12/7/2011 Club Swan 42 Regatta - New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

22 Yacht Clubs, 16 Countries, An Egalitarian Challenge
Invitations have been accepted. The entry list defined. Team selection well underway. The second New York Yacht Club (NYYC) Invitational Cup presented by Rolex is now less than two months away.

The waters off Newport, Rhode Island, provide the setting for this sailing event that promotes a level playing field and a Corinthian spirit. The competition will take place from 10-17 September 2011 and is strictly limited to non-professional sailors tackling a one-design class: the NYYC Swan 42. For each team, all but two of the crew must be nationals of the country and members of the club they represent. While the host club provides many of the yachts used in the competition, some invited yacht teams may bring their own boats. Even so, all rigs are identically tuned and locked down, and sails are provided by the organisers.

It is an egalitarian contest: the winning team is the one that most skilfully manages its yacht, the opposition and the conditions.

Following a successful and popular inaugural edition in 2009, the NYYC increased the number of invitations from the 19 teams that were extended two years ago: 22 yachts representing 16 nations from six continents will be present, a global contest in every sense. Amongst the list are the top five finishers from the previous edition: New York Yacht Club (hosts of the event and winners in 2009), Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Japan Sailing Federation, Nyländska Jaktklubben of Finland and Ireland's Royal Cork Yacht Club.

A whole host of clubs sought invitations for this year's contest, reflecting how much it caught the imagination of yachtsmen around the globe. "The event promises to showcase the finest amateur sailors in the world. The opportunity to race at such a high level of competition has encouraged many clubs to seek an invitation, for where else can they take their best club racers and compete against national and international champions, even America's Cup legends, on an equal basis?" reveals Event Chair John Mendez.

By country, the roster of participating teams is: Yacht Club Argentino (ARG); Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (AUS); Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (BER); Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN); Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (CHN); Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP); Nyländska Jaktklubben (FIN); Itchenor Sailing Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club and Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR); Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (GER); Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL); Yacht Club Capri and Yacht Club Punta Ala (ITA); Japan Sailing Federation (JPN); Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (NOR); Clube Naval de Cascais (POR); Royal Cape Yacht Club (RSA); and Eastern Yacht Club, Annapolis Yacht Club, Newport Harbor Yacht Club and New York Yacht Club (USA).

nyyc.org/2011InvitationalCup/

12/07/2011

Swan European Regatta, Cowes, UK

Day 1 of the Swan European Regatta dawned with very little wind and a glassy calm Solent but glorious sunshine which resulted in a postponement for the fleet. Shortly after midday, the sea breeze started to build and by 2pm the Race Committee from the Royal Yacht Squadron were able to start the first race of the event in a light 5 to 8 knot breeze.

With an 11 mile course taking the Swan 45 Class and Class A from the Squadron Line to West Lepe, East Lepe and finally Salt Mead before heading back down the Solent under spinnaker to the Squadron Line to finish, the pressure was on from the start. The Swan 45 fleet were away cleanly on the first start but in Class A, in their first race the brand new Swan 53, Raika, owned by Jamshyd Godrej from India pushed the line a little too hard and found themselves having to return to re-start. Magical Mystery Tour, Club Swan 42 raced by the Leask Family also turned back to cross the line but then quickly found clear wind and began to push the high performance Swan hard - they were quickly amongst the front runners and upwind crossed tacks back and forth with Colin Buffin's Swan 62, Uxorious. The light airs favoured Magical Mystery Tour heavily and once they turned downwind she extended her lead, finishing almost 3 minutes ahead of Uxorious on the water an d winning by a little over 2 minutes on corrected time from their sister ship, Baraka GP, raced by the de Graaf Family.

Samantaga, the Swan 45 jointly owned by Philippe Moortgat and Patrick van Heurck lead from the outset to take the gun to start the regatta in style. Glynn Williams, racing his Swan 45 WISC, drew upon his crew's significant local knowledge to fight through to second place at the first mark which he held until the finish line. Third place was clinched by Peter de Ridder sailing with his family onboard the Swan 45, Checkmate.

Class C's 8 mile long course took them from the Squadron Line up to Gurnard Ledge, to North East Gurnard, to Cowes Radio and then back for a finish in a dying sea breeze off the Squadron Line. Jacobite, Swan 38 raced by Stephen James continued her domination of handicap racing in the Solent to win by 22 seconds on corrected time from the Swan 43, Cisne raced by Tony Thorpe. Third place went to the stunning Cecille, Swan 36.

04/05/2011

Club Swan 42 ARETHUSA wins Swan Caribbean Challenge 

Other strong performances came from Jonty Layfield’s immaculate Swan 44, which scored its fifth win at Antigua Sailing Week to take the Class 5 title.   

At Saturday evening’s Prize giving ceremonies at Nelson’s Dockyard, a host of awards and prizes were presented to a number of worthy skippers and crews.  Along with trophies for first, second and third in the separate classes, prizes were also given in special categories based on class points.  Among those winners was Swan 77 La Forza Del Destino who was the second placed yacht over 15 years old in Class 2.  The same award in Class 5 went to Sleeper closely followed by Swan 51 Northern Child.  Sleeper also took the silver award for Best British Yacht whilst Northern Child took silver for Best Crewed Charter Yacht.

Antigua Sailing Week marked an exciting end to the 2011 Swan Challenge Series which also included the Heineken St. Maarten Regatta and the International Rolex Regatta.  Incorporating a range of prestigious regattas across an international racing circuit, the Swan Challenge series covers six regional categories, with the highest ranking Swan in each of the assigned events being awarded one of the Asprey Silver Swan Challenge trophies. 

The 2011 Challenge has been won by Arethusa after posting strong results in Antigua and at the International Rolex Regatta.  She was presented with the prestigious Asprey Swan Caribbean Challenge trophy at Antigua Sailing Week’s prize giving.  Coming in joint second place were La Forza Del Destino and Swan 48 CR Affinity. 

Kate Holmes

23/03/2011

 2011 Superyacht Cup in Palma de Mallorca

The 2011 Superyacht Cup regatta will take place in Palma from 22-25 June. So far, 16 yachts have registered already for the event including five yachts which will be their first time in this event.. 

Returning to defend their 2010 title is the 29m Tony Castro designed Jongert 'Scorpione dei Mar'. Other past Cup competitors coming back to Palma in June include Ganesha (39m Dubois), Saudade (45m Tripp), Tenaz (39m Dubois), Drumfire (24m Hoek) and Gliss (35m Phillipe Briand)which won the 2009 Palma Superyacht Cup and returns this year under new ownership.

First-time entries to the event include two stunning modern classics, the 55m Adela built in 1995 by Pendennis Shipyard, and Marie, a 55m Hoek design launched last year by Vitters Shipyard in Holland. Other newcomers are Genevieve (37m Dubois), Nilaya (34m Reichel Pugh/Baltic Yachts), Nefertiti (27m, Nautor), and Heartbeat (35m Hoek).

Swan 57 to Race with Volvo Ocean Race Legends in Spain

Swan 57, Berge Viking, from Norway will be marking her 30th anniversary since competing in the Whitbread Round the World Race by taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race Legends Reunion Regatta during November this year in Alicante.

The original skipper and former Olympic gold medallist, Peder Lunde, jr, will be bringing a large group of supporters to the event as well as his crew, ‘we want to tell the story of our red, white and blue Swan and meet and unite with other famous round the world yachtsmen’.
This extremely talented sailor led a fully amateur crew finding the support to build the Swan 57 and represent the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club in the Whitbread Round the World Race 1981-82. The Swan 57’s best result was from Portsmouth to Cape Town in leg one where she finished in 4th place. The team also went on to win the seamanship prize for best log book, the prize for best communication with the organisers and also a prize for the best maintained yacht in extreme conditions in spite of 180 knock down to the Swan.
Berge Viking was then donated to the Norwegian Sailing School where she was used to train youths in the skill of coastal and blue water sailing for 5 years, after which she was purchased by current owner Morten Sig. Bergesen. She then returned to the Nautor’s Swan yard for a major re-fit in order to be used privately by the owner.
The Swan 57 has since made passages to the Shetland Islands, Spitsbergen and the Antarctic. In fact since her initial delivery back in 1979 she has travelled over 200,000 nautical miles and apparently the ‘Old Lady’ is still ready to see more of the world.
‘We will be proud to bring her to Alicante and show what a yacht that has circumnavigated the world several times can look like’, commented Peder on the Swan racing yacht pedigree.

Swan Class Circuits
The Swan Maxi Class Circuit, developed for yachts over 60 feet, is made up of a selection of the most prestigious regattas in the Mediterranean. The Class Circuit was established by Nautor’s Swan in 2008 to bring together a network of Swan Maxi yachts from across the globe to enjoy a structured, active racing circuit. Over the course of the initiative’s inaugural year the Swan Maxi Class rapidly expanded in stature and now includes the following events. The 2011 Swan Maxi Circuit will begin in Palma de Mallorca at PalmaVela, from 20 to 24 April, followed by the Rolex Volcano Race, 24 to 28 May and the Giraglia Rolex Cup, 18 to 25 June. The pinnacle and finale to the Circuit will then be the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo where a collection of Maxis will gather for the 2011 edition of the event.
The Northern Europe Circuit will start with the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta in the Netherlands, from 10 to 13 June followed by the 15th edition of the Swan European Regatta at Cowes during July, hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron and Nautor’s Swan. The final event of the Circuit will be the Breskens Weekend also in the Netherlands, the last weekend of August.
Among the one-design Classes, the Swan 45 Circuit for the year will be divided into two fleets, each with its own Circuit. The Mediterranean Circuit will begin with the Trofeo Carlo Negri – Regate Pirelli, Santa Margherita, from 27 April to 1 May. The Rolex Capri Sailing Week is next in the programme at the end of May, followed by the Giraglia Rolex Cup.
For the more recently developed model of the Swan one-design profile, the Club Swan 42 fleet, there will once again be dedicated Circuits in the US and Europe. The US based fleet will have a series of events in place peaking with the Club Swan 42 US Nationals at the yacht’s founding club, the New York Yacht Club.
The Circuit for the European Club Swan 42 fleet will be split into the Mediterranean Circuit and the Northern Europe Circuit. Building on the success seen over the past year, the 2011 Club Swan 42 Mediterranean Circuit will begin on the occasion of Trofeo Carlo Negri – Regate Pirelli at the end of April. The fleet will continue to the Semaine de Porquerolles in France, before heading to the Circuit Finale at the Giraglia Rolex Cup, St. Tropez. The Northern Europe Circuit takes in the Delta Lloyd Sea Regatta in the Netherlands in mid June, followed by two events in Cowes, the Swan European Regatta and Cowes Week.

Swan Challenge Series
Open to all Swan yachts, the Swan Challenge series annually features some of the most prestigious competitive sailing events across the globe. The 2011 series will kick off with the Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten, 3 – 6 March. There can be few events in the world that match St. Maarten Heineken Regatta’s unique cocktail of fun and serious racing and this Caribbean classic continues to go from strength to strength.


The Swan Caribbean Challenge will, this year, be awarded for performance over a combination of the Heineken Regatta, the International Rolex Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week.
The Northern Europe Challenge will include four events with the highly sought-after challenge trophy being awarded to the best performing Swan across all four events. The challenge will include the North Sea Race from Harwich (UK) to Scheveningen (NED) and the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta at the Dutch destination. The final two events of the challenge will be the Swan European Regatta in Cowes (UK) and the Breskens Weekend.
Following another successful year in Germany, the Swan Baltic Sea Challenge will be held in September at the Flensburger Fördewoche in Flensburg, Germany.
The Swan Mediterranean Challenge trophy will be awarded to the best performing Swan yacht at Les Voiles de St. Tropez and the Transatlantic Challenge Trophy will return for the ARC commencing on 21 November from Gran Canaria.

ClubSwan Rendezvous
From 14 to 19 March, a fleet of Swan yachts covering a wide range of models will gather for the 8th edition of the ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous. Organised in association with the prominent Bitter End Yacht Club, the week of cruising, light-hearted racing and exclusive social functions will take the fleet to several areas of the spectacular British Virgin Islands.

Boat Shows
With the constant evolution of the Swan Line, which sees Nautor’s Swan’s 40 years experience in yacht design and manufacture developing ideas and introducing new models, the brand will be represented at a range of traditional and more recently established boat shows across the globe. The first boat show will start the New Year’s agenda in Dusseldorf during January along with a series of Northern European shows in Copenhagen, Oslo and HISWA in Amsterdam. Cannes, Southampton and Monaco then complete the schedule in September with an Italian show, Genoa, taking place in October along with the Hamburg International Boat Show. The boat show focus for the US will be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, towards the end of the year.

Nautor’s Swan Calendar 2011

Events, Regattas and Boat Shows

Please follow this link to see the up to date calendar of Swan Events

The Newport Bermuda Race is a 635-mile ocean race, most of it out of sight of land, usually lasting three to six days. It crosses a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean known for challenging weather, especially in the Gulf Stream, where there are strong currents. Every two years in mid-June, over 180 boats start from the historic seaport of Newport, Rhode Island. The fleet has five divisions to allow seaworthy boats of many sizes and types to be raced fairly and aggressively for an array of trophies awarded in Bermuda at an elegant ceremony at Government House, the residence of the governor of this tropical island.

In keeping with the 100-year traditions of amateur sailors and strong family spirit, 90 % of the boats in 2006 had amateur crews comprised of friends and family members. The race maintains its international prestige through competitive fairness, an exemplary safety record, and a responsive race organization handled by the volunteer members of the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

The ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous, 15th - 20th March 2010 in the British Virgin Islands, had twenty yachts participating, ranging from Swan 44, Laughing Lady up to Swan 82RS Clevelander, with over one hundred people. The energetic fleet enjoyed the steady easterly trade winds and Caribbean sunshine for a week of outstanding sailing. Throughout the week there was an air of excitement and camaraderie as all participants enjoyed themselves in the true ‘Spirit of Swan’. The fleet enjoyed excellent hospitality during the week which included cocktail receptions and even an Island Dinner-By-Bite Buffet.

The Rendezvous sailed around the spectacular British Virgin Islands in a route that saw them visit the island of Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, Cooper Island and Virgin Gorda. There were daily fun races to each island before the Round Virgin Gorda Race on the last day of the cruise. The week involved not only some incredible sailing in the British Virgin Islands but also many activities held on the islands where the ClubSwan Rendezvous stayed. The most popular of these was the ClubSwan Boules Tournament, which was run with daily heats on the beaches. The winner of the Boules Tournament was Charles Houal, from Swan 60, Early Purple.

The Laser Regatta was held at the Bitter End Yacht Club on the opening day of the Rendezvous with the concluding second part held on Friday afternoon when the yachts returned to the BEYC from the cruise. The Laser Regatta had twelve participants and was a spirited event, the winner of the Laser regatta was Pete Newlands, from Swan 46, Akarana.

The ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous Boat Show was held at the BEYC, providing an opportunity for all owners to mingle aboard their Swan yachts. The Award for the Best Maintained Swan was kindly donated by the Swan Owners Association of America and presented to Ronald Wulff, owner of the impeccably kept Swan 51, Cheri. The Spirit of Swan Award was presented to Derya Pozcu, owner of Swan 70, Strabo, for having the best Swan Spirit throughout the week.

The Round Virgin Gorda race held on the final day both starting and finishing at the BEYC was a highly competitive affair. Swan 82RS, Capo Giro, owned by Dick Weismann claimed line honours finishing the race in 3 hours, 7 minutes, 51 seconds. Swan 82 RS, Clevelander, chartered by Ed Campbell won the race with a corrected time of 3 hours, 36 minutes, 18 seconds. In second place was Swan 82RS Capo Giro, owned by Dick Weismann with a corrected time of 3 hours, 44 minutes, 28 seconds. Swan 46, Akarana, owned by Graham Deegan claimed third place with a corrected time of 3 hours, 46 minutes, 11 seconds.

The overall feedback from owners and participants was that a fantastic and memorable week was had by all. The ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous due to be held in 2011 is expected to have a high entries due to the phenomenal success of this year’s event.