Gazprom Swan 60 Class : August Newsletter

Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week

Swan 60s SGM and Bronenosec raced in the AAM Cowes Week, 3 â€“ 10 August, with Bronenosec taking 4^th place overall in IRC Class 1 and SGM taking 5^th place. As the winning Swan 60, Bronenosec also took home the Gazprom Swan 60 Class Award.

Taking a break from racing, the Swan 60 crews were treated to a BBQ dinner at Cowes Yacht Haven on Wednesday 7^th August. Overlooking the boats from the Yacht Haven balcony, crews were greeted with refreshments and a tasty BBQ, providing a great finish to the days racing.

As a counter for the Gazprom Swan 60 Class Circuit, both Swan 60s have taken valuable points forwards from AAM Cowes Week, with both boats now aiming to secure the overall title for 2013.

Rolex Fastnet Race attracts Olympians

We caught up with Robert Stanjek, helm of Swan 60 SGM and German Olympic Star representative during AAM Cowes Week to get his thoughts ahead of the Rolex Fastnet Race.

Q. Have you competed in the Rolex Fastnet Race before?
A. This is my first time so I am really looking forward to it. It is a race I have always wanted to do, until now I was full time in Olympic Sailing, especially in the last year my focus was so much on Olympic Sailing and after the London Games I got a bit more into offshore racing and I like it.

Q. What is the longest offshore race you have done?
A. I did some in the Baltic Sea, like last year in the Nord Stream Race which is the main event in the Gazprom Swan 60 Circuit and now we are preparing for the Nord Stream Race again this year.

Q. What will make your Rolex Fastnet Race successful?
A. We have a very young team, our youngest member is 19. We only have 3 professionals for safety reasons and I have experience, but most of the team are a young cast of crew and they are on fire and have energy and want to do the best they can, which is important.

Q. What have you had to do in preparation for the Fastnet?
A. We did some training in the Netherlands and a couple of regattas and long distance training through the night and tried to prepare in this way. There will be 16 of us racing on the boat. The Swan 60 is a big heavy boat, nice to drive and we are confident that if the weather turns nasty we can sustain heavy seas.

Skills put to the test in the Rolex Fastnet Race

Offshore sailing skills were put to the test as three of the Gazprom Swan 60 fleet; Bronenosec, SGM and Petite Flamme raced in the prestigious and world-renowned Rolex Fastnet Race 2013. This was the first Fastnet for each of the boats and the close competition across the duration of the race proved how far these crews have come over the past year.

The race began on Sunday 11^th August and took the crews from Cowes, Isle of Wight to Plymouth, via the Fastnet Rock off south-west Ireland, a 611 nautical mile course designed to test the skills of the most competent sailor.

The first around the Fastnet Rock was Petite Flamme, followed by SGM and then Bronenosec. With the lead position alternating each day, it was a nail biting wait to the finish. But after three days of racing SGM became the first Swan 60 to cross the finish line in Plymouth, followed by Bronenosec and then Petite Flamme. With handicap Petite Flamme took first place and became the winners of the Gazprom Swan 60 Class with a corrected time of 4 days and 4 hours.

Having maintained their tight formation throughout the race, the finish was extremely close, with less than 5 minutes seperating SGM and Petite Flamme and only 1 minute seperating Petite Flamme and Bronenosec. Each boat beat SGMâ€™s navigator, Jean Luis Paezâ€™s pre-race predicted time of 3 days and 10 hours, with SGM achieving an elapsed finish time of 3 days, 3 hours and 13 minutes.

Copa Del Rey Mapfre 2013

Swan 60 Emma and Swan 601 @robas competed in the Copa Del Rey Mapfre 2013, 27th July - 3rd August, completing six days of racing in the Bay of Palma.

With two windward/leeward races scheduled for each day, Swan 60 Emma started the week well, with a second place finish on the first day. Providing good competition for the rest of the week, Emma finally finished in 4th place, with Swan 601 @robas in 7th overall.

Nord Stream Race draws close

The second edition of the Nord Stream Race is drawing close with only one month to go until we see the Swan 60 fleet reunited in the waters of the Baltic. The Swan 60s will depart from Flensburg Germany on Monday 16th September to race the non-stop 800 nautical miles to Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

This year Swan 60 teams can also look forward to a Match Race on Thursday 12th September, followed by a crew party and festivities ahead of the start. A race village will be open in Sonwik Marina for familes, friends and the general public to come and enjoy the pre-race events. Once the crews have crossed the finish line they will get to enjoy a crew party and a prize giving in Saint-Petersburg.

Tim Kroger, Skipper of Team Europe is looking forward to the second edition of the Nord Stream Race; "Most of my crew from last year will be with me again. We are facing a tough challenge though as there is a lot more competition this year following the success of the premiere of the Nord Stream Race, and the growing international interest.

Our boat, Spirit of Europe is currently in Kiel so we will be able to do some optimizing work before heading to Flensburg. In Flensburg we will participate in some pre-races to get the gear and crew into shape in the week prior to the big event. The Crew is a European mix from at least six different countries of the Baltic rim, made up of experienced pros, wonderful companions of mine and young rookies. This mixture played out nicely last year, everyone pushed each other for performance and we had fantastic spirit onboard, I hope to see that again this year.

The race will be different as it has no stops but is instead a marathon sprint, so good preparation, attention to detail, endurance and teamwork will be a key to success. We enjoy sailing the Swan 60s enormously as they are beautiful, fast and reliable machines. We are looking forward to another memorable challenge!"

100 years of the Danish Sailing Association

Two Swan 60s will be present at the Danish Sailing Associations 100 Year Anniversary celebrations later this month in Copenhagen, Denmark. On the 29th and 30th August, VIP guests will be treated to a celebratory lunch at the Royal Danish Yacht Club, followed by a unique sailing experience onboard one of the two Swan 60s.