The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds in Porto Cervo - Day 1
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 18 Jun 2025 23:41 BST
18-21 June 2025
The ClubSwan 50 fleet taking part in their 2025 World Championship -The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds © ClubSwan Racing / Studio Borlenghi
The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds, a regatta organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda together with ClubSwan Racing, got under way on schedule this morning at 12 midday CEST. Thirty-five boats are taking part in Porto Cervo, divided into four classes: ClubSwan 50, ClubSwan 42, ClubSwan 36 and ClubSwan 28 - the latest model launched, with crews competing on a dedicated race course for their first Gold Cup. The remainder of the classes raced on the same course, naturally with separate starts for each.
The larger classes completed two races each, while three races were held for the ClubSwan 28 boats. A fairly unstable breeze from the northeast was weaker than predicted, dropping from an initial 12 knots to around 6 knots and rotating to the north. Choppy seas with waves of around 1.5 metres made manoeuvres and race management challenging for all of the crews.
In the ClubSwan 50 class, an intense battle ensued right from the off between Earlybird and Moonlight, now tied on equal points at the top of the leaderboard, with Earlybird in the top spot. Some distance further back, the rest of the fleet was led by Cuordileone (4-4), currently sitting in third place, five points from the top of the provisional classification.
Manu Weiller, tactician on Earlybird: "A great start for us at the ClubSwan 50 World Championship here in Porto Cervo. It was a difficult day on the water, especially for the helmsman and the trimmers, because with lots of wave and not much wind you have to bring all your skills. But our whole team was brilliant, which is why we're in the lead, tied on points with Moonlight."
Competition was also fierce among the nine boats in the ClubSwan 36 class. The first race saw G Spot and defending champion Mamao go head to head, with G Spot claiming the win. In the second race, however, it was Fra Martina who won by a clear margin over Mamao and the rest of the fleet. With two second place finishes, Brazilian team Mamao leads the provisional ranking, one point ahead of Fra Martina (4-1) and two ahead of G Spot (1-5).
The ClubSwan 42 classification is also a tight one at the conclusion of day one. Canopo (1-3) leads by one point over Nadir (4-1) in second, and Pez de Abril (3-2) on equal points in third. Just off the podium, in fourth place on six points, sits Koiré - Spirit of Nerina (2-4).
American boat Play Bigger (4-2-1) leads the provisional classification for the seven ClubSwan 28s, just one point ahead of Japan's Swing (3-3-2), and two ahead of the boats tied in third-place Anya Race (5-1-3) and Marcello (1-4-4), both of whom claimed a win on this first day.
Italian Olympic 49FX sailor Jana Germani, tactician aboard Play Bigger: "First of all I'd like to thank the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda for their hospitality, Porto Cervo is wonderful and the organisation of the event impeccable. Today we managed to get three races in, improving from one race to the next: a fourth place in the first, then a second, and then a win in the last race which was fantastic. The wind dropped, but we managed to find our flow with the American guys on Play Bigger and progressively improve, so we're very proud."
Racing resumes tomorrow with light winds forecast. The first warning signal has therefore been postponed by one hour to 1 p.m. CEST. A Mistral wind is expected for the following days.
For further information,results, entry list, official documents, programme and photos please visit the YCCS website.