Spectacular week of racing for record Swan fleet

by Key Partners (KPMS) on 20 Sep 2006
Ninety-nine yachts representing 17 nations and ranging in length from 36 to 112 feet, comprising the oldest to the most modern, competed at the 14th Rolex Swan Cup organised by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. DSK won the battle of the Swan 45s and Moneypenny the Swan 601 title, while Aqua Equinox topped the Grand Prix division and Jacobite the Classic division.

The crews, which included some of the most famous names in sailing from the America's Cup, Olympics and Round the World Races, tackled a week of intense racing, in almost every condition imaginable - winds ranging from 7 to 30 knots, smooth water and heavy swell, sunshine and torrential rain.

Moneypenny (USA) won on a tie-break in the extremely competitive Swan 601 One-Design fleet (4 boats), while Italy's DSK Comifin was able to fend off a strong US contingent among the 30 boat Swan 45 fleet. Aqua Equinox (BEL) took overall honours on handicap in the Grand Prix division (21 entries) and Jacobite (GBR) came first among the Classic division (45 entries).

The programme included five days of racing. The YCCS Race Committee selected a variety of race courses around and about the north-eastern coast of Sardinia and through the Archipelago de La Maddalena just to the north of Porto Cervo, with its rocky outcrops, narrow straits and shifting winds. All fleets completed a gruelling long distance race in testing weather conditions that, in some cases, kept crews at sea for up to 12 hours.

The final outcome among the Swan 601s came down to the last race between James R. Swartz's Moneypenny (USA) and Torbjorn Tornquist's Artemis (SWE). The two yachts had been locked together in a gladiatorial contest all week and with the discard in play after 5 races only one place separated them in the standings. The pressure was greatest on Moneypenny. She had to win in the final race; anything less would have been insufficient to unseat Artemis. Moneypenny did win, but Artemis finished second leaving the yachts tied on 9 points. With both holding three bullets and three second-places they were inseparable on countback. The tie-break rules came into effect and the last race result was critical. Moneypenny won the last race and with it the title. Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuor di Leone (ITA), with Paul Cayard calling the tactics, ended the series in third.

James Swartz had had his sights set on winning the Rolex Swan Cup for a long time: 'Ever since I took delivery of the yacht last year, I have been aiming to win this regatta and this is a dream come true - a truly magical day. This event has allowed us to have some of our best racing ever against highly skilled crews on the other 601s and they provided us with great competition. We were well prepared for this event and now we have achieved our goal.'

Swartz was aided in his quest by an all-star crew that included several current and former America's Cup and round the world sailors. Among them, Dee Smith was tactician and Mark Rudiger was navigator.

Having held the top spot in the division all week, Torbjorn Tornquist, owner of Artemis, was gracious in defeat and had enjoyed the week: 'I think this is one of the best places to sail in the world, with great wind and conditions, beautiful scenery and a fantastic yacht club which made sure everyone had a great time. I have really enjoyed sailing here.'

Tornquist was quick to praise his rival and had appreciated the tough battle: 'Moneypenny worked really hard and had a very good crew, but so did we. It was very close, they had three wins, we had three wins. Now we'll go home and think about what we can improve and we'll be back in 2008 for sure.'

Thirty yachts from nine countries entered in the Swan 45 One-Design division - a record gathering for the class that guaranteed some really exciting and close-fought competition. The fleet was led throughout the week by Danilo Salsi's DSK Comifin (ITA), who had to fend off a strong contingent of US entries led by Dick Weismann's Vixen. The Italian entry went into the last race of the series with a comfortable but still vulnerable 6-point lead over Vixen and the luxury of a ninth as worst result against Vixen's weighty 22nd. The greater pressure was on Vixen. Weismann had to finish in the top three in the final race and hope Salsi would have his worst day of the regatta, finishing at least 7 places adrift. In the end it was too much to ask. The Italian crew finished fourth in the last race and, despite a good start, Vixen faded in the tricky conditions coming home in ninth.

Tactician Pietro D'Alì, whose resume includes the Olympics, America's Cup and the Whitbread Round the World Race, was jubilant about his team's victory: 'Our crew did an excellent job, we have been working together for a year and half, and Danilo [Salsi] is doing a really great job at the helm.' Going into the last race of the series, D'Alì did not take anything for granted: 'In any regatta you can never guess, Vixen is a fast boat with a strong team and in such a big and competitive fleet it is always possible to make a big mistake or to suffer some sort of damage.' DSK Comifin has a busy schedule ahead. The next event for the team will be Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta, followed by the Rolex Middle Sea Race, one of the classics of offshore racing, and which will serve as training for Salsi's crew for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race later this year.

Despite falling at the last, Dick Weismann, owner of Vixen, remained upbeat about his team's efforts: 'The week has gone really well. We've enjoyed every day, even the rainy long distance race. We couldn't have been happier with our results. Obviously we would have been happier still with first place but we're thrilled with our overall performance.'

While the Swan 45 and Swan 601 One-Design classes raced without handicap, first home being the winner, the Grand Prix and Classic yachts raced under a special handicap system designed specifically for the Swan fleet, called NSR (Nautor Swan Rating). One of the peculiarities of the NSR is its ability to give a rating allowance to yachts whose crews genuinely live and sleep on board their yacht for the duration of the regatta. This allowance is aimed at encouraging 'family entries' that carry extra weight and personal belongings while racing.

The Grand Prix division was also settled on the last day. Filip Balcaen's Swan 56 Aqua Equinox (BEL) and Massimo Dentice's Swan 70 Bugia Bianca (ITA) had won two races apiece going into the last race. With each holding a second place and a discard to come into effect, the winner of the fifth and final race would be certain to take the division. As it was, Aqua Equinox came out on top after an exemplary performance in the Mistral conditions that greeted the crews. The handicap win confirmed victory among the Grand Prix division for Balcaen, who sealed a week of consistent results where she finished no lower than third by claiming overall honours with what looked a comfortable 4-point lead. Bugia Bianca took the second spot on the podium, followed by Roel Pieper's Swan 80 Favonius.

Filip Balcaen is at his third Rolex Swan Cup and this has been his best result by far: 'it has been a fantastic regatta; it's the third time we have entered and this year we have had our best performance. We have been lucky having such good sailing weather, with winds generally between 12 and 16 knots, making the conditions just perfect for racing our boat. The Swan 56 is a great model and proves that if you have the right crew, it can be possible for an older model to win such a competitive regatta. We have beaten some Swan 70s and other fantastic performers because we had the determination to win.'

In the Classic Fleet, Peter Simon's Swan 65 Monsoon Jaguar (GBR), the fastest boat on the water among the division, claimed line honours in each race of the series but was unable to reach the podium on handicap. It was the British Swan 48 Jacobite owned by