Swan Tuscany Challenge - The return to gentlemanly racing
by Nautor's Swan 13 Sep 2020 18:20 BST
9-12 September 2020
Inaugural Swan Tuscany Challenge © Nautor's Swan / Studio Borlenghi
The Swan Tuscany Challenge heralds the return of the fun and excitement of gentlemanly competition in the bay of Scarlino.
Nineteen One Design yachts moored in the beautiful Marina di Scarlino, met for four days of intense racing to test their abilities and prepare for the upcoming Swan One Design Worlds, taking place from October 13th to 17th in the same venue.
"The fast reaction of the company in organizing an alternative regatta after the cancellation of the Rolex Swan Cup and the number of Swan One Design yachts attending, is proof of the enthusiasm for real-time racing and the energy flowing within the Swan family." says Enrico Chieffi, Nautor Group Vice-President.
With good winds, sunny days and blue skies, the Tuscan Archipelago turned out to be a magnetic arena for the teams to compete.
The action in the Swan One Design fleet, after months of forced shut-down hotted up with the participation of new owners fully prepared to face their competitors and ready to race until the last breath.
Certainly this is the case for Hatari, in the ClubSwan 50 class demonstrating to be a talented team and winning the competition with a great margin.
"We are delighted to be here, in this our very first regatta in the ClubSwan 50 class. This is our third time on the ClubSwan 50 Hatari, first for the training in Scarlino, last February, and in Palma. I'm happy with my team that supported me". Said Marcus Brennecke, owner of Hatari." I love one design sailing, you are all very close and confront all the time. This time was us winning the first edition of the Swan Tuscan Challenge".
The young ClubSwan 36 class, with four yachts participating, proved once again that the race course is her natural habitat, comfortably excelling on the course and giving us awe-inspiring performances. Three yachts finished tied for the first place after seven races proving the quality of the One Design.
"It's the first time I have raced on ClubSwan 36, we've been training just for three days and we've already improved a lot."says Sandro Paniccia, owner ClubSwan 36 Sixth Sense, "It's a new and innovative design, there's a lot to learn and we are very happy".
Tight match racing occurred between the two Swan 45s participating, Motions and K-Force, with the first winning the competition.
"It's really great to be on the water again after so long not being able to sail and the conditions here are really perfect" stated Lennard van Oeveren, owner of Swan 45 Motions." I'm really sorry for those who didn't attend the event. That was real fun and we look forward to participating to the One Design Worlds next month."
The Swan Tuscany Challenge marked also a milestone for the Nautor's Swan family:
Fifty years old, Swan 43 Kokkola arrived with her owner on Thursday night to join her old and new generation compatriots: Swan 48 - Mia, Swan 65 S&S - Saida, Swan 80 Anthos, Swan 78 Azzurro, to unfurl their sails for a day exploring the islands around Scarlino.
On Friday night Kokkola was honoured for her 50th Anniversary by the management of the company:
"When I first saw Kokkola she wasn't for sale but it was love at first sight and I convinced her previous owner to sell her to me. This was 35 years ago and since then we've spent beautiful moments together" says Vittorio Ghizzoni. "Owning a Swan is being part of a family and we are proud of it, especially during this occasion of fun, reinvigorating and energetic competition, I don't miss any occasion to spend time in the family and receiving this present fills me with joy and happiness".
"It's always a great emotion to meet passionate Swan owners and Kokkola is a confirmation of how the brand is loved and appreciated. Honouring a Swan owner is celebrating Nautor'sSwan itself, the heritage, the passion and the hard work we all put in everyday" stated Giovanni Pomati, CEO.
A special thank you goes to the partners which supported Nautor'steam in the regatta: Gottifredi Maffioli, Garmin, North Sails, Quantum Sails, Sease, Trac Trac, Uyn Sports.
Find full final results here