The Rolex Swan Cup is an event with a proud heritage and a distinct spirit. And as this year’s 22nd edition of the biennial regatta demonstrated, it has always succeeded in evolving and innovating. The longstanding relationship between three partners – Rolex, the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) and Nautor Swan – has been central to establishing and maintaining the event’s enviable reputation.
Following the conclusion of today’s final races, both division and class winners were rewarded for their excellence and consistency on the water during the final prizegiving. Winners of Rolex timepieces as best performers in their respective divisions were: Sea Quill (ITA) in Maxi/Mini Maxi; Isabella (GER) in Sparkman & Stephens; Katima (GER) in Grand Prix/Cruiser and Canopo (ITA) in One Design.
Rolex Testimonee and renowned United States yachtsman Paul Cayard is well placed to reflect on the standing and appeal of the event having competed regularly over the decades. Cayard returned to the regatta this year to helm Kallima – Randstad Sailing Team in the Maxi division:
“There are a number of factors which make the Rolex Swan Cup special. The three brands – Rolex, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Nautor Swan – being together to support this event; seeing over one hundred Swan yachts and around 1,500 crew competing; and the iconic venue of Porto Cervo. The conditions are challenging but the environment is beautiful. The regatta has a blend of competition, camaraderie and friendship which is really unique.”
Paul Cayar GBR 007, 10, KALLIMA – RANDSTAD Sailing Team, Class, GRP1/A, 82, Owner, RANDSTAD Sailing Team
Across five days of racing, the Race Committee skilfully laid on a series of challenging courses on the Maddalena Archipelago despite the increasingly unstable conditions and lighter winds as the week evolved.
The Maxi Division A fleet comprised 15 diverse Swan yachts including the largest entrant – the 98-ft (29.87m) Drifter Cube. Success following a perfect set of results went to Swan 60 Sea Quill. For skipper/tactician Andrea Fornaro, it was a crowning achievement:
“Winning the Rolex Swan Cup is one of the great feelings of my career as a sailor. To achieve it here with such a talented crew is a wonderful feeling.”
IVB 4466, 13, SEA QUILL, Class, GRP1/A, 60, Owner, Andrea Fornaro
Contrasting the power and might of the Swan maxis was the first Porto Cervo appearance for the ClubSwan 28, the smallest model ever produced by Nautor Swan and ‘designed to be smart, fun and fast yet not overly technical to allow for an easier entry into the world of racing.’ A five-strong fleet provided a compelling demonstration of this brief across their four-race series.
The ClubSwan 28 joins a burgeoning and highly competitive One Design programme uniting the ClubSwan 36s – a modern nod to the first Swan launched in 1967, the 36-ft (10.97m) Tarantella -, the ClubSwan42, Swan 45 and ClubSwan 50s. Across a predominantly Corinthian crewed event, this latter group welcomed the highest concentration of professional tacticians. In the combined scoring system, the One Design divisional win went to Canopo, a ClubSwan 42, who won six of her seven races.
The sublime array of Swan yachts represented all eras of Swan yacht design. The impressive robustness and longevity of Swan yachts was demonstrated by the class victory of Isabella, the oldest competing yacht dating back to 1968. Crews represented generations of family and close friends, a broad span of age groups and a significant number of female sailors in key roles. Yachts from six different continents participated. Swan 53 Bedouin, an impressive second-place finisher in the Cruiser class, came from Australia. Owner Linda Goddard enjoyed her second visit to the regatta:
“The week at the Rolex Swan Cup has been absolutely fantastic. All the best Swans come to this event every two years and it is something everyone looks forward to. Off the water there is a camaraderie that you don’t often find at other events. And these relationships last for years beyond the event.”
The Fleet
Leonardo Ferragamo, President of Nautor Swan, recalled his own entry into the regatta in the early 1990s and the importance of providing owners with competitive racing:
“The Rolex Swan Cup has always represented a point of reference. One of the biggest motivations when I bought my first ever Swan yacht was to compete in the Rolex Swan Cup. It is a very iconic regatta. Today we welcome over one hundred boats across different categories. Each has its own scoring system, so in each class everybody is competing at a comparable level and this is important.”
The 2024 Rolex Swan Cup marked forty years of Rolex’s relationship with the YCCS. The 1984 edition of the regatta also heralded the beginning of the partnership between the Swiss watchmaker and Nautor Swan.
Leonardo Ferragamo reflected on the importance of this longstanding three-way relationship:
“For Nautor Swan there is pride in having worked with Rolex and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda for all these years. These relationships are unique and we are extremely proud of the ongoing evolution of the Rolex Swan Cup.”
GBR 007, 10, KALLIMA – RANDSTAD Sailing Team, Class, GRP1/A, 82, Owner, RANDSTAD Sailing Team
From the perspective of the organizing yacht club, Edoardo Recchi, its Secretary General, remarked on a special edition of the regatta for the YCCS:
“The 2024 Rolex Swan Cup with its outstanding fleet was a real showcase of the Nautor Swan shipyard from those part of a historical heritage to the further evolution into the racing world. This year was very special for us and our collaboration with Rolex. It has been forty years of partnership and the support of Rolex has helped make this an iconic event.”
ITA 65101, 12, MARLIN II, Class, GRP1/A, 65, Owner, Enrico Aureli
The combination of the pivotal relationships between the three event partners, the eternal passion for sailing Swan yachts, the sense of community, and a guarantee of fair and exacting competition in one of the world’s great nautical venues will ensure that the Rolex Swan Cup remains at the forefront of the sailing world for the generations to come.
