Superb sailing in Mistral wind at The Nations Trophy

As forecast, a strong Mistral wind, which increased from an initial 16-20 knots to around 25 knots, with gusts of up to 30, set the scene for the third day of The Nations Trophy - Swan One Design. The Race Committee set a coastal course which, after a windward offset mark, took the competitors to round the distinctive lighthouse on Monaci island, before heading for the islets of Mortorio and Soffi, where there was more shelter from the Mistral. Having rounded Soffi, they sailed up to the Gulf of Pevero to cross the finish line off Porto Cervo, for a total of around 25 miles. Only the ClubSwan 42 class had a slightly shorter course which brought them back to Porto Cervo after rounding the island of Mortoriotto, covering a total of about 21 miles.

Today's conditions were certainly challenging, but also fantastic fun for the well-practised owners and crews who take part in the regattas on the ClubSwan circuit. There was a great show on the water, with the ClubSwan 50s planing at over 20 knots on the broad reach towards Mortorio, and the ClubSwan 36s hitting unexpected speeds on the reach to the island of Monaci.

After an initial domination by Haakon Lorentzen's Brazilian hull Mamao, with Ross Macdonald on tactics, the ClubSwan 36 class saw the Pavesio brothers' Fra Martina take the lead after rounding Monaci. G Spot got very close, but was only able to overtake when Fra Martina's jib halyard failed a few hundred metres from the finish. The top three of the day were therefore, in order: G Spot, Fra Martina and Cuordileone.

In terms of the general classification with just one more day to go, the ranking sees Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G Spot clearly out in front, with a 6-point lead over Fra Martina in second place. Edoardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone sits in third.

Among the ClubSwan 42s, Spanish boat Nadir, owned by Pedro Vaquer Comas, reigning world champion and current leader in the class circuit, took the lead right from the start, increasing her delta as the miles went by. Second place for Alberto Fusco's Koiré - Spirit of Nerina, who made an excellent comeback thanks to Flavio Favini's tactical calls. Third place for Mela. 

Rayco Tabares, tactician on Nadir: "Sailing with the Mistral in Porto Cervo is of course a wonderful experience, especially in coastal races. We are obviously very happy with our performance, the strategy we had set for ourselves worked and we managed to hold our position, which is no mean feat given the high level of the fleet. We were leading at the first mark and during the race we had several situations where the fleet compressed, at other times we stretched away. We sailed well with perfect manoeuvres, I think that was what allowed us to win."

Nadir leads the provisional general classification on 11 points, followed by Mela with 14 and Koiré - Spirit of Nerina on 15 points.

Of the 13 competitors in the ClubSwan 50 class, it was the turn of Graeme Peterson's Moonlight, with Andy Horton as tactician, to shine. Leading from the early stages of the race, Moonlight was able to control the advances of the other competitors, in particular Andrea Lacorte's Vitamina, whose tactician Nic Asher fought a close match race with Moonlight right to the finish. Vitamina rounded the windward mark in fourth place but managed to climb back up to second, thanks in part to navigator Francesco Mongelli's knowledge of the course. Third place today for Hatari, whose consistently solid results leave her firmly in the lead of the provisional overall ranking with 9 points. She is followed in second place by Vitamina on 18 points, while Andrea Masi's Ulika is in third place with 20 points.

Andy Horton, tactician on Moonlight: "It was fantastic, the coastal racing in Porto Cervo and sailing in the archipelago is a unique experience. It was the first win on this circuit for Graeme, our owner, so it will remain memorable for him and for us to have won such an epic and visually stunning race in this iconic location for Swans. When I joined the team, Graeme told me of the fond memories he has of being here years ago with his Swan."

Tomorrow, the final day of the event, racing will continue with the first signal brought forward by one hour to 11 a.m. Winds between 8 and 11 knots from the northern quadrants are forecast.