Swan 45 circuit

Nautor announce their 2006 calendar of events

The 2006 racing season for the Swan 45 Class began in fine style with Rolex Capri Sailing Week (27 April to May 1st), preparing the fleet for a number of competitive events throughout the year. The Swan 45 Class Mediterranean and Northern European Circuit will be held jointly in the Mediterranean waters this year.

Nine Swans took part in the first leg of the Mediterranean Circuit for Rolex Capri Sailing Week, hosted by the Yacht Club Capri and the Yacht Club Costa Smerelda. Leonardo Ferragamo’s Swan 45 Cuordileone won the event with 22 points, followed by Stefano Polti’s Swan 45 Mintaka.

Following the intense action in Capri, more than fourteen Swan 45 owners will gather in Portofino where they will participate at the 25th Zegna Trophy (12-14 May). The first Ermenegildo Zegna Trophy took place in 1982 and over the years it has become one of the most coveted sailing awards. The prestigious event, organised in collaboration with the Italian Yacht Club Italiano is a classical rendez-vous for the Swan 45 Class, launched in Portofino in 2002.

Competition will also be fierce throughout the Sardinia Rolex Cup the Offshore Team World Championship 2006 (June 5th to 10th) as some of the finest sailing yachts will compete in the event organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Eight national teams will be participating and will comprise three yachts: a Swan 45, a Farr 40 and TP52. They will be racing for the Rolex Offshore Team World Championship Trophy.

Meanwhile, a record number of Swan owners are preparing to take part in the 635 mile, Centennial Newport to Bermuda Race (Swan East American Challenge) that starts on 16 June in Newport, Rhode Island. 45 Swan owners have applied to enter the race, compared with thirty in 2004. One-design and performance models produced by Nautor’s Swan will compete with other yachts for the coveted Lighthouse Trophies in the anniversary event.

Seven Swan 45 models will be competing in the St. David’s Lighthouse Division, including Alliance, owned by Dominick Porco (New York). Alliance will return this year to defend her title after scooping the 2004 St David’s Lighthouse Trophy, when Porco sailed her to victory, winning the IMS Cruiser Racer Class 6 and the IMS Cruiser Racer Division. The Swan 45 raced from Newport to Bermuda in just 84hr 18min 40sec, taking first place over 101 other yachts.

In September the Swan 45 fleet will head back to Sardinia for the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, for the culmination of an exciting year of racing. This week is one of Nautor’s flagship events and will see a host of Swan owners, world class sailors and dignitaries from the sailing world come together for a week of racing in one of the world’s most fantastic locations. From Porto Cervo, the Swan fleet will move on to France for the Voiles de Saint-Tropez (1st - 8th October) the last event of the Area Circuits 2006.

Swan 45 Mediterranean and Northern European Circuit

- Rolex Capri Sailing Week, Capri, Italy - April 27th to May 1st
- Zegna Trophy, Portofino, Italy - May 12th to 14th
- Sardinia Rolex Cup, Porto Cervo, Italy - June 3rd to 10th
- Rolex Swan Cup, Porto Cervo, Italy - September 11th to 17th
- Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, Saint Tropez, France - October 1st to 8th


Swan 45 Eastern American Circuit

- Swan 45 Gold Cup, Key West, USA - January 14th to 20th
- BVI Spring Regatta – March 20th to 25th
- Newport to Bermuda Race, Newport, RI - Bermuda, June 16th
- Rolex Swan Cup, Porto Cervo, Italy - September 11th to 17th