Closing in

Rolex Swan Cup heads for final stages with Bugia Bianca looking strong in Class A

After a well-earned rest on Friday, the teams competing in the 2004 Rolex Swan Cup took to the water for the fourth and penultimate race day of this biennal event, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. The fleet of Nautor's Swans gathered in Porto Cervo enjoyed great conditions as yesterdays rainstorms gave way to clear blue skies, and a northeasterly breeze of around 16 knots, with a big sea running outside the islands.

Classes A and C/D sailed a 38-mile course which took them from the starting line off Poltu Quatu, around the islands of the La Maddalena archipelago, and to a finish off the entrance to Porto Cervo. Class A was won by Bugia Bianca, Massimo Dentice's Swan 70, while in Class C/D, Roberto Ferrero's Swan 48, Solenia 2, with champion sailors Tommaso Chieffi and Lorenzo Bressani on board, claimed first place.

Said Massimo Dentice, "We had a fantastic race today, a great head-to-head with the other Swan 70's and the Swan 601, Island Fling. We were in front at Barettinelli Island, but Island Fling was able to cut the corner, and got in front. We managed to get sufficiently back in the lead before the finish. We've not just come to win our class, but to win the regatta overall. Tomorrow our race is against Vertigo and Solenia 2. Our strategy is to be really aggressive."

Tomasso Chieffi, tactician on Solenia 2, "We didn't have a great start, and rounded the top mark in second place behind the Swan 53, Katrina. We caught them at Punta Rossa, where we cut inside. Then we flew the flat spinnaker which the other boat didn't have and we stretched out from there, maintaining our position to the finish.

In Class B the Swan 45's sailed one windward-leeward "coastal race" of approximately 20 miles between Secca dei Tre Monti and the Monaci islands. Leonardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone, with Paul Cayard as tactician, finished first.

Cayard said "On the first beat, about a half mile from the mark, three boats ahead of us overstood the layline. It was a really hard layline to call, being an island and with a big sea running, but we tacked inside and laid the mark."

The racing continues to be incredibly close in this class, with only six points separating the top three boats. As of today, with five races completed, Classes A and B have one throw-out.

Last night Swan owners and their guests attended the ClubSwan dinner, hosted by Pioneer Investments in the fabulous setting of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. During the evening Paul Cayard received a special award for his contribution to the world of sailing as part of the prizegiving for the Pioneer Investments Race Day.

The final race of the 2004 Rolex Swan Cup will take place tomorrow, Sunday 19th September, with the prizegiving scheduled for 1830 on the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's Piazza Azzurra.

Class A
1. Bugia Bianca, Massimo Dentice, 1-1-(5)-1-1, 4 points
2. Aqua Equinox, Filip Balcaen, (12)-4-1-5-8, 18
3. Lolita, Frank Savage, 5-(13)-2-9-2, 18

Class B/Swan 45
1. Vertigo, Marco Salvi/Alberto Signorini, 1-2-1-(8)-4, 8 points
2. Cuordileone, Leonardo Ferragamo, 2-(8)-2-6-1, 11
3. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, (11)-3-6-2-3, 14

Class C/D
1. Solenia 2, Roberto Ferraro, 1-5-1-1, 8 points
2. Katrina, Damon Guizot, 2-4-8-4, 18
3. Junkanoo, Colin Buffin, 12-3-2-2, 19