Two European Championship titles decided at ClubSwan Racing regattas

ClubSwan Racing was able to celebrate two new European champions this weekend after a pair of enthralling regattas at two remarkable Mediterranean venues.

With the overall outcome in the balance until the final day of racing at both championships, August Schram's Stella Maris (AUT) edged the ClubSwan 50 class while Lorenzo Mondo's Farstar (ITA) was declared the ClubSwan 36 European Champion by the same three-point margin.

The ClubSwan 50s — hosted by the Club Maritimo de Mahon at a brand-new venue for ClubSwan Racing on the east coast of the island of Menorca — provided a typically competitive series that saw six different winners from the seven races held.

With varied wind conditions, including a day with a sea breeze of 18 knots, Stella Maris was able to hold on to their overnight lead heading into the final day. However, it was whittled away by the hard-charging German duo of Marcus Brennecke's Hatari, who finished second in part thanks to two race wins, and Hendrik Brandis' Earlybird who took the final place on the podium, their combined result making Germany the Best Placed Nation at the event. Hatari remains top of the 2023 Nations League table.

A delighted August Schram said: "It's a super feeling to have won the European title — the island is great and we have had a beautiful experience.

"The first race today we made a good start but chose the wrong side so we knew it was not going to be an easy win so we had to work hard. We were a bit nervous when we saw how Hatari and Earlybird, our closest competition, were doing, but we were able to finish quite close behind them which was a relief."

And he added: "At the start we decided to build our own crew and I am incredibly proud of them. Many of these guys, like me, had not been on a big boat like this until they stepped on to it, so we were learning together and it has been a great experience to grow together."

Ashore in Mahon the ClubSwan 50 teams had enjoyed a crew party, daily prize-givings thanks to B&G, Quantum Sails, CMM and Gottifredi Maffioli, and a memorable Owners' Dinner on Lazareto island, made available thanks to the support of Consell Insular de Menorca.

Meanwhile in Sardinia, the ClubSwan 36s, in their own competitive fleet, were racing next to the extraordinary Tavolara Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area on the pristine northeast coast and hosted by the state-of-the-art Marina di Puntaldia.

In only their first season of ClubSwan Racing Eduardo de Souza Ramos' Onda (BRA) had gone into the deciding final day at the top of the leaderboard after posting two race wins and two other podium finishes earlier in the regatta, only to be overhauled by Farstar (ITA) with a 1-2-3 scoreline in the last three races. Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G Spot (MON) claimed third just a point ahead of Edoardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone (ITA). G Spot's result sees her top of the ClubSwan 36 Nations League leaderboard.

"This means a lot to us — it is the first European Championship for Lorenzo and the crew have been working hard for this," said Farstar's tactician Alvaro Marinho. "All the seasons have been great but this week has been even better, so thanks to the boys and thanks to Lorenzo for running this programme. We are very happy. We have been trying to win an event for a long time so winning here in a week that was so challenging, for me as tactician, it means a lot. We had a bit of luck at times, but the spirit of the team was what was important. This is one of the best race boats in the world and we just found the right combination this week and we won — a beautiful feeling."

"Thanks to ClubSwan Racing and the owners and crews who have shared their adventures with us — we hope to see you again very soon," said Marie-Hélène Polo, CEO of Marina di Puntaldia Srl, organisers of the event in collaboration with Comune di San Teodoro - Consorzio Puntaldia and the Yacht Club Olbia.

Daily prizes in Puntaldia were awarded by Garmin, Gottifredi Maffioli and Quantum, with the Owners' Dinner held at the Due Lune Hotel and a crew party held at Marie-Hélène Polo's villa where the teams enjoyed cocktails by Tassoni.

At the conclusion of the dual championship events Federico Michetti, Head of Sports Activities at ClubSwan Racing said: "Having been in two venues at the same time and having seen two European titles awarded, it represented such an achievement and made me proud of the whole ClubSwan Racing team. We did a very good job, and seeing owners and sailors recognizing this represents for us a great incentive to raise the bar.”

Each of the European Champions received a special perpetual trophy created in collaboration with students at IED Milano Jewellery Design. The young and talented designers, Noor Kerdi and Louis Kutyla, said: "We want to thank you for the opportunity to design the trophy for this amazing event. We designed a trophy that we hope embodies and reflects the elegant spirit of Nautor Swan and ClubSwan Racing, and the principles of friendly and fair competition, passion and camaraderie."