Lightning visit to Nautor Swan
Tom Cruise caused quite a stir in the tranquil Finnish coastal town of Jakobstad on Wednesday morning. The Hollywood megastar, who is currently travelling around the world for film premieres of the latest "Mission Impossible" blockbuster ("Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning"), landed in his private jet at nearby Kronoby Airport and then visited the shipyards of Nautor Swan. The regional newspaper Österbottens Tidning published photos of the famous visitor, who flew from the airport to the shipyard in a chartered helicopter - behind the controls himself, of course.
"I don't sail boats, Penny - I land on them"
It is well known that the 60-year-old action film star is passionate about flying aeroplanes and helicopters, parachuting out of planes and jumping off cliffs on motorbikes; the fact that he loves sailing is new. In the course of his career, he has had a few touchpoints with sailing yachts, including in the blockbuster "Top Gun - Maverick" (2022), in which he sails with actress Jennifer Connelly (Penny) in a strong breeze on a J/125 off San Francisco. Tom Cruise as fighter pilot Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell skilfully plays the sailing novice and responds to the skipper's request to reef with the quote: "I don't sail boats, Penny - I land on them".
Swan flagship is called "Be Cool"
This is likely to change soon. Over the past few months, the industry has been rumouring that Cruise's new flagship, the 38.98 metre long Swan 128 would have ordered. This is considered unlikely, as there was already a Swan 98 with the same name ("BeCool" - now "Honey Rider") and logo, sailing under the British flag and moored in Porto Cervo. The connection seemed particularly fitting thanks to the yacht's name, which is unmistakably based on the 2005 film "Be Cool - Everyone's looking for the next big hit". The film stars Uma Thurman and Cruise's colleague John Travolta.
Construction number 1 of the Swan 108 is for sale
In addition to the series models Swan 51, 55 and 58, six maxi yachts are currently under construction at Nautor Swan, including a Swan 80, a 98, another 128 and Tom Cruise's 108. The detailed yacht portrait of construction number 1 of the Swan 108 "Fancy" can be found here. The yacht, which was delivered in 2023, is currently available for 18.5 million euros for sale.
It will now be interesting to see what Cruise will call his new 36-metre sloop. The secret will be revealed at the latest when the ship is launched next spring. The visit to the shipyard lasted just four hours before the private jet took to the skies again. When asked by a reporter from Svenska Yle what he thought of his new boat, the sporty film star replied succinctly but enthusiastically: "Beautiful!"
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
Martin Hager is editor-in-chief of the titles YACHT and BOOTE EXCLUSIV and has been working for Delius Klasing Verlag for 20 years. He was born in Heidelberg in 1978 and started sailing at the age of six, in an Opti of course. This was soon followed by 420s, Sprinta Sport and 470s, which he also sailed on the regatta course with his brother. His parents regularly took him on charter trips through the Greek and Balearic Islands. Even at a young age, it was clear to him that he wanted to turn his passion for water sports into a career. After graduating from high school and completing an internship at the Rathje boatbuilding company in Kiel, it was clear that he did not want to become a classic boatbuilder. Instead, he successfully studied shipbuilding and marine engineering in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital and focused on yacht design wherever he could. His diploma thesis dealt with the “Testing of a new speed prediction method for sailing yachts”. In 2004, the superyacht magazine BOOTE EXCLUSIV was looking for an editor with technical and nautical background knowledge, a position that was perfect for Martin Hager. The application was successful and a two-year traineeship was arranged. After twelve years as an editor, the editorial team changed and he took over responsibility for BOOTE EXCLUSIV as editor-in-chief in 2017. After long-time YACHT editor-in-chief Jochen Rieker moved to the role of publisher, Martin Hager also took over the position of editor-in-chief of Europe's largest sailing magazine YACHT, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, at the beginning of 2023. When he's not working on topics for the two water sports titles, Martin Hager likes to go out on the water himself - preferably with kite and wingfoil equipment or on a little after-work trip across the Alster.
