Rolex Swan Cup at Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - Day 3
by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda 18 Sep 14:30 PDT
16-19 September 2026
Mistral wind delivers another spectacular day
Standings tight across almost every class heading into the final day
The Mistral set the tone once again for the third and penultimate day of racing at the 23rd Rolex Swan Cup, blowing at 16 knots for the opening starts and reaching 22 knots, with gusts of 25, during the closing stages on the windward-leeward course. As the coastal race neared the finish, the Swan 128 Rajin reached a speed of 18 knots on a broad reach with a 22-knot wind.
The ClubSwan One Design classes completed two windward-leeward races, while the Race Committee set four different coastal courses for the remaining divisions, ranging in length from 26 miles for the Swan Maxi classes to 16 miles for the Swan Legacy and Pure Cruising fleets. From the starting line, all classes set off upwind into the Passo della Bisce strait, the Swan Maxi and Mini Maxi classes then continued through the La Maddalena channel to circumnavigate the island of Spargi and return to the finish line at the exit of the Passo della Bisce. The Maxi Pure Cruising class rounded a mark off Spargi before returning. The other classes sailed up to Isola dei Monaci then headed down to the Secca di Tre Monti shoal before turning for the finish line.
The provisional leaders in their respective divisions after three races are:
- Swan Maxi: Freya - Swan 90
- Swan Mini-Maxi: Arobas - Swan 601
- Swan Cruiser Racer: Thetis - Swan 45
- Swan Legacy - Sparkman & Stephens =47': Elan - Swan 48
- Swan Legacy - Sparkman & Stephens =44': Pride - Swan 44
- Swan Legacy - Classics by Frers: Lunz am Meer - Swan 651
- Swan Pure Cruising: Alegher - Swan 55
- Swan Maxi Pure Cruising: Azzurro - Swan 78
On the eve of the final day, the outcome is still wide open in almost every class. Among the Swan Maxis, Freya completed a great recovery with today's victory. Having finished sixth in the first race, the Swan 90 has since notched up two consecutive wins and leads on 8 points, just one clear of Spiip.
In the Swan Mini-Maxi class, Arobas confirmed her winning form for the second day running, narrowly stretching her lead over Cloudy 7 to two points.
After finishing seventh on the first day, From Now On has secured two consecutive victories and now trails leader Thetis by just one point in the Swan Cruiser Racer class.
In the Swan Legacy =47' class, Elan won today's race and has moved from level points with Shirlaf yesterday to take the lead by a single point - 4 to 5. An even more striking comeback in the Legacy =44' class saw Mascalzone Latino XXXIII - fourth in the first race and second yesterday - win today to close the gap on leader Pride from four points to just one.
The standings offer a little more breathing room in the Classics by Frers class. The Swan 651 Lunz am Meer, following two opening wins and today's second place behind Cygnet, retains the lead with 4 points, with her nearest rival on 9.
All is still to be decided in the Pure Cruising groups. In the Swan Pure Cruising class, a win for Luca F puts the boat firmly back in contention: after finishing eighth yesterday, she is now third on 10 points behind leader Alegher on 8 and Black Zero on 9. Possibly the most impressive turnaround of the day belongs to Azzurro in the Maxi Pure Cruising class: seventh on the opening day, the Swan 78 won both subsequent races and today drew level with Coco de Mer at the top of the classification on 9 points, with Miss 5K just one point behind.
Two races for all the One Design classes competing today on windward-leeward courses.
Hendrik Brandis's Earlybird was the star of the day in the ClubSwan 50s class, winning both races. With the discard now in play, the reigning world champion leads the standings on 4 points. Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone responded with two runner-up finishes and is in second on 9 points, while Marcus Brennecke's Hatari is third on 13 points.
The ClubSwan 42 class also saw a double win for Pedro Vaquer Comas's Nadir, which clinched two victories to take the lead in the overall classification. Nadir and Pez de Abril sit level on 6 points, with Nadir ahead on countback, while Jerome Stubler's Raving Swan is third on 9 points.
In the ClubSwan 36 class, Edoardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone won the first race of the day, with victory in the second going to Nikolai Burkart's Goddess. Cuordileone remains in the lead with 4 points, followed by Goddess and Edoardo Pavesio's Fra Martina, both on 9 points.
A change at the top of the ClubSwan 28 class sees Giulio Gatti's Anya Race, first in today's opening race and second in the next, take the top spot on 7 points. Lorenzo Bortolotti's Black Swan follows just one point behind, while Michael Kiss's Bacio, winner of today's second race, is third with 16 points.
This evening, crews will gather on the large lawn of the Pevero Hotel for one of the most eagerly anticipated social events of the regatta week, the Rolex Dinner Party, with nearly 2,000 guests expected.
Racing concludes tomorrow with the first signal at 12 noon CEST. Light winds of 7-8 knots from the north-east are forecast. The prize-giving ceremony will follow at 5 p.m. in Piazza Azzurra at the YCCS.
Provisional Results: