Swan One Design Worlds 2022: Ferragamo is world champion for the first time, "Earlybird" takes silver

The Club Swan One Design Worlds, organised by the Real Club Náutico de Valencia, came to a thrilling conclusion in Spain on Saturday. Lighter winds greeted the competitors in the Club Swan 36, Club Swan 42 and Club Swan 50 fleets as they set off on their final two races. Leonardo Ferragamo's "Cuordileone" went into the final in the premier Club Swan 50 class with just a one-point lead over her determined chasers. That could well have made people nervous. However, the Italians showed strong nerves by finishing first and third, leaving Hendrik Brandis' stubborn challengers on "Earlybird" no chance of winning the Club Swan 50 class. The Brandis team took World Championship silver with Australian sailing superstar Tom Slingsby. German sailors in the top international crew on "Earlybird" were Julian Hampe, Arnd Howar and Lars Kerschies alongside Brandis. Marcus Brennecke's defending world championship title holders on "Hatari" with tactician Markus Wieser narrowly missed out on the podium and, despite two convincing second places on the final day, were beaten by the Belgian "Balthasar" with Louis Balcaen in the battle for world championship bronze.

Leonardo Ferragamo was in high spirits after the successful storm to the summit: "Being world champion is very emotional. The fight for the title was very tough right up to the last minute. That's why one-design racing is so incredible, because the boats are so close together right to the end. This is my first world championship win and I am very happy." Stefan Heidenreich sailed under the Swiss flag with Jochen Schümann in sixth place. Sönke Meier-Sawatzki's "Niramo" crew took seventh place in the fleet of 15 50s. August Schramm's Austrian "Stella Maris" came eighth.

The decision in Club Swan 36

In the Club Swan 36 fleet, a win in the penultimate race by Lorenzo Mondo's "Farstar" and an equally remarkable seventh place for the long-standing class leader "Mamao" ensured that the top four boats were separated by just a single point before the final race. Farstar" was in pole position. But that was not enough. Sailing under the Brazilian flag, "Mamao" with Haakon Lorentzen struck back with a race win and took the crown in the 36s ahead of "Farstar" and Edoardo Ferragamo's small "Cuordileone". Nikolai Burkart's "Goddess" finished eighth. "Mamaos" tactician Ross MacDonald said: "The first race was difficult for us, and we were probably a bit too conservative, and in the end we made too many turns and ended up in seventh place, which gave us a bit of excitement for the last race - but as they say in Hollywood, there's no good ending without drama." Nikolai Burkart's "Goddess" finished eighth in the Club Swan 36 yacht division.

The World Cup final in the Club Swan 42

Pedro Vaquer's crew on "Nadir" still had work to do on the final day to consolidate their leading position. With first and second place, the defence was successful. The team won the Club Swan 42 class by a margin of twelve points, delighting the Spanish fans. Massimo De Campo's "Selene-Alifax" secured second place. The team on Jose Maria Meseguer's "Pez De Abril" made it onto the podium in the final sprint with second and third place. The Spaniards thus pushed Pit Finis' "Dralion" into third place with a two-point lead.

In the Swan national ranking of the best-placed national teams, Italy and Germany are tied with 28 points each. "Cuordileone" and "Drifter Sail" for the Azzurri and "Earlybird" and "Hatari" for the GER fleet contributed significantly to this. "Nadir" and the Club Swan 42 "Pez De Abril" put Spain in third place.