Racing in The Nations Trophy - Swan One Design set to start tomorrow

ClubSwan 50 fleet racing © ClubSwan / Studio Borlenghi

A practice race and welcome cocktail on the terrace of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda kicked off The Nations Trophy - Swan One Design today, a regatta organised by the YCCS in association with ClubSwan Racing and reserved for Nautor's one-design classes the ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 36. Racing will take place from 21st to 24th June, when The Nations Trophy will conclude with the prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra.

A total of 29 yachts with sailors representing 24 nations will be competing, with fleets racing separately in the three one-design classes. This is a biennial event and a highlight for the ClubSwan fleets, as The Nations Trophy will be awarded to the country with the best overall result from its top two representatives. The score from this event will also be valid for the 2023 season of The Nations League circuit. Prizes will also be awarded for first to third place in each individual class.

ClubSwan Racing regattas have an owner-driver rule, and crews that can include professional sailors such as Robert Scheidt from Brazil, winner of five Olympic medals and 12 world championships in the Laser (now ILCA 7) and Star classes, tactician on Hendrik Brandis' ClubSwan 50 Earlybird, or Canada's Ross MacDonald, a veteran Whitbread Round the World Race sailor (now The Ocean Race) and winner of two Olympic medals in the Star class, tactician on Haakon Lorentzen's ClubSwan 36 Mamao. Well-known Italian sailors competing include Vasco Vascotto on Giovanni Lombardi's ClubSwan 50 Django, Michele Paoletti on Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's ClubSwan 36 G Spot, and Enrico Zennaro on Andrea Rossi's ClubSwan 42 Mela, to name but a few. Naturally, Nautor Swan's president, Leonardo Ferragamo, will be taking part with his ClubSwan 50 Cuordileone, assisted on tactics by Manu Weiller and with ClubSwan Racing's CEO, Federico Michetti, in the role of trimmer.

Up to 8 races are scheduled, mainly windward-leewards, but with the possibility of a coastal race - scored as a single race - at the discretion of the Race Committee. The first starting signal is set for 12.00 noon each day.

The ClubSwan 36 Goddess - photo © ClubSwan / Studio Borlenghi

The 2023 edition of The Nations Trophy also marks the 25th anniversary of Leonardo Ferragamo's acquisition of Nautor Swan and the creation of ClubSwan, a story of passion for sailing that will be celebrated at the owner's dinner at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda on Friday 23rd June.

"We are pleased to have among our members a friend and entrepreneur like Leonardo Ferragamo," commented YCCS Commodore Michael Illbruck, "in welcoming him and the whole great Nautor Swan family, I wish all the owners and crews fair winds and, above all, I am delighted that the 25th anniversary of Leonardo's acquisition of Nautor Swan and the establishment of ClubSwan will be celebrated here in Porto Cervo."

As part of the pathway to making its events increasingly sustainable, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda will apply for Clean Regattas certification issued by Sailors for the Sea for The Nations Trophy - Swan One Design. Among the actions implemented to achieve this goal is the use of MarkSetBot robotic buoys, which hold their position thanks to an electric motor working in tandem with a GPS system, eliminating the need for anchors on the seabed.

The forecast for tomorrow indicates moderate east south-easterly breezes, while the Mistral wind is expected later in the week.