Josian wins the Overall classification and that of the Toremar class, Vanessa is the first of the Moby class
Elba three days of regattas, nothing short of “elegant”, at the Sailing Club Marciana Marina where the 9th S & amp; S Swan Rendez-vous, the event that takes place every two years and which is reserved for the legendary Finnish sea “swans” designed by the American studio Sparkman & amp; Stephens. For the fifth time (2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015) a fleet of these very elegant boats met on the Elban regatta course to give life to a series of races that can be defined as “friendly, that is, where competitiveness is not limited. ‘extreme and the crews are often made up of entire families (from grandparents to the youngest grandchildren) and who therefore must also follow special rules to keep the challenges at sea not particularly exasperated (it is forbidden to “lighten” the boats by removing parts of the interior furnishings , cushions or various equipment).
“It was certainly the most successful – commented Matteo Salamon, founder of the S & amp; S Swan Association (which on this occasion celebrates its twentieth anniversary) – never organized. Thanks to the invaluable support of the CVMM and Nautor’s Swan we were able to group 22 S & amp; S Swans from half of Europe: for the first time in history all moored together without any interruption along the quay of the club! “).
The fleet consisting of crews from Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland has been divided into two classes: Toremar up to 44 feet and Moby over 44 feet in length. Nicola Sironi, Chief Measurer ORC, took care of the measurement checks.
The atmosphere of a large family, that of the members of the S & amp; S Swan Association, has been breathed on the main quay of the CVMM since the opening day of the event: in compliance with the health regulations, and the protocols established by the Italian Sailing Federation, the day dedicated to the completion of the registrations had its highlight in the late afternoon on the quay when all the owners received a very elegant personalized Sease vest as a gift and delivered by Vanni Galgani representing Nautor’s Swan who declared: “For Nautor the Swan Sparkman & amp ; Stephens are not museum objects, to be kept for future reference, but they represent the inspiration, the reference point for the development of each new model. There is no recent Swan Yachts project that does not have a direct link with its specific Heritage, of which the S & amp; S represent the deepest root. ”
All then concluded the day with a toast at the beginning of the event giving rise to a sort of real “party-non party” in compliance with the rules on social distancing since each team remained on board their respective boat.
Then three days of competitions on the regatta course between Marciana Marina and the Scoglietto di Portoferraio with light winds from the north quadrants (north-east wind then turned to mistral which in the case of the starting day and the closing day forced the Race Committee , chaired by the Rosignano judge Andrea Bimbi, to reduce the distance by a few miles). Nevertheless, the fun was not lacking and all the competitors were satisfied and as always in these cases there was never any protest or contestation from a sporting point of view.
In the end, three general rankings were drawn up: the Overall one which included both classes and those relating to the individual Toremar and Moby classes.
The victory in the Overall classification was the prerogative of the smallest of the Josian fleet, Swan 36 of the Florentine shipowner Eugenio Alphandery who also won the first place in the minor class thanks to two victories in the heats. Second place Overall for Vanessa, Swan 47 of Milanese Matteo Salamon as always skilfully helmed by his wife Giulia who with the partial results 1-2-1 won the victory in the Moby class.
In third place, always in the Overall standings, concluded Mascalzone Latino XXXIII, Swan 38 by Vincenzo Onorato.
The 9th S & amp; S Rendez-vous concluded with the award ceremony in Piazza Bonanno, a toast with Elban wines and mixed fried fish for everyone, where in addition to the institutional prizes the best classified were awarded several special awards.
The first of the Overall ranking, Josian, won the prestigious Rod & amp; Olin Stephens Royal Thames Yacht Club Trophy and also the Club Swan Award offered by Nautor’s Swan; Vanessa, first in the Moby class, was awarded the Zeppelin Trophy Most Elegant reserved for the most beautiful and elegant “swan S & amp; S” and offered by Jonathan Todhunter; Un amour de Swan, Swan 44 of the Roman shipowner Giandomenico Iannetti received the award for Best aintained Swan ,. The judge for the awarding of both these awards this year was the well-known sailor Lorenzo Loick.
During the awards ceremony, the prizes offered by the sponsors were also drawn: a Carboway carbon gangway, 2 Garmin Inreach satellite communicators, Ronstan Sailing equipment, 1 Blakes & amp; Taylors Black Seacock. Rigoni di Asiago delivered its products to each participating team in a recycled sail fabric bag customized with the S & amp; S Swan Association logo as well as Siit Pharmaceutical supplied all sailors with its MGK VIS and Acqua dell’Elba ha supplements. delivered to each team a set of its perfumed products.
The program of collateral events is also rich since in conjunction with the 9th S & amp; S Swan Rendez-vous the CVMM has promoted the Villaggio della Vela collaboration with the Pro Loco Marciana Marina , with the support of the Municipality of Marciana Marina and Elba Diving and the sponsor Mecoil, an event in homage to sport and the culture of the sea. During the days of the sailing event it was possible to get closer to water sports with free sailing and diving lessons, to attend the talks about the world of sailing with the specialized journalist Giacomo Giulietti at the Il Tempo café and also on the stage in Piazza della Vittoria where the well-known journalist interviewed Matteo Salamon, Giulio Bergamaschi, passionate and young owner of the Hypatia boats (Swan 47, the most recent acquisition of the S & amp; S Swan Association), Franco “Ciccio” Manzoli, a well-known Italian solitary navigator and Guido Cavalazzi sailmaker known to international level for having designed the sails of the America’s Cup boats from Azzurra to Luna Rossa (for the record embarked on Hypatia). Guest of the evenings at Caffè Il Tempo with Giulietti was also the Carrara sailing champion Tommaso Chieffi who met the boys of the CVMM Agonistic Team for a technical internship on the morning of the bye-bye day.
The appointment is now set for 2023 when, again at the CVMM, the 10th S & amp; S Swan Rendez-vous will be scheduled.
“We are very proud to be back in full operation after this last year and a half of health emergency – declared Enzo Daniellli president of the marine association – the occasion was more than propitious in welcoming the prestigious S & amp; S Swan fleet back to our pontoons. Given the excellent success of the event, we are all waiting in two years for the 10th edition ”.
The event took place under the patronage of the Municipality of MM and thanks to the support of Acqua dell’Elba, Blakes & Taylors, Carboway, Moby / Toremar, Garmin, Nautor’s Swan, Rigoni di Asiago, Ronstan / Andersen, Sease, Siit Pharmaceuticals / MGK VIS , James Robinson Taylor (official photographer).