Better than ever

Nautor’s Swan has always worked hard to ensure that owners continue to enjoy their yachts long after the pink ribbon comes off. Now the new Nautor’s Swan Experience takes this already rarified level of customer care to an even higher level

‘We have long wanted to present the Nautor Group at 360 degrees and the Nautor’s Swan Experience concept has been on our table for many months. The current situation, with the cancellation of nautical events all over the world, has speeded things up, but we are ready. Nautor’s Swan is a brand walking hand in hand with its owners, making them feel part of an amazing and international family,’ says Giovanni Pomati, Nautor Group CEO.

Fully respecting all the regulations regarding Covid-19, from 13 to 20 October, Nautor’s Swan Experience was held at the Marina di Scarlino on the Tuscan seaboard. Comprising two overlapping events, the inaugural Swan One Design Worlds and the Scarlino Private Boat Show, the event was the first of a new series of unique opportunities to become immersed in the whole world of Swan.

With the inaugural ceremony on 13 October, the Finnish boatyard opened the week with the Swan One Design World Championships. This was the very first stand-alone edition of the Swan OD Worlds, which wrapped up on Saturday 17 October with the attendance of 26 Swan OD yachts including 15 ClubSwan 50s, six ClubSwan 36s and five Swan 45s.

Main picture: strong and closely matched fleets of Swan One Design class yachts gathered for the first ever stand-alone Swan OD Worlds in Scarlino during last October.
Below: the ClubSwan 50 fleet was particularly strong with 15 high-quality racing teams competing for the world championship title over four days

From 16 October the racing programme was accompanied by the Swan Private Boat Show where the full Swan line was on display, supported by some pre-owned yachts available for sale through Nautor’s Swan Brokerage. Both services, Charter and Brokerage, allow a fully assisted entry at any time, the ideal front door for those wishing to experience the Swan world.

While more traditional designs retain the familiar elements of cruising comfort along with an ability to compete when required, ClubSwan designs are distinct in their role and direction with the specific objective of leading the development of highperformance yachts based upon cutting-edge design principles. Both design strands were showcased at Marina di Scarlino. The 11 beautiful yachts on display included the Swan 78, two versions of the Swan 65 and Swan 48, each showing different options of interior designs, the Swan 54, Swan 115, Swan 70 and Swan 75, ClubSwan 50 and ClubSwan 36. All of these were available for viewing and sea trials. Yachts appearing in the Private Boat Show were subjected to comprehensive cleaning processes between visits in order to comply with the Covid-19 regulations, while social distancing, compulsory mask wearing in public spaces, together with the need for staff and crews to be tested ahead of the event, were just some of the measures put in place.

The current and prospective Swan owners also had the opportunity to visit Nautor’s Swan Global Service Hub in Scarlino, the new star of the brand born to assist clients 24/7, where the team specialists introduced themselves and were available to explain all the services offered. Born from the merger of the existing service hubs of Palma de Mallorca, Badalona, Villefranche and Scarlino, together with the worldwide authorised service centres, Nautor’s Swan Global Service has the main goal to be closer than ever to its customers and respond to their needs, offering 360-degree customer care and after-sales service based on three key pillars: quality, flexibility and proactivity.

The new company will have its own autonomy with a dedicated staff and management team reporting to Nautor Holding, taking advantage of the know-how and the unrivalled levels of workmanship existing in Finland and the capillary network of the brand around the world.

‘We’ve been working very hard over the past years to find the best solution to be hand-in-hand with our customers, to make their cruising aboard a Swan a pleasure and a joy without worrying about anything else,’ explains Oscar Ibanez,

Nautor’s Swan Global Service CEO. ‘The Global Service is just that! The freedom to call us anytime for anything our customers need.’ Nautor’s Swan Global Service will be a guardian angel for all the Swan owners around the world, offering refit and maintenance but also racing assistance, original spare-part supply, technical consultancy and surveys, yacht management and gardiennage. In fact it’s a total service designed to exceed the owners’ expectations and enhance the Swan ownership experience. Brand new programmes will be specially devised dedicated to the restoration of the older generation Swans, as well a certified maintenance programme.

‘It has been our goal to develop Swan as a global brand through all areas of our activities,’ says Nautor’s Swan president Leonardo Ferragamo. ‘The Swan Experience here in Scarlino has provided us with the first real opportunity to showcase all these aspects and explain how they relate. This includes our craftsmanship, the many elegant and innovative models and ranges, one design racing, the brokerage and charter services as well as the Global Service customer care.’

‘The Nautor’s Swan Experience is an incredible event and a vision which comes from our chairman to be a brand which does not just build a product, but delivers a full 360° Experience,’ adds Nautor’s Swan vice president Enrico Chieffi. ‘It focuses on enjoying all aspects of one’s yacht.’

The racing component of the inaugural Nautor’s Swan Experience, the very first Swan One Design Worlds, was hosted in collaboration with the newborn Yacht Club Isole di Toscana.

Four very contrasting races were completed in the ClubSwan 50 competition where a high-quality, 15- strong fleet battled for supremacy, guided by world class tacticians. All four victories were claimed by former world champions, Skorpidi (2019 champion, Russia) winning races one and three; Onegroup (2018 champion, Germany) claiming races two and four. However the former’s 13th place (in race two) and the latter’s 10th and 11th finishes, together with the shortened racing programme due to the whimsical breezes, put pay to their title ambitions. Despite a ninth place finish in what turned out to be her final race, two second place finishes and a fourth propelled Hatari to the title.

‘We are very happy,’ said Hatari’s owner Marcus Brennecke. ‘We had lots of fun and showed great crew work as a team and as individuals. It is a very competitive class with nice people and a good spirit.’

‘I love the spirit of Swan sailing,’ added Earlybird’s owner Hendrik Brandis, a former Swan 45 world champion. ‘It is still driven by the spirit of seamanship which is a great benefit. There is a challenge in finding the right balance between ambitious and sporty without losing that spirit. Swan has done a great job in achieving this. I love the boat-onboat competition and fully expect the ClubSwan 50 class to grow.’

Above: the Tuscan port of Marina Scarlino was an ideal venue for the inaugural Nautor’s Swan Experience, hosting the Swan Private Boat Show and the official launch of the first edition of the Swan One Design World Championships (below), which were organised by the newly founded Yacht Club Isole di Toscana

Two victories and a third in the week’s three races enabled Motions to claim the Swan 45 world title for the first time. Her nearest rival was fellow Dutch crew K-Force, winner of race two, who finished two points behind. Lennard van Oeveren, Motion’s owner, was understandably proud. ‘This is fantastic. We have been building for years and gradually improving our level. We don’t sail with a lot of professionals so it is real Corinthian sailing.’

A world championship competition will be organised for the ClubSwan 36 class in the future. In Scarlino the fleet contested the Gold Cup. Six crews, five from Italy, formed the competition. Of the four races, three were won by Andrea Lacorte’s Cetilar-Vitamina.

‘It was a nice week, we did well,’ reflects Lacorte whose crew have been together for a number of years having also competed in the ClubSwan 50 class. ‘We are looking forward to having more boats join with many strong teams entering soon.’

Those who have been there from the beginning will benefit from being part of a steep learning curve. ‘The boat can accelerate very fast,’ explains Sease owner Giacomo Loro Piana. ‘It offers fun, safe sailing, great maneuverability at high speeds and the stability of the boat is fantastic.’

The same winning boats also claimed The Nations League 2020 prizes, calculated on combined Swan One Design Worlds and Swan Tuscany Challenge points.

The guests were able to entertain themselves with a beautiful art exhibition, Mare by Roberto Ghezzi, which underlines the sustainable commitment of the brand hand-inhand with Marevivo.

The Nautor’s Swan Experience will continue to evolve and is scheduled to return later in 2021.

Click here for more information on Nautor’s Swan »