ClubSwan World Championship: "Cuordileone" takes gold, "Hatari" wins seasonal ranking
Tatjana Pokorny
· 15.10.2023
The well-known ClubSwan duel between Italy's and Germany's best racing swans was won by the Azzurri this year. At the season finale off Scarlino, Leonardo Ferragamo's crew on "Cuordileone" sailed so decisively to victory in the largest ClubSwan 50 class that the team did not have to compete in the final race. With the World Championship series 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, the "Curodileone" crew only had ten points on their World Championship account and were able to watch the seventh and final race as spectators.
Everyone has made up ground. That's why we enjoy very close races" (Marcus Brennecke)
Marcus Brennecke's crew on "Hatari" ended the highly competitive sailing year in Tuscany with World Championship bronze. Although the team led by owner and helmsman Brennecke and tactician Markus Wieser fell somewhat short of their own World Championship hopes, they were nevertheless rewarded for an outstanding year of sailing with victory in the season class ranking.
"Winning the season is great, I'm happy," said Marcus Brennecke in Scarlino. Commenting on the increasingly tight battle for class victory, world championship medals and the national ranking, Brennecke said: "I think everyone has made up ground. That's why we enjoy very close races. Of course, anyone can win. That's what makes it so much fun. We congratulate Leonardo and his team. They sailed spectacularly well this week and deserve to win the World Championship."
It's no longer so easy to win. Everyone has upgraded, the level has risen a lot" (Markus Wieser)
Markus Wieser also said: "We are very satisfied with our performance throughout the year. We won two events, came second at the Euros, third at the World Championships and won the annual classification by a wide margin. It's no longer that easy to win. All the teams have upgraded, the standard has risen a lot!" A weak second day at the World Championships with an early start and the strategically incorrectly chosen course side in the following race resulted in 11th and 8th place for "Hatari", which were too important in the World Championships to be able to reach for the title.
Just one point behind "Hatari", Sonke Meier-Sawatzki's "Niramo" narrowly missed out on the World Championship podium in the premier ClubSwan 50 class. A victory in the last race had almost allowed the "Niramo" crew to sail into the medal ranks when the "Hatari" team only finished seventh August Schram's "Stella Maris" sailed to fifth place in Tuscan waters. Hendrik Brandis' "Earlybird" finished the World Championship series in eleventh place.
Friendly competition, strong camaraderie
In the smallest class, ClubSwan 36, Scarlino was won by "G Spot" (Monaco) ahead of the two Italian boats "Farstar" and "Fra Martina". Nicolai Burkhart's "Goddess" sailed to eighth place in the World Championship.
As the world champions, class winners and Nations League winners were celebrated at the awards ceremony on the Tarantella Terrace at the Marina di Scarlino, Nautor Swan's CEO Giovanni Pomati took a moment to reflect on the season: "This has been a ClubSwan racing season that will be remembered for the friendly competition we have experienced across seven regattas and the strong camaraderie that has developed between the owners and crews of the Swan Series."
