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The Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship will see fresh opposition this year with Swan 60 Windward joining the fleet for their inaugural Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship. After competing in the 2014 Nord Stream Race and finishing a close second to Team Russia onboard Bronenosec the newly formed Windward will be creating some stern competition for the Swan 60s.

We spoke to the owner of Swan 60 Windward, Mr Fan, ahead of the Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship, “This is like a dream come true that for a passionate sailor, to own my very first Swan and to race against some of the best sailors in the world, to learn and to experience. I enjoy racing in some very high standard regattas, during the race I am part of the team sharing the same one goal.”

I firstly chose a good partner and a good race skipper – Mr. Lorenzo Bortolotti. I have worked very closely with Lorenzo since the planning and construction of Windward, and from day by day communication, we share a lot and gain mutual trust together. When I decided to race the Swan 60 class, I invited Lorenzo again as the race skipper, and utilize Lorenzo’s extensive experiences in top regattas, as well as personal connection, to build up the best Windward team. The selection criteria for different crew members are mainly based on the position requirement, experiences, personal ability, communication skills, Swan 60 understanding and the most importantly: passion to perform at a high standard racing.”

The event in Palma, Spain is run in conjunction with the 33 Copa del Rey MAPFRE, the largest Spanish regatta organised by the Real Club Naútico de Palma. Mr Fan has put together a very strong team to race, and is expecting great results this year. He believes “the 2014 Gazprom Swan 60 Class circuit winner needs to be a very well rounded team with skills to ensure their Swan 60 excels across all wind speeds with a team that can achieve ultimate potential in both offshore, coastal and inshore racing disciplines.”
The fleet will not only see this new edition they will also be joined by a fresh crew onboard Swan 60 Vertical Smile. Peter Lebrandt’s team has taken a different tack to the majority of the Gazprom Swan 60 entries this year, opting to base the team from the Mediterranean earlier in the season. The team started success early in the sailing year with a first place at Coppa Carlo Negri in IRC Group 0.

The teams are now undertaking last minute preparations before racing starts on the 4th August.

See full entry list below:

Windward – Mr Fan, CHN
Vertical Smile – Peter Lerbrandt, DEN
SGM – German Offshore Challenger, NRV, GER
Tsaar Peter – Gazprom Russian Youth Team, RUS
Petite Flamme – Dimitry Samokin, RUS
Bronenosec – Vladimir Liubomirov, RUS
Spirit of Europe – Alpenberg SA, IVB