20th edition of Rolex Swan Cup

Porto Cervo, Italy (September 10, 2018) – The 20th edition of the Rolex Swan Cup has attracted 110 yachts from 17 nations, nine of which will attend as “not racing” entries but will take part in the social programme. The largest yacht of the fleet is the 115-foot Solleone while the smallest is the legendary Swan 36 model.

Racing for the biennial event commences tomorrow and will conclude on September 16 with September 13 set aside as a lay day or to recuperate any cancelled races.

The fleet has been divided into different classes and all six will take part in the Long Island Race on the penultimate race day, providing a long coastal race that has always been a feature of the Rolex Swan Cup. On all other days the One Design classes – the ClubSwan 50s and 42s, and the Swan 45s, will race on windward-leeward courses.

The Swan 45s and ClubSwan 50s will be competing for their World Championship and for the 50-foot boats designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian this will be their first ever Worlds given that the new class has just been recognised by the World Sailing authority.

The ClubSwan 42s will do battle for their European championship currently held by Nadir, present in Porto Cervo to defend the title.

The One Design fleets in particular are expected to host hard-fought racing and there is no shortage of champion sailors recruited by the owners, such as Jochen Schuemann on Earlybird, Bouwe Bekking on Niramo, Cameron Dunn on Onegroup, Lisa McDonald on Stay Calm, Gabriele Benussi on Selene Alifax, Lorenzo Bressani on Aphrodite, Andrea Casale on Be Wild, Branko Brcin on Far Star, Tommaso Chieffi on Scorpidi and Enrico Zennaro on Mela to name but a few.

The varied fleet combines both the Swan classics, which are part of the history of yachting, as well as the shipyard’s latest creations: from the 54-footers Nehalennia and Katima to the new 78-foot Haromi – making its regatta debut here. Among the classic boats are 26 Swans designed by Sparkman & Stephens, including a record ten Swan 65s moored together at Pier Alpha.

This unparalleled line-up features Kings’ Legend, one of four sloop-rigged 65-footers, which came second in the Whitbread Round the World Race of 1977-78. Another Swan 65, Force 9 of London, took part in the same edition of the round-the-world race, placing fifth under the name ADC Accutrac and captained by the first female skipper to take part in the gruelling race, Clare Francis. Sixteen classic Swans designed by Frers are peppered throughout the Maxi and Grand Prix divisions and a special trophy will be awarded to the top performer amongst them.

The weather forecast for the week indicates light breezes mainly from the east and south east.

Event details – Entry list – Photos

Source: Marialisa Panu/Giuliano Luzzatto