The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds in Porto Cervo - Overall
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 21 Jun 2025 19:07 BST
18-21 June 2025
2025 The Nations League, Swan One Design Worlds © ClubSwan Racing / Studio Borlenghi
The Porto Cervo leg of The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds, an event organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with ClubSwan Racing, drew to a close today.
Earlybird claimed the title of World Champion in the ClubSwan 50 class, while the victors in the remaining classes were: Mamao (ClubSwan 36), Pez de Abril (ClubSwan 42) and Swing (ClubSwan 28).
A light northerly breeze of around 11 knots, which later eased, allowed all classes to complete two races, bringing them to their full quota for the event: eight races for the larger classes and ten for the ClubSwan 28s, racing in their first-ever Gold Cup.
With a sixth place in the race seven, German boat Earlybird clinched the title of ClubSwan 50 World Champion with one race to spare. A beaming owner Hendrik Brandis, back on the dock and surrounded by his team, declared: "We are unbelievably happy that we've finally become the world champions of the ClubSwan 50. We have been trying to achieve this for many years, since the inception of the class. I think we came in three times as vice champions but we never made it. And this year everything worked well together, a fantastic team, perfect conditions, and we made it - we're very very happy and ready to celebrate!"
Joining Earlybird on the podium were Britain's Ross Warburton with his Perhonen, in second place, and Graeme Peterson's Moonlight, from Monaco, in third. Today's races were won by Alberto Franchi's Giuliana and Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone respectively.
Brazilian Hakon Lorentzen's Mamao took home the title of ClubSwan 36 class champion for the third time. With a victory in today's first race, Mamao also sealed their fate with a race in hand. The Hungarian team on Black Battalion bagged two second places today to claim the title of vice-champion. Third place went to Fra Martina, owned by the Pavesio brothers, who discarded their eighth place in the first race and redeemed themselves by winning in the last.
Lorentzen was in a celebratory mood on his return to the dock: "I can't believe that we have managed to win the ClubSwan 36 title three times. I started sailing on an Optimist at 10 years old and I would never have believed we would have come this far. Winning here in beautiful Porto Cervo is great, winning anywhere is great, but in Porto Cervo it's even more great."
In the ClubSwan 42 class, the Spanish boat Pez de Abril, owned by class veteran José Maria Meseguer, also claimed victory with one race to spare, thanks to placing second in race seven. Meseguer was delighted with the team's result: "I've been in Porto Cervo so many times and not had great luck. This time we won the Cup so we're very happy with that. Racing in a One Design class is fantastic, with all the boats being the same, being so competitive, being so tight in windward and downwind racing, it's a magnificent experience. I wouldn't change that for anything else in the world."
Outgoing champion Nadir (6-1), owned by Pedro Vaquer Comas, moved to the second step of the podium, while third place went to Canopo (4-3), owned by Adriano Majolino.
The brand new ClubSwan 28 one-design model delivered thrilling racing, proving to be a high-performance and decidedly entertaining boat. Swing (3-1), owned by Japan's Keisuke Suzuki, will be the first name engraved on the Gold Cup for this class, aided by the tactical skills of multiple world champion and Olympic 470 gold medallist Will Ryan. The battle for second place was won by YCCS member Philippe Ligot's Marcello (5 -2), ahead of Play Bigger (1-3), owned by Al Ramadan of the USA.
Swing's owner Keisuke Suzuki was thrilled with the victory: "We are so excited to have won the first Gold Cup in the ClubSwan 28 class. We raced in various wind conditions and it was fantastic. The Yacht Club was very hospitable and we're very happy with the event, thanks to everyone."
The event ended with the traditional busy prize-giving ceremony in Piazza Azzurra, in front of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Andrea Recordati, YCCS Commodore commented: "The relationship between Nautor Swan and the YCCS is a special one - at last year's Rolex Swan Cup we celebrated 40 years of mutual and fruitful cooperation. I'd like to thank all the competitors for being here in Porto Cervo, and Nautor Swan for choosing us for this edition of The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds, which also marked the debut Gold Cup for the ClubSwan 28 class. Our race course once again offered varied conditions on each of the four days, from light breeze to Mistral wind, making for a well-balanced and engaging event. Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who took part, we look forward to seeing you at the Rolex Swan Cup 2026."
The Nations League - Swan One Design Worlds, a key event in the YCCS sporting calendar, followed the Clean Regattas checklist developed by Sailors for the Sea with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of sporting events. At its conclusion, the regatta was awarded Platinum certification - the highest level of recognition in the Clean Regattas programme.
The next sporting event at the YCCS will be the Invitational Smeralda 888 from 27-29 June.