Officine Panerai

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Aboard PANGAEA - An Afternoon Sailing With Panerai and Mike Horn

The public relations team at Panerai North America, along with Mike Horn, was kind enough to invite PuristSPro aboard Pangaea, yacht extraordinaire, for an exciting afternoon of sailing, captivating discussions and even a little sweat and hard work.  To say it was a real treat, even the work part, is an understatement.  

I’m trying to imagine myself as the chairman of Richemont, watching the expeditionist, and fellow South African, Mike Horn accept his Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award, then afterwards walking up to him, strapping my own personal Panerai watch onto his wrist and telling him that from that point on, he would wear only Panerai watches.  The audacity of the moment was enough to peak anyone’s attention stream, even those that know nothing about Panerai or Mike Horn and his achievements.  Perhaps it was the South African roots that Horn and Rupert shared that sparked the initial contact.  It was precisely in this manner about ten years ago however, that the close relationship between the two began.  

Mike Horn with Panerai North America President, Rafael Alvarez

From the beginning it was a fitting match.  Horn personified the character of Panerai in its truest sense.  Confidence, strength, resilience and a simple raw beauty that’s a little rough around the edges are qualities that are shared by both.  They also hold core values to pursue excellence, respect tradition and protect the environment.  For the Italian watch brand, the commonalities presented an opportunistic alliance that made sense from a marketing perspective as well as a philosophical one.  For Horn, the sponsorship helped provide the means by which all his larger-than-life ideas could be put to action.  It was almost as though the two partnered up and just said, “Hey, let’s do this together.”  Selling watches seemed secondary.  Perhaps that is the magic that has driven the decade long collaboration.  It was never essentially about the watches as much as it was a congruence of spirit and thought.

Mike Horn didn’t start his career off in the business of pursuing what seemed like the impossible.  Born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1966, he was always active while growing up playing various sports such as rugby, cricket and tennis all of which he was quite good at.  In his early twenties he worked for his uncle’s produce firm at which he became rich selling, of all things, cabbage.  There couldn’t be many things better than being young and wealthy at the same time.  But for Horn, the tough realization struck him one day that it wasn’t what excited him.  He was 24 and decided right then and there to change his life.  He immediately resigned from his uncle’s company.  Over the following weekend he gave away all of his belongings to his family and friends with the exception of some clothes, a bag and enough money for a plane ticket to Europe.  On Monday he went to the airport and bought a ticket on the first flight to a destination that accepted South Africans without a visa.  It just happened to be Zurich, Switzerland.     

Mike Horn giving us some background info on himself and his story of how Pangaea was built in only 11 months.
   

Even though watches may not have been a focus of Horn’s endeavors, they still ended up being an integral part.  Panerai has been designing watches for him since they began working together in 2002.  In total, Panerai has produced four special edition watches especially for the explorer, (the PAM92, PAM186, PAM252, and PAM307) to be worn and tested under extreme conditions during his various treks around the globe.  

PAM92

The PAM92 Panerai Luminor Arktos Amagnetic accompanied Horn on his Arktos expedition, the 20,000km, 27 month journey to circumnavigate the Arctic Circle, solo and without the aid of any motorized transport or dogs.  Horn spoke of the frigid conditions and how in the -60°C temperature, nothing seemed to work except for his Panerai.  Panerai lubricated the movement with special oils that ensured its reliability even in the harsh Arctic temperatures.  The stainless steel case consists of a soft iron core which protected the watch against earth’s strong magnetic fields near the North Pole. 

Horn described how in the Arctic, the weight he had to haul on his sleigh had to be kept to an absolute minimum.  There was enough food only for a certain distance.  He couldn’t afford to veer off course, make a wrong turn or take a scenic detour.  He needed to take the most direct route and that was often in a simple straight line.  With the whiteness of the snow and ice or the blue of the sea all around, no landmark point of reference, the only way to know that one was traveling in a straight line towards a destination is by noting the position of the sun at certain times of the day. 

For the latter part of the Arktos expedition, the PAM186 Panerai Arktos Luminor GMT assisted Horn in this manner of navigation. 

PAM186

By pointing the hour hand at the sun, north is found midway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock.  One can then rotate the bezel which has letter indicators for North, South, East and West in relief, to set the north position and use this reference for the direction of travel.  By using the 24-hour scale on the outer edge of the dial, the Luminor GMT allows one to identify north more easily since it means that the mid-day point does not have to be estimated.  The additional 24-hour hand points to the sun and north is at 24.00 hours. 

One might ask, “Why not just use a compass?”  The reason is because of ‘inclination’.  Inclination is the angle of pull down toward the Earth that the magnetic field exerts on a compass needle.  As one travels closer to the magnetic North Pole, this pull gets stronger and renders a compass unreliable for several hundreds of miles around the magnetic poles.  Hundreds of miles beyond that, they can be erratic.  Without the aid of his Panerai watch, Horn might have very well found himself several degrees off course.  With all the technology available these days, perhaps it’s a historical and romantic notion that he counted on the sun, moon, stars and a watch to find his way home.

Horn followed his Arktos expedition with a trek to the North Pole in March 2006 with Norwegian explorer, Borge Ousland.  Panerai sponsored the trip as well and equipped the expeditionists with the newer model PAM252 Panerai Luminor GMT North Pole, for the journey.  Essentially the same watch as the PAM186, the PAM252 has a deep blue dial as opposed to a black one, and the caseback displays the route to the North Pole and engravings of Horn and Ouslands’ signatures.  After completing the expedition, which took around 60 days, the two became the first individuals ever to walk to the North Pole in the dark Arctic winter.  

PAM252

Currently, Mr. Horn has been sporting the PAM307 Panerai Luminor 1950 Pangaea Submersible Depth Gauge, a professional diver's watch which combines a mechanical movement with a quartz powered depth gauge.  The watch is thick but is a nice departure from the previous three Mike Horn models.  Go here for some exquisite shots of this watch by Martin Wilmsen. 

PAM307

PAM307 caseback with Mike Horn's signature

We asked Mr. Horn whether there was ever a crucial perhaps life or death situation where the performance of his Panerai came into play.  Besides the important navigational uses, he also told us about a time when he had to use his watch as an anchor in the side of a cliff, looping the rope through the fastened strap hole to support his weight.  That’s a new strength test for the watch company - watch as climbing device.  Those are some pretty strong lugs.  “The watch is still up there.” Horn adds.  If there are any polar bears roaming around sporting a Panerai, we know where it came from.   

We also asked Mike what his dream concept Panerai watch would be even if it was impossible to make.  He said a watch that has a backup system in case the primary one fails.  The watch would essentially have, “one face but two movements.”  The idea of having a primary system and an auxiliary one in a watch doesn’t seem to be an impossible one.  The challenge would probably be to make it a wearable size.  I would imagine that a watch with two movements would be quite hefty.  Perhaps it can be a chance for a piece unique for Panerai.  

Listening to Mike Horn speak about his adventures in the Arctic realm and beyond reminds me a little of walking into my daughter’s preschool class at circle story-time.  Even the most rambunctious of pint-sized preschoolers find themselves wide-eyed, cross-legged and motionless on the floor, completely fixated on the story at hand.  Of course the storyteller has to be a good one and Mike Horn never ceases to disappoint.  Charming, funny and highly inspirational he lays out his words with perfect timing, emotion and vocal emphasis.  With tales of hungry polar bears, black frostbitten fingertips, and combusting tents, listeners hang onto every word like a 4 year old at story-time.  They are not just told the story, but are drawn into it in a way that starts them believing that anything is possible.  Good storytellers and speakers dream themselves.  Great ones inspire others to dream along with them. 

Mike Horn’s next big project was in part, an attempt to do just that, to inspire and leave something of himself behind.  Also realizing the harsh impact of humans on the natural world around us, in 2008, he started the Pangaea Expedition in an effort to give back in the form of knowledge, passion and a willingness to affect a positive change towards the environment.  The word ‘Pangaea’ means “hypothetical super-continent that included all the land masses of the earth before the Triassic Period.”  Mike Horn named his expedition ‘Pangaea’ because it stands for ‘the untouched world as it once was.’  The expedition is a four-year (2008-2012) exploratory journey that Mike Horn is taking with members of his Young Explorers Program (YEP).  The members are all young adults from around the world, ages 15 to 20 that have been carefully selected through a rigorous application process.

"Young Explorer", Garrett Celestin 

The discussion during the recent press visit centered mostly on the Pangaea Expedition and the Young Explorers Program.  One member of the program who had undergone the application process and grueling ‘selection camp’ and was chosen to go on the Malaysia Expedition in October 2009 is Garrett Celestin.  Only 16 years old, one can immediately see why he was selected.  He spoke about his experience with a maturity and confidence way beyond his years.  Yet he still contained the excitement and hope that only comes with the innocence of youth, not fully tainted by society’s filters.  He represents the hundreds of other young explorers that will eventually become ambassadors of the program, leading the way in their own towns and countries in making a positive impact on the environment.   

Mike Horn speaking about the Young Explorers Program.

The exterior of the Pangaea

I had never been sailing before but something told me that my first time wasn’t going to be any ordinary outing.  Walking down the ramp near the Marina Del Rey Yacht Club (who was so kind to allow him some space to dock his boat) and out toward the dock, I immediately caught sight of the large silver boat docked at the end of the walkway.  At first glimpse, it stands out from all other surrounding boats because of its size, color and logos inscribed on the side.  I felt a little silly having initially wondered about how I was going to find the right boat.  The lady at the entrance wasn’t kidding when she said, “You can’t miss it.”  The Pangaea is built resembling a battle vessel on a serious mission ready to take on anything in its path-unfavorable weather, rough seas, and garbage from uninhabited islands, maybe even pirates but not in the way that one might think.  In fact, Mike has a whole outlook on the topic of pirates that would be better heard from him personally.  Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be surprised if I ever saw one working on his boat. 

The Pangaea docked at Marina Del Rey

Once onboard, Pangaea has a very laid back, warm and welcoming feeling.  There is a lot of recycled wood used throughout the boat.  Panerai’s presence is seen everywhere on board from the Panerai clock on the wall to the Panerai posters on the sliding doors to the logo embroidered jackets hanging in the lower deck.  And it wasn’t just Panerai.  Wondering around on the lower deck, I came across an open door that revealed enormous Mercedes Benz engines.  Apparently, corporate sponsorship is serious business, especially in creating such a unique vessel utilizing all the best equipment and eco-friendly materials. 

A Panerai book 

Panerai wall clock 

Panerai gauges 

Panerai posters of Mike Horn with the Young Explorers on the lower deck.

Built in Brazil, Pangaea can be considered a “hybrid” yacht.  There are solar panels lining the exterior of the boat, a little wind powered propeller at the stern that generates 350 watts of energy and a couple of carbon fiber winches on the deck that generate power as well.  The winches, each at about $150,000 cost, when turned by grinders, will charge the batteries that will provide light for the boat at night and power for the crew to cook their meal.  When asked what he thought the total value of the yacht was, Horn estimated it to be about $20 million.  He also said that after all the Pangaea expeditions, the boat, which is made in large part of aluminum, will be disassembled and recycled.  It seems like a shame to scrap such an amazing vessel that has become the symbolic picture of Pangaea’s philosophy - to “explore, learn and act.”  “It isn’t possible to keep a boat like this.  It would just be too expensive,” explained Horn.  Surely there is some wealthy tycoon or foreign royalty figure somewhere that would buy it.  Or perhaps it can be preserved as a museum, like the Intrepid.  It can serve as a symbol for modern efforts toward biospheric preservation.

Solar panels

Wind propeller 

Carbon fiber winch

The second part of the video above (fast forward to 4:45 into video) shows Horn recounting the experience of building Pangaea in Brazil.  What he describes seems like an adventure in itself and is a perfect example to highlight his positive, hopeful spirit, even in the most difficult of circumstances.  He is without a doubt the single most positive person that I have ever met, read about or known of.  When he presented corporate sponsors with his wild ideas, he always knew that mostly likely they would say no.  But he also knew that there was a chance that they might say yes and that chance was worth trying for.  “If you are always afraid of losing, then you’ll never have the courage to go after what you really want.  There are too many choices in life today and that’s why we give up so easily.”  He explains that today, there is a constant supply of variety and “stuff” that creates an artificial need which fuels the “to do” lists that we make.  There ends up being a preoccupation of the mind to acquire and ‘to do’.  As a result we get bogged down and never have time to enjoy the things that really matter – people, nature, learning and ourselves.  Horn doesn’t believe that there are “good” days or “bad” days – just days.  He even goes as far as saying that he likes bad weather because tomorrow’s weather will be better.  “When you are sitting alone in a tent, it’s -60˚C out and the wind is blowing, you are just happy to have the tent.”

Mike Horn’s audiences are always quiet as ever.  I think because everyone is in disbelief and trying to figure out how someone can have such an attitude and state of being as he does.  What seems so complicated to the rest of us is simple to him.  Yet he is a human being as everyone else is.  The difference is in the choice.  We all have the ability to choose how we look at things and approach situations.  However acting is key.  Where others preach “Think positive”, his philosophy is “Be positive."

After the discussion and interview, everyone made his/her way to the upper deck for some true open sea sailing.  Thanks to Panerai we stayed warm in our Panerai logo windbreakers.  The sun was shining bright and the air was crisp and refreshing.  I finally understood why people enjoyed this sport.  I even tried my hand at being a grinder.  Turning the $150,000 winches was quite a workout, and I doubt that my weak arms raised the sails much but I did try and that is the attitude that I will take with me.  One gentleman in the group asked Mike Horn why he does all of this.  It seems to always be the first thing that people want to know.  In the classic Mike Horn fashion, his response was simple but carried so much meaning, "Because I can."

Panerai North America Public Relations Director Michele Gallagher and Panerai North American President, Rafael Alvarez. 

Here's Anthony spinning (pardon his underwear sticking out :P)
 

Del Ray Yacht Club Commodore Gary Deitsch giving opening words to press event

Panerai North America Public Relations Director Michele Gallagher introducing Christopher Jerard from Chase Jarvis Photography
  

Mike Horn working the sails.

Enjoying the sun on the upper deck.

"Hmm, if only I could sail to..."

No need for shoes on-board.

Door to the lower deck.

Current new Panerai models.

This book looks familiar.  Mine is brand new though.  Time to dream and explore a little more. 

For celebrations or those "rough" times.

Keeping the remote controls tied down.  They'll never lose those.

Special video editing keyboard?

Special video phone?

"Ships Library" - definitely some adventurous titles present.

The cooking area.

Anthony T. and proud father of Garrett Celestin work as "grinders", the most physically demanding job on a yacht. 

The gals give it a try.

Chad going it on his own.

Master Explorer at the helm.