ClubSwan 80 - a new concept for the maxi yacht world

by Nautor's Swan 1 Oct 2022 17:11 BST

The Nautor Swan strategy related to its ClubSwan yachts has always been to create a high-performance line within the family of Swans, in order that they would be able to compete at the top level of the professional racing circuit.

With the success of the ClubSwan 36, 50 and 125 models, the range is renowned as the highest performing, most innovative and most technologically advanced segment of the company. And yet, there was an opportunity to complete the ClubSwan line with a new model.

ClubSwan 80 - photo © Nautor's Swan

"The ClubSwan 80 project was born for two reasons: One, because clearly our line deserves a new yacht of this kind and second, because in the Maxi reality we see the possibility and the space for a high-performance yacht that will fill a regatta system that is now lacking something like this," says Enrico Chieffi, Nautor Group Senior Advisor.

The ClubSwan 80 is being built with the strategic partner Persico Marine, based in Nembro, an international shipyard renowned worldwide for its expertise in building high performance yachts.

ClubSwan 80 - photo © Nautor's Swan

The brief

The ClubSwan 80 has been conceived to be a very fast and high-performance yacht, completely in line with her sisters, based on the concept of One Design yachts.

"The idea is to create a class of identical yachts, so this is something very unique in the worid of maxis," adds Chieffi.

All the boats are specifically designed to sail in short racing, participating in the traditional events of the maxi circuit and specialized in light to medium winds CVMG sailing).

"Why this? Because these events are mainly sailing in these conditions and we want a very competitive boat as such," Chieffi continues.

The new model features a canting keel of 4.75m, which is proving to be a great compromise between having a very fast, deep keel while also allowing the yacht to enter into harbors and portswithout any limitation.

The ClubSwan 80 has twin rudders, as usually adopted in its new shape as designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian (as happened for ClubSwan 36), and a canard. More specifically, a rotating canard has been adopted for sailing in short racing in light/medium winds (VMG), but also to grant a big flexibility in the tactical situation that are very common in the tight fleet racing.

The very long, retractable bowsprit, together with the very light displacement related to the canting keel, makes the yacht a real monster downwind, providing an enormous amount of fun while sailing.

ClubSwan 80 - photo © Nautor's Swan

The interiors

The yacht comes with a minimal, stylish interior with the aim to combine the very high performance with a degree of comfort inside. A more luxurious version with a full set of options is also possible, being fully aware it may affect sailing performance.

"You can buy comfort but you can't buy performance and this is very important for the concept of the One Design class. So the base yacht is the fastest and lightest boat you can get," explains Chieffi.

ClubSwan 80 - photo © Nautor's Swan

The circuit of events

Racing has been in Swan's DNA since the very beginning and the brand's thrilling regattas are the most eagerly awaited events by our owners. ClubSwan has always been associated with racing events, especially One Design, which is particularly enjoyable, with a rational and cost effective proposition, both for the management of the racing program and the original investment in the yacht. The winning formula - with the owners at the helm as the established principle, and the boats all of the same type - is keeping the competition friendly and with a gentleman-like spirit.

Since 2002, when the Swan 45 was first launched, Swan started on this route and today its One Design circuit of events is one of the most successful in the world, with a consistent number of yachts participating. The most important ones are The Nations Trophy, held bi-annually on odd years, and The Nation League (Mediterranean and North Europe) held on a yearly base and completely dedicated to One Design. Completing the offer, there is the "must attend" Rolex Swan Cup, on even years, in the beautiful setting of Porto Cervo.

ClubSwan 80 - photo © Nautor's Swan

Obviously, the ClubSwan 80 will take advantage of this well-established, worldwide circuit of events, which is why the Nautor's Swan Racing Office is developing its dedicated One Design class rules. One of the most important rules, as for all OD racing regattas, is the owner driver, where the owner of the yacht must helm the boat; this allows passionate owners to sail at a very high level while still being manageable and in a friendly environment. The program drafted for the CluoSwan 80 Class will have five events a year, with 25 days of racing, one winner, and a dedicated world championship that will be a standalone event.

"The hull number OOT is under construction at the moment, and our goal is to have three ClubSwan 80 boats in the water racing at the Rolex Maxi Worlds in Porto Cervo in 2022. We expect a lot of traction out of this, we see this as an exciting new challenge. A class of this size and of this magnitude has never been achieved and realized by anyone in the past, but we believe it's time to do it. And the project and the team are unique," concludes Chieffi, who is also managing the whole project supported by a team of international experts.