Swan 45 Worlds Wrap Up Report

19 September 2008

Rolex/K Arrigo

From 8-14 September, Swan 45 teams from 11 nations gathered in Porto Cervo for the Swan 45 World Championships. Organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda on the occasion of the Rolex Swan Cup, the Swan 45 Worlds offered challenging racing for the 23 teams and it was clear to see what makes Nautor’s first one design fleet stand out amongst the ClubSwan family.

As with all Swan 45 events, the Class strives to complete as many races as much as possible and Principal Race Officer Peter Craig aimed to run 12 races for the fleet, including one coastal race. However, Sardinia’s infamous Mistal, which filled in towards the end of the week, meant eight close races for the Class.

The Swan 45 is a strictly owner-driver class. That said, the Class also consistently attracts the world’s best known America’s Cup and Olympic sailors including Sten Mohr of BMW Oracle on ‘Earlybird’, Tony Rey on ‘’Yahsa’ and Chris Larson on ‘DSK-Comifin’.

Throughout the season the Class has seen the level of competition increase and certain teams in particular have demonstrated that their commitment is paying off. In particular, Tea Ekengren-Sauren’s ‘Blue Nights’ and Ishida’s ‘Yasha’ have consistently moved up the fleet with both teams showing first place finishes during the Swan 45 Worlds.

From the beginning of the week, it was however ‘Earlybird’ owned by Christian Nagel and Hendrik Brandis that set the pace. From humble beginnings at the beginning of the season, the German team has steadily climbed to the top of the leader board.

With consistent top five finishes throughout the regatta, it was no surprise that Nagel and Brandis were presented with the Asprey Gold Cup and Rolex Chronometer at Sunday’s prize giving. The co-owners also celebrated winning the Swan 45 International Circuit (which included Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Copa del Rey and the Rolex Swan Cup) and Class President Vittorio Codecasa was on hand to present their awards together with Leonardo Ferragamo. Second place overall went to Grant Gordon and Klaus Diederich’s ‘Fever’, followed by Carlo Perrone’s ‘Atlantica Racing’ in third.

When asked what was the secret to ‘Earlybird’s’ success, co-owner Christian Nagel credited his great team and “their ability to face the range of weather conditions”. Nagel continued; “We trained all season and practiced four days prior to each event. Then every morning we went out for one to two hours before the start to check our settings and ensure we were ready for all conditions.”

Understandably, it can’t always be easy with two owners to decide who is at the helm. Nagel and Brandis’ initial idea was to divide the season, but subsequently they agreed to split the driving by event, which meant Nagel was at the helm for the Worlds. Nagel continued “Throughout the season there was only ever one of us (owners) on board. There’s just one chief on ‘Earlybird’!”

The Swan 45 Class now has its sights set on 2009 with a racing programme that will include both inshore and offshore regattas.