Champagne sailing on day 2 of Rolex Swan Cup
The 23rd Rolex Swan Cup produced a perfect day of racing, with sunshine and a Mistral wind of between 16 and 26 knots giving all classes the ideal conditions that have made the Costa Smeralda and the La Maddalena Archipelago a prized regatta destination for sailors from all over the world.
The ClubSwan 50 and ClubSwan 36 classes completed three windward-leeward races in challenging conditions, while the ClubSwan 42, 43 and 28 classes sailed their two scheduled races.
For all other classes, the Race Committee set two courses in the La Maddalena Archipelago, of 27 and 15.5 miles respectively. The Swan Maxi, Mini Maxi and Maxi Pure Cruising classes sailed clockwise around La Maddalena, leaving the island of Barrettinelli di Fuori to starboard before hoisting the gennaker and sailing along the eastern coasts of La Maddalena and Caprera, leaving the Isola dei Monaci to starboard and crossing the finish line in the Passo delle Bisce. The Swan Cruiser Racer, Legacy and Pure Cruising classes also headed upwind into the Gulf of Arzachena but, after leaving the Secca di Tre Monti shoal to starboard, rounded a mark off the island of Caprera before a reaching leg to the Isola dei Monaci, leaving it to starboard before turning for the finish line in the Passo delle Bisce strait.
Today’s winners in their respective divisions were:
Swan Maxi: Freya – Swan 90
Swan Mini-Maxi: Arobas – Swan 601
Swan Cruiser Racer: Wavewalker – Swan 58
Swan Legacy Sparkman & Stephens ≥ 47’: Shirlaf – Swan 65
Swan Legacy – Sparkman & Stephens ≤ 44’: Pride – Swan 44
Swan Legacy – Classics by Frers: Lunz am Meer – Swan 651
Swan Pure Cruising: Black Zero – Swan 51
Swan Maxi Pure Cruising: Azzurro – Swan 78
In the One Design classes, Earlybird leads the ClubSwan 50 standings with 6 points (1-1-4), ahead of Hatari on 10 points (5-2-3) and All in One, third on 14. Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone won today’s third race and sits in fourth place in the overall classification on 15 points.
In the ClubSwan 42 class, Pez de Abril has dominated so far, winning both of today’s races to take the early lead on 2 points. Nadir follows on 4 points from two second-place finishes, with Raving Swan in third place on 6 points with a pair of third-place finishes.
The standings are equally emphatic in the ClubSwan 36 class, where Cuordileone clinched all three races to lead on 3 points. Fra Martina, skippered by Edoardo Pavesio, is second with three runner-up finishes and 6 points, ahead of Goddess in third on 9 points, with a hat trick of third-place finishes across the day.
Black Swan retains the lead in the ClubSwan 28 class on 5 points thanks to a 1-2-2 scoreline after two days. Anya Race, winner of today’s second race, sits in second, two points behind on 7, while Marcello is currently in third place overall on 13 points.
Racing continues tomorrow at 12 noon CEST, with slightly less intense Mistral winds forecast. The ClubSwan One Design classes will be competing in windward-leeward races around the marks, with a coastal race scheduled for all other Swan classes.
