The first day of racing of the Rolex Swan Cup saw the Gazprom Swan 60 fleet take on the coastal race. After a slight postponement, the sea breeze eventually kicked in and allowed the fleet of eight boats (made up of 6 Swan 60s and 2 Swan 601s) to make their way out to scenic course No.4.
With a lighter breeze of 6 -7 Knots, the conditions favoured the 601s, with Wohpe and @robas leading the fleet throughout the race, with the Swan 60’s Bronenosec and Petite Flamme in a tight battle for third.
Tactician Tomasso Chieffi racing on board Bronenosec commented “We had a bit of a slow start to the race and ended up rounding the Isle of Mortorio in fourth place. We stayed close to the fleet and gained a little bit on Petite Flamme just after le dei Poveri post. We then both set spinnaker but they had a problem with the tack coming loose, so we took advantage of that and went a bit higher over the top of them. We only had to gain a minute of time between us and them which we managed to do in the last leg coming from the island of Latishia to the final stretch. Overall, it was a bit of a disappointing day, we finished third but we knew in the lighter wind that it would be tough against the 601s.
Tomorrow will be a similar day but by Thursday we are hoping for a good breeze. All we can do is contain the damage and keep smart by trying to finish third or better.
The Swan 60 owners enjoyed a class dinner tonight at the Yacht Club Costa Smerelda, amongst the company of fellow yachtsmen where they discussed the days racing within the picturesque setting of Porto Cervo.