A day of pressure for the Swans

Heavy Solent airs for the Swan European Regatta fleet

The Solent provided some testing conditions for the Swan fleet on Wednesday, the third day of the Swan European Regatta. With wind speeds in the high twenties and early 30s and a sea that built through the day, the fleet were tested to their limit.

The first race of the day began with a downwind start under spinnaker towards the Eastern Solent over a 15 mile course. The second race saw a change in direction, with the three classes racing over courses between 8 and 12 miles in a 25-35 knot south westerly breeze in the western Solent, with a very competitive and dramatic downwind finish for the Club Swan 42s.

In Class A, the Swan 53 Sassenach continued her dominance over her competitors, with another win to add to her already impressive scoreline. The German entry, Elan, owned and helmed by Harald Baum revelled in the stronger conditions, also winning both races – the second by over six minutes on corrected time. Baum commented, “Today we had a hard westerly wind-stream, typical for the Solent and with such a hard wind in a small area, gusting up to 35 knots, it was good to have a reef in the main. Our 37 year old swan, from Sparkman & Stephens, is a heavy weather boat which relishes these conditions. Our family crew enjoy all the swan races tremendously, and especially the SER because of the professional environment and an atmosphere where everyone knows each other and maintains a true competitive spirit of the regatta.

The biggest casualty of the day was Edward Leask’s Swan 56 Magical. In the second race Magical had opted for the mainland shore for the first beat and this paid handsomely leading the fleet round the windward mark by a comfortable margin. This lead was maintained onto the final run when the heavy winds contributed to the boat broaching and then losing her mast.

The Daily Sail’s Andy Nicholson was on the boat for the day and commented: “It was a really disappointing incident as we had sailed so well all day and were leading the second race by a good margin – a decision taken by navigator Mike Richards and tactician Cameron Appleton to hit the mainland shore paid big time.

“The mast looked like it went when the spinnaker pole dug into the water and we were extremely fortunate not to loose anyone over the side or caught up in the debris. Everyone remained calm and got to work get the boat safe – crew boss Jim Turner scaled the stump and started organising things. The mast was cut away with the onboard angle grinder and marked with a bouy and the coastguard notified. We had made our last gybe and were on our way at 16 knots to the finish line, I imagine everyone following had a nervous time when they had to do their gybe.”

Class C also saw a change in positions at the front of the fleet, with the Swan 41 Moustique, owned by Alan Major, taking Race Day 3 in the class along with the overall lead.

After an exhausting day, the Swan crews will enjoy the customary Crew Party on Wednesday evening followed by a later start on Thursday for one longer coastal race around the Solent.

Class A
1 Sassenach, Swan 53, Ian Laing (GBR) 1 – 5 – 1 – 1 – 1 - 2 Total: 6.00
2 Silveren Swaen, Swan 53, P H Bakker (NED) 4 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 2 - 1 Total: 11.00
3 Noonmark VI, Swan 56, Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy (GBR) 2 – 2 – 4 – 2 – 4 - 3 Total: 13.00

Class B
1 Elan, Swan 48, Harald Baum (GER) 2 – 6 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 1 Total: 7.00
2 Christina, Swan 40, David Segel (GBR) 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 Total: 11.00
3 Le Quatre Juillet, Swan 411, Don Wood 5 – 1 – 3 – 4 – 2 – 3 Total: 13.00

Class C
1 Moustique Swan 41, Alan Major (GBR) 2 – 7 – 2 – 4 – 4 – 1 Total: 13.00
2 Rauwolfia Swan 371, Michel Cormier (FRA) 3 – 5 – 12 – 1 – 7 – 2 Total: 18.00
3 Sycorax Swan 36, Brian Dandridge (GBR) 9 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 1 – 4 Total: 20.00