Rolex Swan Cup: Two victories and a special prize for GER Swans at the beautiful Swan Match
Tatjana Pokorny
· 22.09.2024
Even the pictures of the Rolex Swan Cup, which is held every two years, are worth seeing. The Swan Cup on the Costa Smeralda is organised in one of the most beautiful regatta areas in the world. These waters, which shimmer with such promise, are what attract owners and crews here time and time again.
The regatta offers a mix of competition, camaraderie and friendship that is truly unique." Paul Cayard
Paul Cayard is a Rolex ambassador and America's Cup legend. The multi-talented sailor has just narrowly missed out on the podium with his cox Frithjof Kleen at the Star Boat World Championship off San Diego, finishing fourth with three wins in six races. Paul Cayard was now at the start of the Rolex Swan Cup as helmsman of the Swan 80 "Kallima - Randstad Sailing Team". Here too, the American narrowly missed out on the podium with his team in fourth place. This did little to dampen the joy of Paul Cayard, who has been extremely popular in Italy since his America's Cup stint with "Il Moro die Venezia", about sailing in his dream sailing area.
Dominant winners in light winds
Paul Cayard knows many reasons why the Swan family has enjoyed meeting in Porto Cervo for so long: "There are a number of factors that make the Rolex Swan Cup special. The three brands - Rolex, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Nautor Swan - have come together to support this event; then there is the iconic venue of Porto Cervo. The conditions are challenging, but the setting is beautiful." The regatta offers a mix of competition, camaraderie and friendship that is truly unique."
Over five days of racing, the race committee laid out a series of challenging courses in the Maddalena archipelago. This was successful despite the fact that the conditions became increasingly unstable and the winds weaker as the week progressed.
Seven noble beauties made up the fleet of maxis in Division A. The largest participant, the 98-foot (29.87 m) "Drifter Cube", did not make it onto the podium in fifth place. Donald MacPherson's Swan 90 "Freya" secured victory with a flawless series of four wins. In the mini-maxis, it was Andrea Fornaro's Swan 60 CR "Sea Quill" that also scored a race win and dominated its field of eight boats.
"Katima" and "Isabella" victorious
Andrea Fornaro said what was on the minds of many of the six owners and their crew members at the 22nd Rolex Swan: "Winning the Rolex Swan Cup is one of the best feelings of my sailing career. To achieve it here with such a talented crew is a wonderful feeling." In Division B S&S Racing, Vincenzo Onorato with his modified Swan 38 from 1974: "Mascalzone Latino XXXIII" was unbeatable with the series 3, 1, 1 and 1, even by Martin Baum's Swan 48 "Elan" (1, 2, 2, 3), which came a close second.
Two German victories were also celebrated at the Rolex Swan Cup: Jan Opländer's team on the Swan 54 "Katima" won in the largest fleet of 16 boats. The team was able to cross off second place and celebrate a successful summit assault off Porto Cervo with three victories. Dietmar Pennig's "Swan 46 "Fixation" was the second German boat to finish on the podium in the cruiser classification in third place. The second GER victory in the Rolex Swan Cup went to Frank Winter's Swan 36 "Isabella" in Division B S&S Classic, one point ahead of the Finnish Swan 57 "Lintu" from 1978.
The "Spirit of Swan" prize also went to a German boat: Melanie and Peter Kohlhoff's Swan 47 CB "Matilda" sailed to fifth place in the B S&S Classic division, but was honoured for the spirit in the team. "Matilda was built for the New York Yacht Club with a centreboard," says Peter Kohloff about the special Swan from 1978. "She's pretty fast, maybe faster than the keelboat. We have kept her in her original condition with Dacron sails, the original mast and the old engine. Matilda is not state of the art, but she is still competitive."
"Moonlight" ahead of "Olympus" and "Hatari"
At the other end of the enormous spectrum of Swan models and racing classes, the brand new ClubSwan-28 class celebrated its regatta premiere at the 22nd Rolex Swan Cuo. The Italian "Marcello" took victory in this first showdown. There was a surprising winner in the ClubSwan 50 class. Graeme Peterson's "Moonlight" won the series in the final sprint with a one-point lead over the German racers "Olymp" of Mark Bezner and the otherwise often best in class "Hatari" of Marcus Brennecke.
While "Olymp" with tactician Jochen Schümann had started the series strongly with 1st, 3rd, 1st and 3rd place, but weakened at the end, "Hatari" achieved four fourth places in seven races. An eighth place dragged down the overall consistent result. Sönke Meier-Sawatzki's crew on "Niramo" finished in twelfth place in the hotly contested field of 13 ClubSwan 50 yachts.
