The 21st Rolex Swan Cup came to an end with a cannon shot in the late afternoon of 18 September. Before that, cheers could be heard for hours in the harbour and at the award ceremony. The day after the big crew party with almost 2,000 enthusiastic sailors, helpers and friends, the Swan community celebrated their best with lots of applause and a good shot of family spirit.
In a total of eight racing classes (4 handicap groups, 4 one-design divisions), one German boat came out on top: The victory of the Swan 53 "Crilia" in the series' largest fleet of 22 Grand Prix boats was a particularly sweet one for owners Heinz Gerd and Christoph Stein. They have already finished second three times in the Rolex Swan Cup and third once. Tactician Thomas Jungblut said: "We had set ourselves a clear goal this time and are delighted that we were able to achieve it."
"Crilia" tactician Jungblut: "The opponents have become stronger"
According to Jungblut, the opponents in the Grand Prix class have become stronger. This also included Jan Opländer's Swan 54 "Katima". In its fifth participation in the Rolex Swan Cup, the Opländer team achieved its best result and made it onto the podium. The crew celebrated their third place after a successful series like a victory and warmly congratulated the winners on the "Crilia".
The three owners of the Swan 40 "Kju" fought their way to ninth place. At their first Swan regatta together, Klaus Wirbel, Jörg Will and Uwe May not only enjoyed the ambience of Porto Cervo's picture-book harbour and the hospitality of the organising Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, but also sporting success with their guest skipper Kalle Dehler. Dietmar Pennig's Swan 46 "Fixation" sailed to eleventh place. Click here for the Results of the handicap classes.
"Hatari" and "Earlybird" win the Nations Cup for Germany
The German crews celebrated further successes in the four one-design categories: Marcus Brennecke's ClubSwan 50 had already been honoured as the best yacht in its class in the Nations League season standings on the evening before the final day. Together with the crew on Hendrik Brandis' red class sister "Earlybird", "Hatari" also secured victory for the German team in the Nations League ahead of Italy. In the 21st Rolex Swan Cup itself, the "Hatari" crew led by tactician Markus Wieser sailed to third place.
The Belgian "Balthasar" took victory in the largest and increasingly popular one-design racing class of the fifties ahead of August Schramm's "Stella Maris", which had a strong performance with five-time Olympic medallist, Laser record world champion and new tactician Robert Scheidt. The Austrians were only four points short of victory. "Earlybird" finished the series in seventh place.
There were no German teams at the start in the 45 swan class, which only had four boats. In the ClubSwan 42, the team led by Pit Finis on "Dralion" managed a great final spurt. This was owner Pit Finis' third participation in the Rolex Swan Cup. He sold his boat this week after many successes and now wants to look around and, among other things, "keep a close eye on the development of the 41s". Nikolai Burkart's "Goddess" sailed to fifth place in the ClubSwan 36 class. Click here for the Results of the One Design divisions.
Italian crews won twice at the home event in the ClubSwan 45 classes and in the classics, where the 48-year-old Swan 38 "Mascalzone Latino XXXIII" from former America's Cup chaser Vincenzo Onorato came out on top. How the Swan family is evolving and changing was also evident from the fact that no winning boat from the previous 2018 edition was able to repeat its success. This also showed the versatility of the wide range of classes on offer, from smart and well-preserved classics to fast racers and giants such as the Swan 115 "Jasi" or the new ClubSwan 80 "My Song" by Pierluigi Loro Piana.
Michael Illbruck, Commodore of the organising Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, took a bow to the participants, partners and helpers on the final day and invited everyone to come back in two years' time.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
