22nd Rolex Swan Cup Day 1: North-Easterly breeze for first day of racing
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 17 Sep 14:18 PDT
15-21 September 2024
Rolex Swan Cup 2024 © YCCS/Daniele Macis
The 22nd Rolex Swan Cup - which marks the 40th anniversary of the longstanding partnership between the YCCS and Rolex, founded in 1984 with the third edition of the Swan Cup - got under way today with a northeasterly wind blowing from 12 to 18 knots, allowing the Nautor Swan fleet to complete all scheduled races as planned.
The Race Committee prudently delayed the start to 2:30 p.m. CEST, keeping the fleet on the docks as they waited for a storm front with potentially gusty winds to pass. For Group 1, reserved for Swans racing in compensated time, three very similar coastal courses were set, but with varying lengths based on the performance characteristics of the boats: 24 miles for the Swan Maxi Division A, 15 miles for the Swan S&S Division B, and 19 miles for the Swan Division C. All divisions rounded a windward offset mark, then embarked on an upwind leg leaving the Monaci island to port, before turning downwind through the Gulf of Arzachena as far as the Secca di Tre Monti shoal and returning to Porto Cervo. The Swan Maxi Division A stretched out to round the island of Mortoriotto and finished off the Gulf of Pevero. The Swan Division C, meanwhile, had a longer downwind run to a mark in the Gulf of Saline, and returned to Porto Cervo via the Passo delle Bisce strait after leaving the Secca di Tre Monti shoal to port.
The various courses brought the fleet back to Porto Cervo in tight formation, and ensured crews were kept busy with frequent sail changes and intense, close-quarters battles.
The winners of the day were:
Maxi Grand Prix, Swan 80 Umiko; Maxi Cruiser, Swan 90 Freya; Mini Maxi Grand Prix, Swan 60 Sea Quill; Mini Maxi Cruiser, Swan 65 Marlin II; S&S Racing, Swan 48 Elan; S&S Classic, Swan 47 Matilda; Swan Grand Prix, Swan 45 From Now On; Swan Cruiser, Swan 54 Katima.
Ettore Botticini, mainsail trimmer on Sea Quill: 'We were pleasantly surprised by the performance of our boat compared to our closest rivals in the division, which is not a given. We did a lot of complex manoeuvres for a team as young as ours, made up of a lot of dinghy sailors flanked by professionals such as Andrea Fornaro and Lorenzo De Felice. We are just at the beginning of the Rolex Swan Cup, but we are off to the best possible start. In the next few days we'll welcome on board the reigning Wingfoil world champion, Maddalena Spanu, an athlete from the YCCS Young Azzurra sporting programme, which I was also previously a member of."
Cesare Barabino, an ILCA 7 athlete from the Young Azzurra programme, will be hosted on YCCS member Luigi Stoppani's Swan 48 Mia from tomorrow.
On the second regatta course, dedicated to windward-leeward races for the Swan One Design classes, two races were held with the first start sounded for the ClubSwan 50 boats at 2.30 p.m., followed by the ClubSwan 42s, Swan 45s and ClubSwan 36 boats. The newly launched ClubSwan 28 class will make its racing debut on Thursday 19 September, as scheduled. Two races were held today in gusty winds of 15 to 18 knots and choppy seas, putting crews and helmsmen alike to the test.
Winners of the day were:
ClubSwan 36, Black Seal; ClubSwan 42, Canopo; Swan 45, Ulika 45; ClubSwan 50, Olymp.
Forging ahead on day one were the ClubSwan 36 Black Seal, with a first and a second place, the 42 Canopo with two bullets, the 45 Ulika with a second and a first, closely followed by Ex Officio, just one point behind with a first and a third today. In the ClubSwan 50 fleet, Olymp, with 3-time Olympic gold medallist Jochen Schuemann on tactics, was a clear winner: 'It was never 100% clear whether the best pressure was on the right or left, because of the dark clouds, it was very challenging but at the same time with a lot of tactical opportunities, because the wind was shifting in direction and in strength quite a bit. I think overall we managed better than others to stay in the pressure and get the last shift for the top windward mark. We are more than happy."
Racing continues tomorrow, Wednesday 18 September, at 12 noon CEST, with a coastal race for all classes but the ClubSwan 36s, who will complete windward-leewards. The forecast is for lighter winds, between 7 and 11 knots, moving from northeast to easterly.
Full results available here.
More information at www.yccs.it