Nord Stream Race - America’s Cup veteran to skipper Team China

Swan 60 Windward at Oy Nautor Ab Nautor's Swan / EvaStina Kjellman

Lorenzo Bortolotti will be racing onboard Team China © Nautor's Swan

'The owner of Windward, Mr Fan, has set very ambitious targets for the 2014 sailing program involving a combination of competitive top-level racing. We are very happy to have been given this important challenge and are very satisfied with the results achieved during the preparation. I have a very strong team to race with and I am expecting great results this year in both the Nord Stream Race and throughout the rest of the Gazprom Swan 60 Circuit.'

Team China face a sophisticated line up of yacht racing names for this year’s Gazprom Swan 60 circuit. Team China will have studied past Swan 60 campaigns including Team Europe and current Gazprom Swan 60 World Champions, Team Russia. The success of Team Russia in 2013 has inspired Saint Petersburg Yacht Club to develop a second Russian team through an impressive youth development programme, the Gazprom Youth Sailing Challenge.

Igor Frolov, Skipper of Team Russia and Executive Director, Saint-Petersburg Yacht Club, Russia welcomes the unknown opponent, Team China, to the global mix of Swan 60 teams. 'The new Asian contingent has definitely shaken up the Swan 60 fleet this year; it will be interesting measuring ourselves and the new Russian Youth Sailing Team against this unfamiliar international crew. I am hoping that our top flight experience within the core crew that has remained consistent through the racing evolution of the Gazprom Swan 60 Class will be sufficiently challenging again for 2014'.

Racing a Swan 60 for the third consecutive year will be Tim Kröger (GER) with his Team Europe. Tim has instructed multiple Volvo Ocean Race sailor and accomplished match racer, Magnus Woxén (SWE) to join his team again, Magnus provides the ultimate Nord Stream Race mix of offshore performance with inshore match racing skill. Tim will have additional back up on the longer overnight legs from Christian Scherrer (SWI), watch captain during the 1993/94 Whitbread Round the World Race and during the short in shore racing at Helinski, ISAF match racing World Champion, Piotr Przybylski (POL) mentored by the famous Karol Jablonski, will provide essential input.

The Swan 60s christen the start of the 2014 Gazprom Swan 60 Circuit on the 30th May racing 150 nautical miles offshore from Saint-Petersburg, Russia to Helsinki, Finland concluding leg one of the annual Nord Stream Gazprom Swan 60 website