Swan Bonifacio Challenge: Wow pictures from Bonifacio - "Hatari" storms to victory in the Mistral

After the season warm-up in Scarlino, the international Club Swan 50 racing elite met in Bonifacio for the first official Nations League regatta of the year. The Swan Bonifacio Challenge served up strong mistral winds to its participants in the picture-book Corsican waters. It was the second leg of the season for the smaller ClubSwan 36 One Designs. In the Strait of Bonifacio, the wind increasingly showed its powerful side as the regatta progressed.

ClubSwan 50: "Hatari" wins by a narrow margin

After the start with three very technical races that were well received by both fleets, in which the best of the week already stood out, a day with increasing mistral winds and a single race with wind speeds of 16 to 20 knots followed. In strong waves and winds of over 25 knots, both fields then paused before decisions were made in the final. Marcus Brennecke's crew on "Hatari" in the field of large ClubSwan 50 yachts and the crew on the Italian ClubSwan 36 "Cuordileone" proved to be particularly efficient in taming the challenging conditions.

All teams have upgraded considerably" (Markus Wieser)

Nevertheless, "Hatari's" tactician Markus Wieser stated after the final: "All the teams have upgraded a lot. It's becoming increasingly difficult to win here. In the end it was a very tight race. We were only able to sail for three days, but we experienced a great sailing area off Bonifacio." The crew on "Hatari" relegated Hendrik Brandis' team with the German sailors Arnd Howar, Nick Beulcke and Philipp Sudbrack on "Earlybird" to second place. Leonardo Ferragamo's Italian ClubSwan 50 "Cuordileone" came third ahead of Mark Bezner's "Olymp" with tactician Jochen Schümann. This meant that three German yachts finished among the top four boats in the high-calibre showdown.

Bonifacio was a marvellous discovery" (Marcus Brennecke)

Naturally, Marcus Brennecke was particularly delighted. The "Hatari" owner and helmsman as well as sponsor of leading Olympians in the NRV Olympic Team said: "What a pleasure to have won the first event of the season. It was a very close race, the level is getting higher and higher, everyone is working hard. We finished just one point ahead of 'Earlybird' and 'Cuordileone'. So it couldn't have been more competitive."

Swan Bonifacio Challenge: "Flying fun" in the Mistral

After the final, Marcus Brennecke said: "We had a bad start today and rounded the windward mark in eleventh place. After that we switched to catching up and finished sixth. That was our string as we had a pretty consistent series beforehand. Steering at the cross was a big challenge for everyone in these conditions, even for the more experienced sailors. We were almost flying downwind. You're trying to hold the boat, you don't want to risk a sun shot. It was tough, but so much fun at the same time."

Marcus Brennecke raved about the area for the season opener of the racy 50 swans: "Bonifacio was a wonderful discovery. We knew it would be a challenge when the mistral blows. And that proved to be the case. We couldn't sail eight races, but if you think about the overall organisation and the atmosphere, everything was perfect. I hope we come back again. I think this was one of the best events we've ever had in this class!"

With the Bonifacio victory, "Hatari" also took the lead in the season standings ahead of the narrowly beaten competition. In addition to Marcus Brennecke and Markus Wieser, Felix Kaiser, Nico Kampf, Michael Müller, Carl Rupp and Gerd Habermüller also joined the international "Hatari" crew from Germany and Austria.

The ClubSwan season continues off Sardinia

The next Nations League regatta, the Swan Sardinia Challenge (25 to 29 June), will be another first: It will take place in the fascinating precinct of Alghero. The ancient beauty of the city and its picturesque landscape will provide another spectacular backdrop for the ClubSwan races on the north-west coast of Sardinia. For the ClubSwan 36, the Sardinian challenge marks the third stage of the year. Without any German participation, the "Gspot" from Monaco is at the top of the table after two events.

Click here for the results of the Swan Bonifacio Challenge.

Powerplay off Bonifacio! Click here for impressions of the final day of the Swan Bonifacio Challenge: