Swan One Design World Championships at Scarlino, Tuscany - Day 3
by Nautor's Swan 17 Oct 2020 07:22 BST
13-20 October 2020
Despite the best efforts of the Race Committee and the patience of the 26 competing crews, a prolonged lack of stable breeze ensured no racing was possible on Day 3 of the Swan One Design Worlds. Should the wind prove more accommodating tomorrow, a dramatic final day is guaranteed. World title crowns will be decided for the ClubSwan 50s and Swan 45s while the ClubSwan 36 class vies for the Gold Cup.
World-class One Design racing is only one component of this week's inaugural Swan Experience, the marque's 360 degrees celebration not only of racing but its heritage and continued innovation, showcased in a Private Boat Show, and the meticulous and professional customer care offered by its Global Service Centre, located permanently in the Scarlino marina, a venue that has become an ever integral part of Swan operations.
The Private Boat show opened today, running until 20 October, with Swan guests having the pleasure of detailed tours of some of the marque's most impressive and seminal models - including the cutting-edge One Designs in action this week as well a range of recent launches and those from the past. On show are the Swan 48, Swan 54, Swan 65, Swan 70, Swan 75, Swan 78 and the Swan 115.
ClubSwan 50: Winner takes all
Although she has not won any of the week's four races, Marcus Brennecke's Hatari (Germany) has been the most consistent performer and going into tomorrow's final day will be the team to beat. However with five crews within eight points of the leader (Niramo, Skorpidi, Earlybird, Onegroup, Ulika), tomorrow's racing will prove decisive and the 'winner takes all' scenario will force crews into very different tactical approaches.
Making brave decisions, taking calculated risks and ensuring flawless crew work will be demanded of those seeking victory. Niramo (Germany) tactician Bouwe Bekking admits the ingredients are in place for a compelling final day: "It's all on tomorrow, all to play for with five to six crews in contention. We'll focus on our own race, going in the direction we believe is the right one. Only on the last run will we look around at who is close. The forecast looks light, let's hope we can get one or two races in."
ClubSwan 50 Leaderboard:
1. Hatari (Ger) 17
2. Niramo (Ger) 19 pts
3. Skorpidi (Rus) 20 pts
4. Earlybird (Ger) 20 pts
5. Onegroup (Ger) 23 pts
Swan 45: Dutch duel for title
The quest to become Swan 45 world champion is pointing towards a showdown between two friends - the Dutch crews on Motions and K-Force. However should they focus too closely on each's others performance, and if at least two races are held, than both Ange Transparent (Switzerland) and Ulika (Italy), tied on ten points, may still mount a quest for the title. At the very least they will focus on making the podium.
Swan 45 Leaderboard:
1. Motions (Ned) 5 points
2. K-Force (Ned) 7 pts
3. Ange Transparent (Sui) 10 pts
ClubSwan 36: Improving performances
The ClubSwan 36 class is competing for the Gold Cup, a title Cetilar-Vitamina (Italy) will be confident about claiming. Her seven point advantage over Sease (Italy) appears insurmountable. While others have alternated excellent and disappointing performances, Andrea Lacorte's crew have been the epitome of consistency and coped best with adapting to a new boat and a new competition. Tomorrow presents an opportunity for the fleet to put into practice key learnings from the week.
ClubSwan 36 Leaderboard:
1. Cetilar-Vitamina (Ita) 5 points
2. Sease (Ita) 12 pts
3. Goddess (Ger) 15 pts
A fascinating final day of racing is in store. Tomorrow's wrap-up press release will capture the deciding action.
Full results available here.
To follow the ClubSwan 50 and ClubSwan 36 races, live tracking by Trac Trac is available here.