NAUTOR’S CLUBSWAN 50
Following in the wakes of the Swan 45 and ClubSwan 42, the ClubSwan 50 represents Nautor’s Swan’s latest foray into the world of one-design racing—and it does so with performance to burn.
A product of the Juan Kouyoumdjian design office, the ClubSwan 50 (clubswan50.com) has been positioned as a kind of user-friendly TP52—a boat that offers the same adrenalinsoaked fun without the expense or complica- tion that comes with a box-rule arms race.
Signing on to the ClubSwan 50 program also includes being able to compete in such regattas as the Rolex Swan cups in both the Caribbean and the Med, and this fall’s inaugural Nations Trophy—a dedicated one-design event featuring the Swan 45 and ClubSwan 42 as well as the ClubSwan 50 designed to revitalize “the concept of competition between nations” amid the splendor of the Real Club Náutico de Palma (thenationstrophy.com).
As for the boat itself, the design is smart and sharp as hell, with an aggressive tumblehome bow and an equally aggressive reverse sheer that screams out for attention both on the water and at the dock. Like the latest generation of TP52s and Volvo racers, the ClubSwan is designed to sail at a substantial angle of heel with an eye toward reducing wetting surface area. Similarly, full sections forward combined with a beamy transom serve to promote planning performance, while the aforementioned reverse sheer serves to reduce windage when the boat is sailing on its ear.
A high-aspect steel fin with a lead bulb and twin rudders help tame the boat’s powerful rig, and the hull and spars are all carbon. As evidence of the builder’s commitment to weight reduction, there is also a liberal sprinkling of Ronstan Constrictor rope clutches (think Chinese finger cuffs; the design won a SAIL Pittman Innovation award a number of years back) to control things like tacklines and headsail barber haulers.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: yes, those teak side decks come standard. The boat may be fast as hell and a gas to steer, but it’s still a Swan!—AC
As it was, we ended up having to make do with winds in the high teens all day, which in turn meant a whole lot of power reaching under A-sail at 15-16 knots. You can imagine my disappointment!
Better still, almost from the moment they left the dock, the Earlybird crew jumped right back into full-on match race mode, picking up from where they’d left off the day before with the other ClubSwan 50, Cuordileone, which included no less than Nautor’s Swan’s Ferragamo and North Sails president Ken Read in its afterguard.
Back and forth the battle raged as the two boats sped downwind under their spinnakers, slaloming around a series of marks before rounding the Dog Islands and heading toward the finish. Midway through, a tack line gave way shortly after a spinnaker set aboard Cuordileone, and in the resulting confusion the sail exploded in the middle. Down it came and up went another, but not before Earlybird had extended what had already been a narrow lead to a quarter mile or more—a delta she fought to defend right through until the finish. Alas, it was not quite enough for a win in our class, Class B. Correcting out in first place that day was the superbly sailed Bounty. Nor was Earlybird able to stave off Ferragamo and company on the fourth and final day, so that in the end it was Cuordileone winning the class overall, with Bounty in second and Earlybird in third. Nonetheless, it would be hard to imagine a happier sailor than Hendrik at the awards ceremony. It was the same thing in Class A, where the overall win went to Don Macpher-son's Swan 90 Freya, which in-cluded Volvo Race and America's -
Cup veteran Kimo Worthington (also with North Sails) on board calling tactics, with the Swan 80s Plis Play and Selene in second and third: smiles all around. And who can really blame them? At an event like the Rolex Swan Cup Caribbean, it’s no exaggeration to say everyone is a winner for the simple fact of having been able to get into the mix. s