Rolex Swan Cup
Over 1800 sailors aboard 170 Swans filled the docks in front of the YCCS
Porto Cervo bid the more than 1,800 sailors attending the 23rd edition of the Rolex Swan Cup the best possible farewell: a perfect day of sailing, sunshine, and northeasterly winds that rose from an initial eight knots to 12, allowing for a coastal race between the Gulf of Arzachena, where the start was located, the eastern coast of the island of Caprera, the island of Monaci, and the Bisce Pass. All classes sailed in both directions, reaching up toward the Secca di Tre Monti and then upwind on the return journey to the finish off Porto Cervo.
Meanwhile, the ClubSwan One Designs competed in two windward-leeward races on race courses located between the island of Bisce and Monaci, thus creating an incredible view of the entire fleet gathered in Porto Cervo for the 60th anniversary of the Nautor Swan shipyard: the classes involved in the coastal races were in fact sailing around the ClubSwans engaged in the trials between the buoys.
Now in its 23rd edition, the Rolex Swan Cup is a biennial event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Nautor Swan and with the support of Title Sponsor Rolex. The first edition took place in 1980, and in 1984 it took its current name, the Rolex Swan Cup.
YCCS Commodore Andrea Recordati said: “With this award ceremony, we cap off a week of great sailing and, above all, great participation from owners and crews. I would like to thank our partners Rolex and Nautor Swan, both of whom we share a long-standing collaboration and a shared passion for this event. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this 23rd edition. We look forward to seeing you again in Porto Cervo in 2028.”
The winners in their respective classes were:
Swan Maxi: Freya – Swan 90. Freya came from behind to win: sixth in the opening race, the Swan 90 then scored three consecutive victories, including today’s win ahead of Spiip, thus winning the class.
Swan Mini-Maxi: Arobas – Swan 601. Arobas turned the consistency he had shown throughout the week into a final success, today finishing second behind Sea Quill, a result sufficient to maintain the lead in the standings.
Swan Cruiser Racer: From Now On – Swan 45. Thanks to three consecutive first-place finishes, From Now On took the victory ahead of Thetis who finished on equal points.
Swan Legacy – Sparkman & Stephens ≥47′: Shirlaf – Swan 65. Shirlaf and Elan engaged in a battle that remained tight until the final metre: two wins and two second-place finishes each. Today’s victory for Shirlaf ahead of Elan gave the overall victory to Giuseppe Puttini’s Swan 65, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Swan Legacy – Sparkman & Stephens ≤44′: Pride – Swan 44. By winning today’s coastal race ahead of Mascalzone Latino XVIII, Pride secured the class victory and the overall victory among all the Legacies.
Swan Legacy – Classics by Frers: Lunz am Meer – Swan 651. The Austrian Swan 651 confirmed its superiority with victory in the final race.
Swan Legacy – Ron Holland: Katia – Swan 39. Ron Holland’s only design present in Porto Cervo put up a fight in the Swan Legacy class.
Swan Pure Cruising: Black Zero – Swan 51. The final was decided by the placings between Alegher and Black Zero, who won by virtue of their victory on the second day.
Swan Maxi Pure Cruising: Azzurro – Swan 78. With three consecutive victories, the last one today ahead of Miss 5K and Coco de Mer, Azzurro has conquered the class.
One Design
ClubSwan 50: Earlybird
ClubSwan 43: Team 42+1
ClubSwan 42: Nadir
ClubSwan 36: Lionheart
ClubSwan 28: Anya Race
Among the ClubSwan One Designs, Hendrik Brandis’ Earlybird, with Checco Bruni calling tactics, set the pace in the ClubSwan 50s, finishing the series with five wins in seven races. Second place went to Cuordileone, owned by YCCS member Leonardo Ferragamo, with honorary member Paul Cayard calling tactics, who demonstrated great consistency today with two second-place finishes. Third place went to Marcus Brennecke’s Hatari.
In the ClubSwan 43, Hyppolite Machetti’s Team 42+1 finished first with six consecutive wins before finishing second in the final race. Vargen, owned by Bjorn Rosengren and Jonas Nordlund, finished second.
The ClubSwan 42s were virtually evenly matched, with the two Spanish teams, Nadir, owned by Pedro Vaquer Comas, and Pez de Abril, owned by José Maria Meseguer, both finishing with 10 points. Their final placings were also identical—three firsts, two seconds, and one third each—and the standings were therefore decided by the final race result, won by Nadir ahead of Raving Swan, while Pez de Abril finished third. Jerome Stubler’s Raving Swan completed the final podium.
In the ClubSwan 36 series, Edoardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone, with Michele Regolo calling tactics, took the overall victory, building its lead thanks to four consecutive wins in the first four races. Nikolai Burkart’s Goddess fought back strongly in the second half of the series, winning the final three races and finishing second. Third place went to Fra Martina, owned by the Pavesio brothers.
A very close final in the ClubSwan 28 class: Giulio Gatti’s Anya Race, with Enrico Zennaro calling tactics, won the class by just one point over Lorenzo Bortolotti’s Black Swan. Anya Race had a more difficult final day, finishing fifth and ninth, the latter discarded, while Black Swan held on to the challenge until the end, winning the final race. Marcello, owned by YCCS member Philippe Ligot, finished third after winning the first race of the day.
The awards ceremony was well attended, in true Swan spirit, with the large audience very engaged. Before the awards were presented to the top three finishers in each class, some special prizes were awarded: Paul Cayard presented the Fabio Gallia Award to Catherine Chabaud, racing aboard the Swan 55 Storm, for being the first woman to complete the Vendée Globe and subsequently dedicating herself to marine conservation. The sailors particularly applauded the award the YCCS presented to the Porto Cervo Marina staff for their collaboration.
The sailors’ most heartfelt award was presented yesterday morning before the races. It was in memory of sailor Matteo Auguadro and awarded to a crew member chosen by the crew themselves. This year’s winner was crewman Matteo Ramian, who received it from Rachele Vitello, wife of “Matte” Auguadro.
The YCCS sporting program continues with the J/70 Class and Italian Championship from 2 to 4 October.
The provisional general classifications are available by clicking here: group 1 classifications and group 2 classifications .
Official documents , results , event programme , entry list , photos and newsare available in the dedicated section on the YCCS website .