

[Zsprings]

[QUOTE=HogwldFLTR;11221307]I've been sailing them for about 30 years; much more adrenaline there for me than looking at watch movements.

I've always enjoyed leisure sailing, but the Rolex gets left behind. There's all sorts of 'adrenaline', like dodging huge tankers at night in the English Channel.

[sweets]

As I quoted on TZ-UK, Ainslie himself has said

“The team at Rolex has been incredibly thoughtful by giving me a titanium Yacht-Master 42,” he says. “I’m extremely honoured to have it, plus, from a performance perspective, every little bit of weight that we can save, helps us to go faster with the boat.”

We all know the wieght bit is baloney, but it certainly looks like an interesting custom model. Will it make the transition from one-off into the range?

I would also be interested to hear what they did to the Ti to blacken it, as both are features Rolex (to my knowledge) have never used before

D