Swan 45 Gold Cup

New event to establish world champion to be held in Capri in October

This year for the first time, the Swan 45 one design fleet will race to determine their world champion. The Swan 45 Gold Cup will take place from 9-15 October 2004 in Capri, organised by Yacht Club Italiano (celebrating their 125th anniversary this year) and hosted by Yacht Club de Capri. With forty Swan 45s around the world, it is anticipated that more than 25 will gather in Capri to compete for the Swan 45 Gold Cup.

The yacht clubs involved will plan and deliver a challenging week of racing, complemented by a social programme for the anticipated 300 participants to enjoy. The regatta will be held over six days and will see the Swan 45 fleet competing in nine races, predominantly windward-leewards, plus one long race. At the end of each day, social events in the Regatta Village will be accompanied by a prizegiving.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club Rating Office, together with a jury of internationally recognised race officers and judges, will support the event. This will ensure that the regatta provides participants with a professional forum in which to compete. Once the world champion of this growing class is established, the Swan 45 Gold Cup will take place every 18 months. The 2006 edition will be held in Key West, USA as part of Key West Race Week.

The Swan 45 has proved popular among owners. Its design brief was to create a yacht for One-Design Class racing that will be competitive under handicap throughout the world and can, at the same time, be completely unmistakable as a true Swan. The 45 has set the agenda for Nautor's latest One-Design Class race boat, the new Swan 601. This new model will be on the water and racing for the first time at the Rolex Swan Cup, Nautor's flagship event, hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in September of this year.