Dating from the early 1970s, the Memosail regatta chronogrpah - like this example here - was a colorful mechanical watch that features the famously robust, manually wound Valjoux 7737 (a modified 7733).
The Valjoux manual movement, first produced to acclaim in 1969, was used until 1978; the 773x movement was used by Breitling, Tudor, and Heuer during the 1960s and 70s.
Yacht racing requires a countdown period before the start of a race to help keep the boats as fairly placed as possible. Before the start of a sailboat race, there are two guns, the first gun signals that the race will start in either five or 10 minutes (depending on the type of race sailed).
At the five minute mark, a gun is sounded and the sailors start their countdown functions and maneuver their sailboats as close to the start line as possible. Once the end of the five minute blue period is reached, the race has begun.
This Memosail comes with a leather strap, nylon strap, hard plastic travel case, and springbar tool.
1970's Memosail Regatta Valjoux 7737 Manual Chronograph
DIAL: Colorful Memosail-signed dial, with matching hands; lume shines.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 38mm (w/o crown) x 42mm; case has some wear on back, not visible when worn. Matching Memosail-signed caseback. It can be rather difficult to find a 1970s chronograph larger than 35mm – small by today’s standards – yet this Memosail regatta chronograph here is precisely that, measuring in at a 38mm.
CRYSTAL: High-domed acrylic crystal, no cracks or scratches.
BAND: Brown leather strap, with stainless-steel hardware. Also included, a blue, white, and red nylon strap, which nicely matches the colors throughout the Memosail.
MOVEMENT: Swiss-manufactured 17-jewel Valjoux 7737 (a modified 7733, which allows the chrono wheel to do a half turn at 30 seconds).
CROWN: Unsigned stainless-steel crown.
CHRONOGRAPH PUSHERS: Pushers depress with satisfying click. 10 minute timer resets to START position as designed with no issue. The pusher at 4 o’clock resets the chronograph wheel and hand.