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Yacht Club Costa Smeralda

Sailing / Yacht Club

Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy

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COMMANDING PERFORMANCES CROWNED

www.regattanews.com @ Sun Sep 14 09:50:00 +0100 2008

The final day of the Rolex Swan Cup 2008 dawned with an overcast sky and a moderate southwesterly of 15 knots. With the forecast yesterday warning that the wind would build during the day, the start time had been brought forward to 1030. The weather played ball for three of the divisions to complete one race apiece and for the Swan 45s to complete two. At the end of a difficult week with wind at both ends of the scale, the Rolex Swan Cup overall division winners were: Roel Pieper’s Swan 80 Favonius (BVI) in Swan Maxi, Hendrik Brandis & Christian Nagel’s Earlybird (GER) in Swan 45, Enrico Scerni’s Kora (ITA) in Club Swan 42 and John Bainbridge’s Swan 48 Zen (GBR) in the Classics.

The Swan Maxis were first away today on a 25 nm course that took them on short windward leg, followed by a fetch into ‘Bomb Alley’ at Capo Ferro and onto Secca di Tre Monti. From here the fleet bore away under spinnaker north towards Monaci, where they dropped their kites, gybed, and reached down to Mortoriotto. Then it was back up wind to the finish off Porto Cervo. The Classics raced a shorter, 17 nm course that followed the same path as the Swan Maxis until Monaci, where they gybed before a final fetch back to Pevero and the finish. The Swan 45s raced two windward/leewards, whilst the Swan 42s elected to race just once with winds before the start of their second race being recorded at 29-knots across the deck.

In the Swan Maxis it was all Favonius once more. The biggest yacht in the regatta, the Swan 112 Highland Breeze, was first into the channel, but the superior manoeuvrering skills of Pieper’s Dutch crew showed as they smoothly popped their spinnaker at the turn and took a direct line close to the southern shoreline of Caprera all the way to Monaci arriving first. Waterline length was always going to pay dividends on the way to Mortoriotto and Highland Breeze soon regained the lead on the water and led Favonius home by 43 seconds to correct out into first too. But Favonius had her eye on a much bigger prize. She has been in splendid form all week and had put in another exemplary performance to finish second on handicap ahead of Rainer Wilhelm’s Swan 82 Astro. Favonius has been threatening to win in Porto Cervo ever since her launch. She has more than lived up to her potential this week.

Roel Pieper was understandably delighted with the result and even a sore throat could not disguise the pleasure he drew from this win. “This is the first time we’ve won here, but the team has been working for this for many years. We’ve had many, many thirds in Porto Cervo and in the USA. In previous years we’ve sailed a series of perfect races, but so often have had two others in front of us sailing perfectly too,” he commented. Pieper believes Porto Cervo to be one of the best racing venues there is. He has come close to the ultimate prize on a number of occasions, so what made the difference this week? Pieper is clear on this, putting the success down to being extremely motivated, plenty of practice and flawless crew work. Posting a scoreline that gave the rest of the thirty-plus boat division no room to breathe was pretty telling. Even the last race was something about which to be proud, “this was the final day and we had the most beautiful start you can imagine at the Committee Boat; again it was the perfect race. The whole week has almost been the perfect score. Favonius has been a fantastic boat and the crew also.”

Pieper has cause to draw double the pleasure. In a winner takes all contest with Sir Peter Ogden’s Swan 601 Spirit of Jethou for the Swan Maxi Circuit 2008 and a steel Rolex Submariner Chronometer, Favonius’ result here tied her on points with Spirit and gave victory on countback by virtue of winning the final event of the season.

The Swan 45s were also competing for double honours this week – both the Rolex Swan Cup and the Swan 45 Gold Cup, the Class World Championship. Earlybird, with Sten Mohr in the tactician’s role, went into the last day with a commanding lead, but the knowledge that a discard was about to come into play that might give advantage to the chasing pack if she failed to deliver on the racecourse. This was never likely. Earlybird had not been out of the top five all week and just to prove the point posted a crushing fourth in the first race that snuffed out all remaining hope for her rivals. In second place overnight, Atlantica Racing was already fourteen points behind and needed at least to do better than Earlybird to keep the rubber open. This was not to be. Atlantica chose the crucial race of the week to post her worst score of the week, a nineteenth. Worse was to follow for owner Carlo Perrone as Grant Gordon & Klaus Diederich’s Fever moved into second overall by winning the race. With Earlybird holding a six point lead over the now second-placed Fever, and her worst score a fifth, the German crew could sit out the final race in the series safe in the knowledge they had done more than enough.

Christian Nagel was ecstatic, “I feel great, absolutely great, you can’t feel better! I think everyone was a bit nervous this morning, but when we went out everything was fine because we felt good with the weather. We like strong winds, so once out there everything was fine.” Earlybird has threatened a result like this from early in the season. At Rolex Capri Sailing Week in May, she was sailing well but blotted her copybook with an inconsistent scoreline. This week, no such problems. Nagel admitted they had had to work hard to reach this level and had been improving steadily over the last two years, “we try to prepare as best as possible. Normally, we are practicing in the race area two to three days before the event starts. It’s our second season with this boat and we have made some changes to the crew, constantly trying to figure out where things could be optimized. Each event is treated as a new challenge. In this event we were able to amalgamate successfully the start sequences, boat speed and tactics.”

The Club Swan 42 has also seemed a one-boat affair since the beginning. The seven-boat fleet was expected to be tight, but Enrico Scerni and Kora clearly had other ideas. Posting a scoreline of four bullets – including one today – and two seconds was extraordinary performance. Scerni has good reason to be happy with his week, “we have a very good team that were able to prepare the boat well, and sail her well. We race together a lot and have a lot of experience. Most important though is the climate onboard and the people you have onboard. We have everything.” Kora had already shown signs of her all-round potential earlier in the season, winning the 2008 Giraglia Rolex Cup (combined inshore races and offshore) and clearly Scerni enjoys the challenge of small boat racing.

In the Classic Division, too, the week has been about one boat the Swan 48 Zen (GBR). John Bainbridge’s crew raced four times and in a variety of conditions. They did brilliantly in the conditions that suited them and minimized their losses in the conditions that did not. Like Zen, the Swan 53 Crilia that finished second overall collected two bullets. Zen took hers in the light, Crilia in the heavy. The difference between the two was in the losses. Zen’s suffered only eleven points from the two big wind races, whilst Crilia’s were twenty-one from the two light wind ones.

Bainbridge has raced at Porto Cervo before, but this was his first Rolex Swan Cup, and understandably he is elated by the result, “it was a good effort, good sailing and we enjoyed the regatta. The best windspeed for us is from 8 to 12 knots, so the first two days were right in our area. You have to try to go as fast as you can in the breezier days when the boat is not quite so competitive. On Thursday when it was quite windy it was more difficult, but we still averaged a good spot. We managed to keep up on the breezier days.”

The Rolex Swan Cup 2008 has been a regatta of many colours. The brightest being the performance of all four division winners, justly rewarded at the prizegiving this evening with a share of the Rolex Swan Cup and a steel and gold Rolex Submariner Chronometer.

And, whilst the week just gone will be remembered for its challenging racing and camaraderie ashore, it is marked by the sad news that Olin Stephens, one of the founding fathers of the Swan yachts pedigree, has passed away this weekend at the age of 100. Olin and his brother Rod were responsible for all the early Swan designs including the now legendary Swan 65, a number of which have been racing here this week, a fine and fitting tribute to the lasting legacy of a truly great designer with whom Nautor is proud to have been associated.

FINAL STANDINGS – Top 3 boats

Swan Maxi (4 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts Place
FAVONIUS Roel Pieper BVI 1 1 2 2 6 1
SPIRIT OF JETHOU Peter Ogden GBR 2 2 3 7 14 2
GINGER Leslie Green ITA 3 4 4 6 17 2


Swan 45 (8 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 Pts Place
EARLYBIRD Hedrik Brandis GER 3 1 1 5 5 5 4 (DNS)24 1
FEVER Klaus DiederichsGBR 2 (12)2 11 3 6 1 8 33 2
ATLANTICA RACING Carlo Perrone ITA 9 5 8 7 1 4 (15) 2 36 3


Swan 42 (6 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts Place
KORA Enrico Scerni ITA 1 1 (2) 2 1 1 6 1
CUOR DI LEONE Leonardo Ferragamo ITA 2 2 (4) 4 3 2 13 2
INTERLODGE Austin Fragomen USA 3 3 3 1 4 (5) 14 2


Classic (4 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts Place
ZEN John Bainbridge GBR 1 1 6 5 13 1
CRILIA Heinz-Gerd SteinGER 9 12 1 1 23 2
VANISH II Mauro Parladori USA 4 8 8 3 23 3

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Fleet at the offset mark
Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo

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Roel Pieper, owner of FAVONIUS receives a Rolex Timepiece for the first place overall in the Maxi Division
Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo

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Christian Nague, owner of EARLYBIRD receives a Rolex timepiece for the championship
Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo

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John Bainbridge receives a Rolex Timepiece for winning the overall in the Classic Division
Photo by: Rolex / Kurt Arrigo


A DAY OF TWO HALVES

www.regattanews.com @ Fri Sep 12 09:27:00 +0100 2008

September 12, 2008

Playing water polo in the still waters off Porto Cervo was an odd way to prepare for the winds to come. But no one had predicted the speed and severity of the conditions that would end the day, prematurely for some. The scheduled earlier start of 10 AM came and went without any sign of the wind that had been forecast yesterday. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Race Committee kept everyone ashore for an hour and a half, before heading out in the hope of finding the promised breeze. It came, eventually, at three o’clock. A gentle 10 knots from the north-northwest stirring a ripple in the calm. Nothing too special and certainly no great warning.

The Swan Maxi Division started first and raced a 25 nm course that took them to a windward mark, before heading into the channel and a right turn north at Secca di Tre Monti off to the rocks at Monaci. Here they swung southeast for a fast reach down to Mortoriotto, where they turned back on themselves, upwind, to the finish off Porto Cervo. The Classics and Club Swan 42s raced 17 nm and, roughly speaking, a shorter version of the Swan Maxi course, returning direct to Pevero Bay and the finish after the turn at Monaci. The Swan 45s had elected to race windward/leewards today, and managed to complete one race of 8 nm that started in 15 knots and finished in a steady 25 – great conditions. They attempted to complete a second that started in 25 knots and ended, abandoned, in 40 – not so great conditions, especially when driving rain, thunder and lightening were thrown in. Very un-PC. Winners today were the Swan 112 Highland Breeze in the Swan Maxis, WISC in the Swan 45s, Kora in the Club Swan 42s and the Swan 53 Crilia in the Classics.

The Swan Maxi fleet was given its extended line again today and a number made full use of it. The all-black Swan 601, Spirit of Jethou (GBR), was menacing around the pin end of the line before the gun and made an all but perfect port-tack start only slightly overstanding the weather mark. According to Ian Budgen, the tactician, this “was to make sure none of the bigger boats were above them and able to roll down on top”. Owner, Sir Peter Ogden, credited Budgen with another tactically perfect race. “we can’t do much more than that” he said referring to the contest with Roel Pieper’s Swan 80 Favonius. Favonius had a poor start by comparison and did not feature at the front of the pack at the initial weather mark, but she went on to finish third on the water and second on handicap, 45 seconds ahead of Spirit. Not good news for Spirit in terms of the overall standings at the Rolex Swan Cup or the Swan Maxi Circuit. Favonius now leads by three points from Spirit of Jethou.

It was Will Apold’s Swan 78, Valkyrie (CAN), that truly nailed the start, mid-line in a clear lane and she blitzed up the course to round the windward mark ahead of Highland Breeze, the largest yacht in the fleet. Breeze is sailing with Dee Smith on tactics this week and it showed at the start. She hit the line with speed on starboard tack, before neatly flopping over onto port as though she was a dinghy. The brand new Swan 90 of Roberto Galperti, White Lie, was another to have a good day at last using her waterline length and power to bring the Swan Maxi Division home to secure her first bullet. Roberto Sacetti, tactician on White Lie summed up the day, “We had to wait for the wind, but we were patient and the Race Committee did a good job. The wind was pretty strong at times, going up to 25 knots during the race. It was tough but very enjoyable.”

This was an excellent race for the Swan Maxis with the bulk of the fleet staying together throughout; Highland Breeze and Favonius crossed the finish line within forty seconds of each other. From Secca di Tre Monti, Spirit of Jethou even found time for a spot of tailgating on the stern wave of Rainer Wilhelm’s Swan 82 Astro (AUT). With the Austrian crew waving them on, Spirit caught a tow all the way to Monaci. You only had to glance at the faces of the Swan Maxi crews to know this had been a good day.

The same was true for the Club Swan 42s racing on the shorter course. The most wind they saw during the race was 26 -27 knots. The truly big stuff did not hit until they reached the harbour entrance. Giuseppe Monella the navigator of Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cour di Leone (ITA) was another to enjoy himself, “it was good racing today. We had a great start in 14 knots of wind and then it increased to between 22 and 25 knots during the race. The first windward mark we were tight with Baraka GP and Interlodge.” Cour di Leone chose to use the spinnaker from Monaci back into Pevero. According to its crew, Baraka GP (NED) chose not to. The Italians were rewarded for their showmanship and came third. The Dutch crew came fifth. John Hele’s Daring’s (USA) took second. Enrico Scerni’s Kora (ITA) finished first and leads the Division by seven points from Austin Fragomen’s Interlodge (USA).

The Classic fleet also raced the shorter course and the slower boats would have seen the squall approaching with some trepidation on their way down to Pevero. The faster boats in the Division just squeezed home before it hit at around six o’clock. The Swan 53, Crilia (GER), of Heinz-Gerd Stein was one of those to finish as the black cloud burst onto the scene. But Stein’s day will not have been dampened by a bit of rain. Finishing third on the water a nail-biting two seconds behind Jochen Oplaender’s Swan 53 Katima (GER), Crilia corrected out into first place a mere seven seconds ahead of Katima and ten seconds ahead Michael Huyghe’s Swan 44 Twilight (BEL). John Bainbridge’s Swan 48 Zen (GBR) came home fourth on the water after another mighty performance. She corrected out to sixth, and leads the Classic Division overnight by eight points from Nick Oundjian’s Swan 40 Christina (GBR), with Varnish II a further four points back in third overall.

For some of the Swan 45s this will be a day about which to tell the grandchildren. The first race was as perfect as it gets. Good strong breeze that shifted direction as it built during the race, demanding a course change after the first leeward leg. Glynn Williams WISC (GBR) led the fleet from start to finish, putting on a demonstration of big wind sailing. Skills no doubt honed on The Solent. Another Northern European crew, the Dutch No Limits of R.W. Bol chose today to show its heavy weather ability posting a second. The Mediterranean representatives were not to be outdone as Marco Salvi and tactician Vasco Vascotto brought Vertigo (ITA) home in third.

The aborted second race started in twenty-five knots and it was not until halfway down the first run that the alarm bells really started to ring as the breeze built in an instant to probably 40 knots at the masthead. It did not take long for the Race Committee to realize that this was more than a passing shower and, as the Swan 45s headed upwind for a second time some flying orange storm jibs and navigation lights shining in the gloom, the call was made to abandon. Not a moment too soon. Within minutes it was lights out as visibility went from poor to pitiful. Twenty minutes later visibility returned and the drenched Swan 45s were glad to return to safe haven.

Carlo Perrone’s Atalantica Racing finished fourth in the one completed race and now lies second overall, some fourteen points behind Division leaders Earlybird (GER) who came home fifth. “We had a good first race. Not a great start, but we recovered to fourth and we are satisfied with that. The conditions in the first race were perfect. It started at 15 to 20, and sometimes hit 23 – 24 knots. Strong-conditions, but manageable and good to sail with these boats. Great fun downwind.”


CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS – Top 3 boats

Swan Maxi (3 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 Pts Place
FAVONIUS Roel Pieper BVI 1 1 2 4 1
SPIRIT OF JETHOU Peter Ogden GBR 2 2 3 7 2
GINGER Leslie Green ITA 3 4 4 11 3


Swan 45 (6 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Pts Place
EARLYBIRD Hedrik Brandis GER 3 1 1 5 5 5 20 1
ATLANTICA RACING Carlo Perroni ITA 9 5 8 7 1 4 34 2
ULIKA Andrea Masi ITA 5 3 3 1 4 19 35 3


Swan 42 (5 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts Place
KORA Enrico Scerni AIT 1 1 2 2 1 7 1
INTERLODGE Austin Fragomen USA 3 3 3 1 4 14 2
CUOR DI LEONE Leonardo Ferragamo ITA 2 2 4 4 3 15 3


Classic (3 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 Pts Place
ZEN John Bainbridge GBR 1 1 6 8 1
CHRISTINA Nick Oundjan GBR 8 4 4 16 2
VANISH II Mauro Parladori USA 4 8 8 20 3

WIND NIL, RACING NIL

www.regattanews.com @ Thu Sep 11 16:00:00 +0100 2008

Flat calm left a flat mood at the third day of the Rolex Swan Cup 2008. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Race Committee finally called a halt to the waiting at 1230, after a patient but fruitless delay to see if forecast light winds would arrive soon enough and stabilize sufficiently for the scheduled Long Island Race to be held. The breeze did not play ball and racing was abandoned for the day.

Racing will recommence tomorrow with all four Divisions undertaking the Long Island Race. The start has been brought forward to 1000 and the wind is predicted to be between 6 and 9 knots at this time, but it will build throughout the day as a west northwesterly flow takes hold. Crews are looking at a classic transition to the fabled Mistral. Winds should increase steadily tomorrow and may well peak in the Straits of Bonifacio, separating Sardinia from Corsica, in the early 20s. So participants are in for an interesting and potentially exciting day. The outlook for Saturday is for the westerly gradient to remain, with true Mistral potentiality. Average wind speed 20 knots, gusts of 25 – 40 knots in the Straits. Not a good day for the beach according to the resident meteorologist.

With tomorrow originally scheduled as a layday for three of the Divisions, the regatta organizers have adjusted the programme. Nautor’s Swan brought forward its Open House to this afternoon, and interested owners and crews have been able to take advantage of an opportunity to see inside examples of the Club Swan 42, the Swan 53, the Swan 66 FD and Swan 66 S, plus a truly rare chance to see inside two of the bigger yacht yachts here this week, the Swan 90 and Swan 100.
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CURRENT PROVISIONAL STANDINGS – Top 3 boats

Swan Maxi (2 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 Pts Place

FAVONIUS Roel Pieper BVI 1 1 2 1
SPIRIT OF JETHOU Peter Ogden GBR 2 2 4 2
GINGER Leslie Green ITA 3 4 7 3


Swan 45 (5 races)

Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Pts Place

EARLYBIRD Hedrik Brandis GER 3 1 1 5 5 15 1
ULIKA Andrea Masi ITA 5 3 3 1 4 16 2
ATLANTICA RACING Carlo Perroni ITA 9 5 8 7 1 30 3


Swan 42 (4 races)
Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 Pts Place

KORA Enrico Scerni AIT 1 1 2 2 6 1
INTERLODGE Austin Fragomen USA 3 3 3 1 10 2
CUOR DI LEONE Leonardo Ferragamo ITA 2 2 4 4 12 3


Classic (2 races)
Boat Name Owner Nation R1 R2 Pts Place

ZEN John Bainbridge GBR 1 1 2 1
DREAM Francesco Persio ITA 3 3 6 3
CLEM Jaime Olazabal Fourquet ESP 2 7 9 3

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