Swan Sardinia Challenge: "Hatari" wins off Villasimius: Marcus Brennecke: "The victory is the result of many elements"

After four intense days of racing and ten hard-fought races, the podium places at the Swan Summit off Villasimius were decided. Just like a few weeks ago at the Tuscany Challenge in the ClubSwan 50 division, "Hatari" owner Marcus Brennecke and his crew led by tactician Markus Wieser came out on top. Against a spectacular backdrop on the south-east coast of Sardinia, the team flying the German flag was unbeatable with four race wins and consistently top-five finishes. The lead over the second-placed "Balthasar" with Louis Balcaen was an impressive 15 points in the final tally. August Schramm's team on the ClubSwan 50 "Stella Maris" sailed to third place under the Austrian flag. Sönke Meier-Sawatzki's "Niramo" came fifth. The "Early Bird" sailed to eleventh place with skipper Christian Nagel, Mark Bezner's "Olymp" came 13th and Nikolai Burkhart's "Goddess" came sixth in the smallest class, ClubSwan 36.

In the remarkably crystal-clear waters off Villasimius, it quickly became clear who the favourites were in this beautiful and exciting swan race. The participants enjoyed the regatta, which took place in this area for the first time - a new venue for the Nations League. Marcus Brennecke's outstandingly sailed "Hatari" was once again unbeatable this week and remains at the top of the ClubSwan 50 season rankings. Owner and skipper Marcus Brennecke said: "This is the result of many different elements coming together. Firstly, there is the crew - we sail together all the time, don't make many changes and are very consistent with the same crew for the third season. We also get on very, very well together. We obviously have very good sailors in the team and we also have a lot of fun together. We try to optimise everything, a little bit here, a little bit there, we do our training and do our best to sail as consistently as possible." Tactician Markus Wieser also raved about the sailing fun and the new discovery of the area, which could also be worth a trip for holiday trips and charter sailors this summer: "It was a great week! There was always wind, even 25 knots on the final day. The scenery was also fantastic!"

With five consecutive race wins in the ultra-modern ClubSwan 36 class, Richard Thompson's crew on "Black Seal" secured a well-deserved, albeit narrow victory ahead of Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's "G-Spot". The latter had won the opening regatta of the ClubSwan season in Tuscany in April. The "Fra Martina" of Edoardo and Vanni Pavesio from Monaco sailed to third place. Winner Thompson was jubilant at the award ceremony on the final day: "It was another fantastic day of sailing. In fact, it was the best sailing day I've ever had in a ClubSwan 36 in terms of wind and sea conditions. We measured a top speed of 21.5 knots today, which is pretty fast. I have to say it's not as scary as it looks. You're a bit scared, but you're also excited. The boat handles so well in winds like this." In the third division (Swan 45), which was sparsely populated with only three Italian boats, Claudio Terrieri's "Blue Sky" came out on top.

The Marina di Villasimius, newly discovered by many participants, gave the regatta fleet a warm welcome. Giovanni Pomati, CEO of the Nautor Group, said: "This is our first time in Villasimius. It was an amazing first to see 26 boats competing in this beautiful setting of a natural park. The full programme of ten races with excellent wind conditions from eight to over 25 knots was quite a show." Click here for the results (please click!).