Passionate sailing days at the Swan European Regatta 2021
by Nautor's Swan 26 Jul 2021 08:51 PDT
21-25 July 2021
The 2021 edition of the Swan European Regatta, came to an end after four days of passionate and exciting sailing.
Previously held in Cowes, UK, the regatta has moved to the Baltic Sea, in the stunning setting of the Turku Archipelago, to be held again in a new location every two years, in an itinerant format.
Turku has been the setting of Swan highlight Regattas on previous occasions: in 2006, with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Turku Yacht Club and 40th anniversary of Nautor's Swan, in 2012, and in 2016, when Nautor's Swan commemorated the 50th anniversary of the brand.
More than 40 Swans, representing the entire history of the Finnish yard, met in the archipelago to spend four days of fun, gentlemanly-competition and to enjoy the daily island-races and great social functions.
The oldest Swan participating in the regatta has been no other than the very first Swan ever built - Swan 36 - Tarantella, competing with a very special crew: The CEO, the Commercial, After Sales and Technical team of Nautor. She performed very well placing 3rd overall.
The newest Swan in the regatta was Chablis, Swan 48-005 built in 2019.
The regatta was a real representation of the milestones of the brand with 19 Swans designed by Sparkman & Stephens, 19 by Germán Frers and 6 by Ron Holland.
While the smallest Swan participating was Tarantella, the biggest unit was Blue Magic from Sweden, an iconic Swan 65, Sparkman & Stephens design.
The challenging conditions of the Baltic embraced the Swan fleet from the first race providing all participants with great fun, tricky windshifts and beautiful scenery - demonstrating the beauty and variability of these waters.
Daily varied courses permitted the attending teams to enjoy the beauty of the Turku Archipelago, giving the chance for all to delight their eyes with the landscape and at the same time offering constant opportunities for strategic calls to use the coastline to gain advantage over competitor yachts.
Two teams jointly claimed the Swan European Trophy, a brand new trophy by the artist and designer Maria Sole Ferragamo, from So-Le Studio: Swan 45 Aurora, winner of ORC1 Class and Swan 37 Tarantella II, winner of ORC2 Class.
"The racing days were sailing at its best. The weather was suitably challenging for our crew, some of who were onboard AURORA for the first time. It was also interesting to compete for superiority with our sister yacht KATIMA which placed second after us" said Tuomo Siitonen, the skipper of AURORA.
"Airisto is challenging when it comes to winds. The organisers succeeded in creating wonderful and challenging courses for each day but for us the third day hit the bullseye. I have sailed this yacht for over fifty years so I know her well. I am particularly proud that this time already the fourth generation of our family joined in" commented Leif Ramm-Schmidt, skipper of Tarantella II.
The Swan European Regatta was not only a matter of racing, but also of timeless beauty and seaworthiness.
A special prize was awarded to the best-maintained Swan which went to Swan 46 Matangi (owned by German Christophe Michalski), directly from the hands of Anders Byggmastar, Customer Care, Quality and Commissioning Manager at Nautor's Swan.
The best-presented boat was instead Swan 40 Berla S, perfectly kept and cared for by her passionate owner, Pekka Kuusniemi, while the Best Placed Sparkman & Stephens award went to Swan 37 Tarantella II.
The fun at sea was completed by a very special social programme created for the participants: the opening ceremony, onboard the fully rigged Frigate Suomen Joutsen kicked off the event with a message to sailors by Mr Ferragamo, sent from the headquarters in Florence:
"This is one of the Regattas we have tremendously at heart at Nautor's, because it encompasses the Spirit of Swan and brings together so many loyal and affectionate Swan owners. A Big thank you goes to the organization of the Turku Yacht Club, to the City of Turku and to the Swan team around the world that worked on this event and is still working with great energy and taking the racing to a new level."
A gorgeous summer bright night was the perfect setting for the Owner's Dinner, which took place in the river-side Nooa restaurant, characterized by a lovely atmosphere among passionate Swan Owners.
"It's very exciting to come and organize a regatta here in Finland." Stated Giovanni Pomati, Nautor's Group CEO. "Finland is our hometown and to have 43 Swans participating is a great result, especially during this time. I want to thank once again our passionate owners to help us to create these incredible moments".
The beautiful parade on Sunday 25th closed the event.
"It has been a great maritime week in the heart of the city of Turku. The Swan European Regatta started our maritime summer and fulfilled all our expectations. It has been a well-organized race and meeting and I believe that everyone in our River Harbour had a good time." said Antti Kirkkola, Director of Major Events, city of Turku. "I want to thank the Nautor's Swan team, Turku Yacht Club and of course all the sailors who made this this amazing event come true".