Shipyards: Nautor's New: Swan 54 and ClubSwan 50

Nautor is celebrating its 50th anniversary with two models - and at the same time starting a new era based on the old brand values. Measured against the 115-foot model range, these are surprisingly small boats - the smallest, to be precise. This is relative, of course, because the ClubSwan is already a stately vessel. But until recently, it was unclear whether the Finnish shipyard would even want to serve this sector - superyachts had dominated development in recent years too much.

But now one thing is certain: Nautor, which once started out with the now modest-looking Swan 36 "Tarantella", which attended the recent celebrations in Jakobstad as a freshly restored ancestor, is not taking off completely. The boatbuilding company for the very fine trade, this legend of a shipyard, still traded as a blue chip in terms of image, occupies the top niche of the market. However, it is getting a few feet closer to its disciples.

The Finns' sailing fun now begins at 50 feet, epitomised by the excitingly sporty ClubSwan 50, designed by the Argentinian Juan Kouyoumdjian, who is respected and sometimes even feared for his extreme designs. It is a boat full of vigour and visual energy - and yet, according to insiders, it has an astonishingly pleasing, minimalist yet extremely luxurious interior. YACHT will have three days to test the yacht next week - pictures and a report will follow shortly.

A few weeks earlier, the first Swan 54 was launched, a fully-fledged luxury cruiser that can be customised to be more long-distance or performance-oriented, depending on the owner's wishes. Here Swan put its trust in Germán Frers, the shipyard's in-house designer for decades. The crack was surprisingly timeless, the stem slanted by today's standards, the foredeck slender with a sharp V-frame, the lines in the cabin superstructure almost retro - a deliberate bridge between the classic Swans and today's model series.

Leonardo Ferragamo, who took over Nautor a good 15 years ago, invited owners, sponsors and long-serving employees to the first in a series of celebrations at the weekend. They will continue in a few days' time in the Turku archipelago, when the Swan Jubilee Regatta starts, and will end in mid-September at the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo. YACHT and YACHT online will report on all the events.