Menorca, Spain - If the America's Cup sailing duel competition finally manages to get underway in the Mediterranean port of Valencia in eastern Spain next year, sailors will compete in a variety of new generation carbon fibre yachts which are meant to test contestants on speed and tactical skill using the latest in technology.

But over the next month another form of racing will be underway across the Mediterranean, capturing the attention of sailing enthusiasts where the yachts themselves are seen as unparalleled competitors.

Fifty-one Classic, Vintage and Traditional yachts from Spain, France, Italy, Britain, the United States, Bermuda and Antigua raced in Spanish waters near Mahon in the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge in a competition combining speed and timeless beauty.

The race is part of a growing circuit of classic yacht regattas that are taking place in the United States, Australia, Mediterranean, English Channel, the Caribbean and North Sea.

Less than a decade ago, many classic boats were only seen as anchored floating museums that the Smithsonian would be envious to own.

Today, the majority of the vessels have abandoned their sheltered life at port and are out in the water racing competitively with teams of expert sailors that normally sail in the Americas Cup.

"Classic yachts evoke an awe in people that modern race boats and sailboats just do not do," says Angelo Bonati, the CEO of Panerai.

"People from all ages will stop and stare with admiration at a classic yacht because of its history and beauty but with a modern boat they tend to simply walk by without giving it too much attention"

From the port of Mahon, many of the vessels taking part in the four-day regatta have set off in a transfer race to Imperia where they will compete together with a total 120 classic boats in the four-day Vele D'Epoca in northern Italy on September 10. The classic yachts will then meet again in the Regates Royales in Cannes at the end of September.

Boats taking part in the race are divided into two main categories: Vintage Yachts and Classic Yachts.

A vintage yachts is defined as any built before 1949 out of wood or metal, remaining consistent with their original design while a classic yacht is defined as any built before 
1975 with little change to the rigging and overall structure of the boat. Traditional yachts are classified as vessels built using modern techniques and materials but retaining original vintage designs.

"With a modern yacht one is extremely dependent on technology to steer the vessel to victory but with a classic yacht you really need to feel the soul of boat to manoeuvre it successfully through the water and this is much more satisfying," says Americas Cup champion Mauro Pelaschier, who is currently at the helm of the 1937 Italian sloop "Amorita".

Traditional and natural materials such as wood for the hull and mast and canvas or cotton for the sails slowly gave way to plastics, fiberglass and nylon as the favoured materials for yacht construction during the 1970s.

In preparation for the Americas Cup sailing regatta, engineers and builders are spending millions to develop a new generation of yachts that must be both lightweight and fast.

The new 27-metre trimaran carbon fibre yacht which Oracle will use in its Americas Cup duel against reigning champions Alinghi was designed by French naval architects Van Petrghem and Lauriot Prevost (VPLP) together with French skipper Franck Cammas, one of the most successful skippers in multihull racing, and BMW aeronautical engineers.

The 33rd edition of the Americas Cup, the yachting world's key event, could take place in Valencia in eastern Spain if a long-running New York court battle over the rules of the event between the two teams ends with a decision in favour or Oracle.

The date of the next cup depends on the outcome of the legal proceedings, where lawyers have been filing claims, counter-claims, motions and appeals. A decision is expected in the spring.

Swiss team Alinghi, which won the last edition of the America's Cup held in 2007 in Valencia, have begun constructing their own multihull boat in case the duel goes ahead.

While top teams Alinghi and BMW Oracle are working with budgets worth hundreds of millions of euros to construct the latest wind-propelled water craft, purchasing, restoring and maintaining a vintage yacht can be just as time consuming and expensive.

Spanish owners of the 1964 Ketch Marconi "Mariana", Jose-Maria Barquin and Petro Gonzalo, spend years on her restoration after finding her rotting on a dry dock.

"The money and time spent is worth it because it is another type of navigation. With a new boat it can race in top form for one or two years but with classic boats they race forever," says Barquin, who also acts as her captain.

Americas Cup designer Doug Peterson first found Bona Fide, a 1898 cutter whose underbody design was way ahead of her time, after years of neglect. Initially winning the Paris Olympics in 1900, the boat was restored in 2003 with architects and engineers replacing 98 per cent of the Honduran mahogany planking and 95 per cent of the ribs.

Other owners such as the Spanish 1927 yacht Gipsy have opted to work around many of the boats blemishes. Documents show that Miguel Sans, a prominent sailing figure in Spain established the Gipsy during the civil war as a national front spy boat. It was gunned so many times that shrapnel marks are still visible on its mast.

With original materials, techniques and expert labor in short supply, the majority of restoration projects are difficult.

One of the biggest classic yacht projects currently under way is the restoration of Eilean, a 22 metre 1936 ketch built by the master of design for his era Scotsman William Fife Jr. The boat once served as an ocean cruiser and gained international stardom in the 1980s when pop group Duran Duran chartered her to shoot the video for the song "Rio."

Despite efforts of an English architect to maintain Eilean's expensive upkeep, she was left to rot in a tugboat workshop in Antigua during the 1990s, with termites eating through the bowsprit, half of the mainmast and mizzenmast.

She has since been purchased by Panerai and is undergoing an exact restoration at the Francesco de Carlo boatyard in Viareggio, Italy where she should be back to her element and touring the world with an annual regatta schedule by next year. (dpa)