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The inaugural Gazprom Swan 60 Class Circuit has concluded, with a triumphant Swan 60 Bronenosec taking first place overall, after completing the challenging four-event circuit with just 5 points.

The circuit began for Bronenosec and the Swan 60 fleet in May with the Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta in the Netherlands. The first race on the circuit introduced the newly created German Offshore Challenger (GOC) team, selected via a nationwide sailing project, to Swan 60 SGM. The project aimed to introduce ambitious sailors to offshore sailing under the guidance of experienced regatta sailors and to establish a successful offshore crew.

Swan 60 crews then went on to compete in the inaugural Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship in July, in Cowes, Isle of Wight. After a competitive week which saw the fleet reunited in British waters, Swan 60 Bronenosec took the winning title and became the World Champions for 2013. Teams then stayed on the Isle of Wight for the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week where Bronenosec were again victorious.

The Nord Stream Race formed the concluding event on the circuit and saw all five Swan 60 yachts gather in Flensburg, Germany for the enduring 800nm race across the Baltic Sea to Saint-Petersburg, Russia. After five days of challenging, offshore sailing it was Team Great Britain with Swan 60 Tsaar Peter who took the first place position. Team Russia onboard Swan 60 Bronenosec finished just 26 seconds behind them and secured their overall lead in the circuit.

Vladimir Liubomirov, Skipper of Swan 60 Bronenosec is delighted with the results; “It means a lot for our team to win this year; from the beginning it was very important for us to win as we wanted to prove that we are a strong team and to continue last year’s success. We had a great year in 2012 and we wanted to maintain that standard this year. We did our best and worked really hard in each of the regattas and races; in my mind the prize is greatly deserved, my team worked extremely hard.

There were many highlights for me and my favourite events were the Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship in Cowes and the Nord Stream Race. They were two entirely different events, requiring different skills and strategy. I especially enjoyed sailing in the beautiful Solent for the first time in my life; it was incredible and I was deeply impressed by Cowes and its old sailing traditions.”

Team Germany onboard Swan 60 SGM finished in third place during the Nord Stream Race and gained enough points to take 2nd place overall in the circuit. For three of the four circuit events, the crew consisted of the GOC crew accompanied by Helm Robert Stanjek and for the final event the team were joined by a number of professional German sailors, including Admirals Cup and Maxi World Cup Champion, Skipper Thomas Jungblut. Admirals Cup veterans Jens Jungblut and Sven Hadler also joined the team, along with Volvo Ocean Race sailor Michael Mueller.

On behalf of the team, Moritz Bohnenberger commented; “Over the year I have discovered and experienced many crew positions and I learnt a great deal about sailing onboard the Swan 60. My favourite event was the Nord Stream Race; we had such close and exciting racing there, it was such a great experience. I am very thankful to have had the chance to meet all the professionals and race on such a great boat; I would like to thank the Yacht Club of Saint Petersburg, NRV and SGM for this opportunity.”

The 2014 Gazprom Swan 60 Class Circuit will take the Swan 60 fleet into warmer waters with a Mediterranean focused circuit. The circuit will begin on the 29th May with the Nord Stream Race; the race will take Swan 60s from Saint-Petersburg, Russia to Warnemünde, Germany via a stop-over in Helsinki, Finland. The second event will be the Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship, taking place in August during the Regatta Copa Del Rey Mapfre in Palma, before the circuit concludes with the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia in September.

Final Gazprom Swan 60 Class Circuit results are as follows:

Bronenosec (RUS) 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 Total: 5

SGM (GER) 2 – 5 – 2 – 3 Total: 12

Tsaar Peter (BVI) 6 – 3 – 6 – 1 Total: 16

Spirit of Europe (GBR)6 – 2 – 6 – 5 Total: 19

Petite Flamme (RUS) 6 – 4 – 6 – 4 Total: 20