The Rolex Swan Cup has been going great guns for six decades and it’s the enduring appeal of the event that puts it in a class of its own
Ever since its inception almost 60 years ago, Nautor Swan has been a boatbuilder that others seek to emulate, thanks to its well earned reputation for high build quality and attention to detail combined with yacht design from some of the very best names in the business.
At the same time, a large part of the appeal of owning a Swan is that it allows you to participate in the excellent programme of regattas, gatherings and other events staged by ClubSwan Racing, the competitive division of Nautor Swan.
The ClubSwan Racing circuit is very well established and successful. The depth of its programme, the level of competition, and the degree of friendship and camaraderie these events foster, are all widely known.
The Rolex Swan Cup, which has been held every two years since 1980 at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, is the highlight of the calendar. In what must be one of the longestrunning sponsorship partnerships in the history of any sport, Rolex has been a partner since 1984.
It’s a relationship that was celebrated by Nautor Swan president Leonardo Ferragamo in his speech at this year’s Rolex Swan Cup owners’ dinner: ‘Tonight we mark 40 years of the partnership between Rolex, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Nautor Swan,’ he said. ‘It is amazing what has happened. We have seen this event evolving every two years, a close collaboration between a great yacht club, one of the major watch-making brands in the world and Nautor Swan, working together with the same vision, to improve time after time.
There were large, competitive fleets in the rating classes
‘It's a unique and amazing cooperation and it is time to thank you and so many people before you for being part of this extraordinary journey,’ he added.
The 2024 edition of the Rolex Swan Cup attracted more than 100 yachts, ranging from a beautifully maintained Swan 36 – the yard’s first ever model – through to 100ft superyachts, as well as the radical foiling ClubSwan 36 and the new diminutive ClubSwan 28.
It’s also a gathering point for a remarkably large and diverse number of the most successful and celebrated sailors in the sport of sailing, including American legend Paul Cayard. ‘The Rolex Swan Cup is one of the most significant regattas in yachting,’ he says. ‘It has the distinction of uniting three outstanding partners, all of whom are driven by a desire to encourage progress and innovation, while respecting heritage and tradition.’
Above: close inshore work adds to the navigational challenge
Five-time Olympic medallist Robert Schiedt is equally enthusiastic, saying: ‘The Rolex Swan Cup is an exceptional event that sailors of all backgrounds aspire to be a part of. The new one-design classes create incredibly close racing and add lustre to an already impressive fleet, sailing in one of the most remarkable environments.’
Porto Cervo is a legendary regatta destination on Sardinia’s northeastern coast and competing here is a once in a lifetime bucket list item for most boat owners. However, it’s a different matter for Swan owners, who have the opportunity to regularly enjoy this exclusive, yet low key and friendly destination that was created by the Aga Khan just a year after Nautor Swan first started building yachts close to the Arctic Circle in northern Finland.
Unlike many Mediterranean destinations, the Maddalena archipelago off the coast of Porto Cervo has reliable winds for fair but challenging racing, amid captivating scenery on island-studded, clear emerald green waters. The Rolex Swan Cup’s five days of racing are contested over a mixture of passage races on challenging coastal courses and shorter, quick-fire windward/leeward racetracks.
Above: the most closely matched racing of all was in the brand new ClubSwan 28 fleet where the top two boats ended the regatta on equal points
The event always attracts crews of all ages and many nationalities, including many boats with women in key roles. It’s an inclusive approach that has a positive effect on the atmosphere of what is now a very special event in the international sailing calendar.
‘I am incredibly proud to represent my country, Egypt, on board such a fun and fast boat,’ says Ghada G Barsoum, who chartered the ClubSwan 36 Lady Ghada for the season. ‘This drives me to push my limits and take on new challenges with a fantastic crew.
‘A few months ago I could never have imagined myself steering such a fast and high-performance boat,’ she added. ‘And now, thanks to ClubSwan Racing, I can enjoy the excitement of surfing and skimming over the waves.’
Equally, the social programme is geared to provide the Nautor Swan community, the ClubSwan members, with a chance to share their collective enthusiasms. ‘The Rolex Swan Cup is an iconic and historic event which unites first-class yachts, passionate owners and sailors, and three longstanding partners, YCCS, Rolex and Nautor Swan,’ says Giovanni Pomati, CEO of Nautor Swan.
‘The regatta is about more than competition,’ he explains. ‘It is also about a sense of belonging, of pride and of showcasing that heritage can sit comfortably alongside evolution, innovation, quality, elegance and reliability.’
Above: the Rolex Swan Cup always has a festival atmosphere in port
A few imaginative changes were introduced this year to enhance the experience without losing the emphasis on friendly and fair racing. First, the fleet was divided into two groups with one hosting three divisions of the rating classes: Maxi, Swan and Sparkman & Stephens, each of which is further divided into classes. As well as dividing the fleet by size, organisers also took the opportunity to separate the full-on racing machines with professional crews from the predominantly Corinthian entries, while noting that some of the latter are still formidable competitors.
Group 2 featured the more racing-focused Swan One Design models, including the ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan 36 and ClubSwan 28. In addition, the Swan One Design Grand Prix class has been created to cater for the Swan 45 and ClubSwan 42.
This year the Swan 60CR Sea Quill stamped her authority in the Mini Maxi Class, taking four straight race wins, while the Swan 90 Freya won the Maxi class with four bullets. ‘I'm as happy as I have ever been in my life,’ says owner Donald Macpherson. ‘It has been a fantastic week. We have a great team and we've been able to keep the same guys around most of the time. It was a team effort. The Rolex Swan Cup here in Porto Cervo is a premier event in a premier location for sailing. Everybody here has the same thing in common.’
Nautor’s new leader
Earlier this year Nautor announced the sale of the company to Italian superyacht builder Sanlorenzo in a structured multi-year buyout that will strengthen both brands.
Sanlorenzo is a formidable force under the guidance of CEO Massimo Perotti. He is highly experienced, having worked in the yachting industry since the age of 23.
Given his huge experience and background in motor yachting, what was Perotti’s first impression of racing Swan 80 Kallima with Paul Cayard at this year’s Rolex Swan Cup? ‘ I felt a kind of excitement because of our skipper – I remember the first America’s Cup team ll Moro di Venezia from Italy.’ Suffice to say, with Cayard as skipper and team manager, they won the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup to challenge for the Cup.
‘The other feeling, which is the strongest,’ Perotti continues, ‘was the happiness of my daughter, who was close to me. She has decided to take a ClubSwan 28 and start racing with her. And this for me is fantastic.’
Perotti is not seeking a revolution at Nautor Swan. With the same team in place, while long-standing Nautor Group president Leonardo Ferragamo will also sit on the Sanlorenzo board as VP.
Core values of quality, elegance and reliability are shared across both brands. Despite these and many other synergies they will remain separate brands, each as leaders in their respective spheres.
Like Nautor Swan, Sanlorenzo is a leader in new technologies afloat. It developed the hydrogen-powered chase boats for the Barcelona America’s Cup, which Perotti says was ‘an extreme project that required two years of development,’ and the 50Steel in cooperation with Siemens Energy, the first yacht ever built with the Reformer Fuel Cell system, able to transform green methanol into hydrogen and then into electricity, to power the hotellerie onboard.
Perotti has a clear vision for the future. An increasing number of very large yachts will be built due to the rapid growth in number of very high net worth individuals. He also believes an increasing proportion will be sailing yachts.
Why did he approach Nautor Swan? ‘Because I think that between the two brands there is a lot in common,’ he says. ‘In Nautor Swan we have 2,350 customers, which is a club that’s very loyal to the Swan brand and proud. Sanlorenzo has built 1,000 yachts for customers who are also, part of the club. When they want a new boat, they come back and they buy a new Sanlorenzo.’
By contrast, the S&S Classic fleet saw a different winner emerge every day, with Frank Winter's German-flagged Swan 36 Isabella eventually taking overall victory by a single point in a very closely contested series. The S&S Racing division also enjoyed tight competition, but Vincenzo Onorato's Swan 38 Mascalazone Latino XXXIII (built in 1974) rose to the fore with three race wins to finish on top.
The large Swan Cruiser class had a similar outcome with Jan Opländer’s German Swan 54 Katima discarding a second place to finish the regatta counting only race wins. Three bullets similarly put Argentina's Fernando Chain and his modified Swan 45 From Now On at the top of the Swan Grand Prix table.
Competition in the ClubSwan 50 one design class is consistently tight and this year only one point separated the top three boats at the end of their seven race series. A third place in the final race saw Raquel and Graeme Peterson's Moonlight take overall victory on 22 points, just ahead of Mark and Louis Bezner's Olymp and Marcus Brennecke's Hatari.
Racing proved even tighter in the new ClubSwan 28 class, where the top two boats finished the week on equal points with Phillipe Ligot's Marcello taking overall victory on countback ahead of Giulio Gatti's Anya Race.
Italian entries claimed the top spot in three of the classes, with Adriano Majolino's Canopo winning every race but one in the ClubSwan 42 fleet, Edoardo and Vanni Pavesio's Fra Martina staying consistent to win the competitive ClubSwan 36 class, and Stefano Masi’s Ulika taking the Swan 45 title by a single point. Majolino also claimed the Swan OD Grand Prix title with Canopo.
The Rolex Swan Cup is always an international affair and this year proved to be no different, with competitors from 20 countries across five continents. Steve Cappell and Fraser Welch’s classic S&S Swan 65 Eve was awarded the prize for the furthest travelled boat, having sailed from Australia.
Meanwhile, Melanie and Peter Kohloff's Swan 47 CB Matilda was awarded the Spirit of Swan prize. ‘Matilda was built for the New York Yacht Club with a centreboard,’ said Peter Kohloff, husband of ownerdriver Melanie. ‘She is pretty fast, perhaps faster than the fixed-keel boat, and we have kept her in her original condition with Dacron sails, the original mast and the old motor. So she is not up to date, but still competitive.’ The Kohloffs sail with four other couples, all of whom are long-time friends.
This year's Rolex Swan Cup saw the inaugural presentation of the Fabio Gallia Trophy, awarded in memory of the life and values of the banker who passed away earlier this year. The first recipient is Marco Trombetti, CEO of Translated and skipper of the Swan 65 Translated 9 which recently completed the Ocean Globe Race. ‘Completing a roundthe- world trip was challenging both physically and psychologically,’ he says. ‘Two elements gave me the strength to face it: the support of Fabio Gallia, who was a model of optimism and humanity, and the extraordinary story of the Swan 65.’ The trophy, designed by Piero Lissoni, embodies the values of resilience, perseverance, integrity, courage, teamwork, vision, leadership and humanity.
‘I’m sure this trophy will honour many people who try their hand at sailing and achieve extraordinary things where precisely these characteristics prevail,’ says Ferragamo. ‘It will not only be a way of honouring the people who most deserve it, but also a way of conferring these values beneath the gaze of so many people they can be a model for them and for upcoming generations.’
At the conclusion of this year’s event Pomati paid tribute to the high standards at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, adding: ‘And to all the people here instead of thanks I would like to send you all a big hug. To the owners of course, and also the professional sailors who bring so much to this event.
‘Even more important is the passion and camaraderie on the pontoons and all around. This is part of the Nautor Swan journey and you are all welcome to come on the next part of the journey.’ The enduring appeal of the Rolex Swan Cup is exceptional and now is the time to start initial planning ahead of the 2026 event, whether in your own Swan or a chartered yacht.
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