International launch of ClubSwan 36

by Nautor's Swan 5 May 2019 22:03 AEST

ClubSwan 36 worldwide premiere © Nautor's Swan

Yesterday evening in Scarlino, Italy, following the third day of racing at the Scarlino Swan One Design, Nautor's Swan held the worldwide première for its latest launch.

The eagerly-anticipated ClubSwan 36, is an innovative high-performance yacht that unites the heritage and production skills of Nautor's Swan, the trusted organisation of ClubSwan and the design flair of Juan Kouyoumdjian.

The model is the latest step in the long and successful design evolution of Nautor's Swan and brings the marque full circle. It is 52 years since the first ever Swan, also a 36, made its debut in 1967. Uniting innovation and modernity and supported by eco-friendly technology from partners including BMW and Torqeedo, the ClubSwan 36 is a marriage of the finest attributes of dinghy and keelboat sailing with the thrill of foiling.

ClubSwan 36 worldwide premiere - photo © Nautor's Swan

Following the unveiling, the ClubSwan 36 will undergo in-house testing and sea trials before going on the market where there is already significant interest. The target is to have five yachts in the water at the pinnacle event of the 2019 Nautor's Swan One Design season, The Nations Trophy in Palma, Mallorca held in October.

For everyone involved the project, the launch represented a proud moment, and an opportunity to reflect on another significant milestone in Nautor's Swan's commitment to One Design racing. Following a welcome speech from Group CEO Giovanni Pomati, the protagonists provided an insight into the project.

Leonardo Ferragamo, President, Nautor's Swan: "The ClubSwan 36 is not just another boat, but one more step in our vision. Through ClubSwan, we have created a dedicated division for One Design racing yachts, offering advantages and opportunities to those who desire to come into these classes. We are providing more ways of racing on exciting boats where it is the human factor and the team which counts. Supported by the Class rules, racing is conducted in a fair, gentleman-like manner and is a lot of fun. In parallel, there is a dedicated One Design racing circuit The Nations Trophy a quite unique opportunity to create competition between different countries."

ClubSwan 36 worldwide premiere - photo © Nautor's Swan

Enrico Chieffi, Vice-President, Nautor's Swan: "The unveiling is a dream come true because we now have the boat physically in front of us. The thinking was to create something that didn't already exist exploring fields and opportunities which were not seen in the market until now. We decided to position ourselves between a traditional and a very innovative boat. The 36 is exactly this and was created with the very successful Nations Trophy One Design circuit in mind. To continue to be successful you need numbers and events are made by big numbers. The solution was to have a smaller, simpler, less expensive, high performance yacht completely dedicated to racing."

Juan Kouyoumdjian, ClubSwan 36 Lead Naval Architect: "The general idea was to go back to the essence of yacht racing. It was essential as part of the design to give the crews sailing this boat the tools to express themselves beyond the strategy of reading the wind and the water. Through a series of deck layout features and things you can do with the rig and the appendages, this boat together with the high-performance foiling technology embraced by the world of yachting provides that. It is a balance between providing sailors with the tools on the boat to make it go faster and be more efficient, and for it to be simple enough for the boat to be sailed without complication. Anybody who wants to feel the essence of yachting should love this boat."

Phillippe Oulhen, ClubSwan 36 Product Line Leader: "Such a project is a human adventure. Behind the scenes there are so many great people involved. A good boat is an assembly of its technology and equipment, of coordination, partners and suppliers, and a lot of people who come together. I have worked on a lot of similar size projects but never seen such a big team, experts from every field. The overall concept and result is a reflection on the overall quality of everybody involved."