Sixteen to twenty-six knots of Mistral wind and brilliant September sunshine turned Porto Cervo into the sort of sailing destination that makes crews remember why they chose this sport. On day two of the 23rd Rolex Swan Cup, the La Maddalena Archipelago delivered exactly what the fleet needed, with courses that ranged from tight windward-leeward battles to sprawling 27-mile island races through some of the Mediterranean’s most challenging waters.
The racing split across multiple formats, each class finding conditions suited to their boats and ambitions. ClubSwan 50 and ClubSwan 36 fleets pushed through three races apiece in demanding winds, while smaller one-design classes managed two windward-leeward contests. For the larger cruising yachts, race officers sent them out on longer courses threading through the Smeralda’s island network. Swan Maxi boats plotted clockwise around La Maddalena itself, hoisting spinnakers along the eastern passages before finishing in the Passo delle Bisce strait. Cruiser-racer and legacy divisions headed into the Gulf of Arzachena, weaving through shallow marks and reaching legs that separated decent helmsmanship from the genuinely sharp.
Early leads are hardening into patterns. Earlybird holds the ClubSwan 50 class with a 1-1-4 scoreline through two days. Leonardo Ferragamo’s Cuordileone, which won day two’s third race, lurks fourth but only nine points adrift. In the ClubSwan 42 class, Pez de Abril simply dominated, taking both races and giving Nadir clear air only as second place. The ClubSwan 36 standings tell an even starker story. Cuordileone swept all three races on Wednesday to establish a commanding lead, while Fra Martina, skippered by Edoardo Pavesio, trails with a string of second-place finishes. Black Swan carries momentum in the ClubSwan 28 fleet after posting 1-2-2 across day one and two.
Among the cruising divisions, Freya claimed line honours in the Swan Maxi class, while Black Zero took out the Swan Pure Cruising section. The offshore courses separated boats by more than pure speed, with wind pressure and tactical reading around the islands becoming as important as hull design.
Racing resumes at noon CEST on Thursday with slightly lighter Mistral conditions forecast. The one-design boats will line up for more windward-leeward duels, while remaining classes contest a coastal race that will again wind through the archipelago. After two days, several crews have built enough of a buffer to start thinking about defending their positions. For others, the standings remain tight enough that a couple of strong finishes could shuffle the order entirely.
