Monday, September 15, 2008

Rolex Swan Cup

Racing started at the Rolex Swan Cup 2008 bright and breezy, and bang on time at 1135, September 9. Conditions for a first day could not have been gentler. All four divisions will have come off the water having had a very satisfactory day's racing in winds that peaked in the early-teens in the channel, but stayed below ten knots elsewhere on the various courses. Some will be delighted with proceedings and some will not, but that is yacht racing. The standings at the end of Day One, see Favonius heading the Swan Maxi Division, Zen leading the Classics and Earlybird and Kora respectively top guns in the Swan 45s and Club Swan 42s. One day down.

Day two of the Rolex Swan Cup. The Swan Maxis went on a hefty 30 nautical mile w/l course, whereas the Classics undertook a shorter, 24 nm stroll. Meanwhile, the sprightlier Swan 45s and Club Swan 42s were given their own part of two four-leg windward/leewards of 8 nm. In the Swan Maxis the Swan 80, Favonius (BVI) played everyone off once again winning both on the water and on handicap. The Swan 48 Zen (GBR) conceded her waterline length to finish third on the water, but still came first on handicap in the Classics. Swan 45, Earlybird (GER), was later to finish in her fleet than yesterday posting a 6, 5, but sufficiently good to still lead overall. Equally, Kora (ITA), the Club Swan 42, had a drop in performance to score two seconds, but again held onto first overall. So, no change at the top after the day's proceedings.

Flat calm left a flat mood at the third day of the Rolex Swan Cup 2008. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Race Committee finally called a halt to the waiting at 1230, after a patient but fruitless delay to see if forecast light winds would arrive soon enough and stabilize sufficiently for the scheduled Long Island Race to be held. The breeze did not play ball and racing was abandoned for the day.

Playing water polo in the still waters off Porto Cervo was an odd way to prepare for the winds to come. But no one had predicted the speed and severity of the conditions that would end the day, prematurely for some. The scheduled earlier start of 10 AM came and went without any sign of the wind that had been forecast yesterday. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Race Committee kept everyone ashore for an hour and a half, before heading out in the hope of finding the promised breeze. It came, eventually, at three o'clock. A gentle 10 knots from the north-northwest stirring a ripple in the calm. Nothing too special and certainly no great warning. The aborted second race started in twenty-five knots and it was not until halfway down the first run that the alarm bells really started to ring as the breeze built in an instant to probably 40 knots at the masthead. It did not take long for the Race Committee to realize that this was more than a passing shower and, as the Swan 45s headed upwind for a second time some flying orange storm jibs and navigation lights shining in the gloom, the call was made to abandon. Not a moment too soon. Within minutes it was lights out as visibility went from poor to pitiful. Twenty minutes later visibility returned and the drenched Swan 45s were glad to return to safe haven.

Next day, at 1130, Peter Lawson, from the Committee, relayed the message from the course that the general situation was not expected to improve. Moments after giving three short blasts on the horn and hoisting the November flag over the Alpha flag to signify the curtailment of any racing, Lawson described the conditions leading to the decision, "in the course area the winds are 27 - 28 knots, gusting to 30 plus and conditions will continue to deteriorate during the next few hours. Gusts are expected to increase to the mid-30s or higher." So that was that. Game over for the day.

The final day of the Rolex Swan Cup 2008 dawned with an overcast sky and a moderate southwesterly of 15 knots. With the forecast warning that the wind would build during the day, the start time had been brought forward to 1030. The weather played ball for three of the divisions to complete one race apiece and for the Swan 45s to complete two. At the end of a difficult week with wind at both ends of the scale, the Rolex Swan Cup overall division winners were: Roel Pieper's Swan 80 Favonius (BVI) in Swan Maxi, Hendrik Brandis & Christian Nagel's Earlybird (GER) in Swan 45, Enrico Scerni's Kora (ITA) in Club Swan 42 and John Bainbridge's Swan 48 Zen (GBR) in the Classics.

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