Gazprom Swan 60 Class : November Newsletter

Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), joint organisers of the Nord Stream Race 2013, set out at the beginning of 2013 to establish a nationwide sailing project. The project aimed to introduce ambitious sailors to offshore sailing under the guidance of experienced regatta sailors, and to establish a successful offshore crew.

The German Offshore Challenge (GOC) team was created and nominated to sail onboard Swan 60 SGM. After competing in all four events on the Gazprom Swan 60 Class Circuit 2013, the team came away with an impressive 2nd place overall. Arne Hirsch, Marcus Illies and Anne Fritzemeier from NRV look back on the project and discuss the benefits of the project and their future plans.

Q. How do you feel the GOC project went?

We are very pleased that our project developed so well in such little time. Achieving 2nd place overall in the Swan 60 Class exceeded all of our expectations; as our first objective was to focus on safety and routine onboard. It was a great pleasure for the three of us to see how the youth sailors grew together as a team. The GOC crew is a good mix of ambitious sailors who have learnt a great deal this season; our youngest crew member is just 20 years old, and they have all laid a good foundation for the future.

Q. How did the project benefit those taking part?

The sailors have learnt a lot over the past year. The Gazprom Swan 60 Class is challenging in many aspects, for example the crew had to perform all manoeuvres perfectly in each race and regatta. The competitors in the Class are outstanding and have won many different titles such as the America's Cup, Volvo Ocean Race or Olympic Games. For our young sailors, racing in such an ambitious circuit was the best training they could have asked for.

Q. Highlights for yourselves as the GOC organisers?

Overall our 1st highlight would be the cooperation with Saint-Petersburg Yacht Club (SPBYC) and SGM for giving us the chance to sail the Swan 60. The 2nd highlight was the Rolex Fastnet Race, this must have been one of the proudest moments for us all. Finally, the victory of the inshore fleet race in Flensburg during the Nord Stream Race was brilliant. Also of course, every victory over Swan 60 Bronenosec and Swan 60 Spirit of Europe was a highlight for our team, as those boats are crewed by very experienced sailors. Apart from the victories, it was a great pleasure to get these ambitious guys and girls together and see their development as a team, backed up by the support of great international professionals.

Q. Were there any challenging moments?

Yes, such as the length of time we had to prepare beforehand, and of course the competition from the other teams was a challenge - the other crews were excellent and had a lot of experience. Also bringing individuals and dinghy sailors together on a big boat and for them to become a team was a challenge, but the team were fantastic and worked together well from the beginning.

Q. Future plans for the GOC team?

The first step will be to evaluate the whole project, we will do this during the winter. It is important for us to get feedback from the sailors, the organizers and our partners, Saint Petersburg Yacht Club and SGM. The next step will be to implement this feedback into our concept of the German Offshore Challenger project. The 2014 Circuit will begin with the Nord Stream Race 2014, this will begin at the end of May in Saint-Petersburg, Russia with Match Racing taking place in Helsinki. Then the teams will race 600nm to WarnemÃ¼nde, Germany. Of course we want to defend the inshore trophy there and we want to see the GOC team within the top 3 ranking overall.

Above - GOC crew in the Nord Stream Race Â©onEdition
Above Top - GOC crew in Cowes Â©Nautors Swan/Kurt Arrigo

During the Nord Stream Race 2013, Swan 60 Petite Flamme was raced by Team Turkey, a team mainly consisting of Bozphorus Gas Corporation employees, who utilised the race as a unique team building exercise.

Managing Director of Bosphorus Gas, Joachim Conrad explains the concept; "We chose sailing as our company's team building project as I thought that if we put a team together on a boat it becomes a matter of survival, and by being a matter of survival it would allow us to achieve a completely new level of bonding and cooperation amongst our employees. The Nord Stream Race was the perfect opportunity for this exercise and we are extremely pleased with the results, we now have further employees eager to take part in a similar race or regatta."

Team Turkeys Chief Helmsman Robert Klein was impressed with the teams results; "We all celebrated at the gala dinner after the race; the whole team were extremely happy and very proud of their achievement. The race was a fantastic team effort and once we realised that we were in with a chance of winning and that we could be competitive, the whole spirit and determination of the team changed. We decided we wanted to race for a position and fight for it. We all had a great time learning to sail and race the Swan 60, and we will now take this experience and new team dynamic back to the office."

As the only crew to consist of both female and male sailors, Seda Vural Senkardes, one of the female sailors onboard Team Turkey shared her experiences; "Taking part in the Nord Stream Race was such a great experience for me, it was the first time I had done anything like it. The first time that I saw Swan 60 Petite Flamme I really fell in love; she was beautiful, strong, well equipped - such a wonderful boat to sail on. The entire race was really exciting for us, during those five days out sailing across the Baltic we were a happy team.

The stormy day and night during the race scared us a little; as we were new to offshore racing I think the weather changing so quickly surprised us. We soon got used to it though and we got on with our jobs onboard. The men onboard may have been physically stronger than the women but that was the only difference! There were plenty of challenges faced by all of us and sometimes women are just better. I would definitely take part in the Nord Stream Race again, in fact I would love to!"

Team Turkey crew during the Nord Stream Race Â©onEdition

Nautor's Swan and the Gazprom Swan 60 Class welcome Mr Fan, the new owner of the latest Swan 60 to the Class and to the Swan family. Based in China, Mr Fan will both cruise and race his Swan 60 in Hainan.

This is the first Swan ever sold in China and the sale marks an important milestone for both Nautor's Swan and the new owner, the sale indicates the growing interest of Swan in the Asian markets.

The 2014 Circuit will begin with the Nord Stream Race, this will see the Swan 60s depart from Saint Petersburg, Russia on the 29th May. The boats will race to Helsinki, Finland where they will take part in match racing. On the 2nd June the Class will leave Helsinki and race 600 nautical miles, non-stop to WarnemÃ¼nde, Germany.

The Gazprom Swan 60 World Championship will form the second event of the Circuit; taking place during the Regatta Copa Del Rey Mapfre in Palma, Spain from the 3-9 August. The final event of the Circuit will be the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, Italy. Taking place between the 8-14 September, the Swan 60s will spend a week racing off the beautiful Italian coast.

More details can be found here - http://www.gazpromswan60class.com/events/2014

Sailing Project success for NRV

Swan 60 Petite Flamme in Team Building Exercise

New Swan 60 sold to China

2014 Circuit Details