The ClubSwan 80 My Song earned a podium place on her first competitive outing, at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup.
The ClubSwan 80 is the brainchild of Nautor Swan design, Juan-K design and CFD development, and is built by Persico Marine, with Nauta for interior design, Vittorio Volontè as project manager, Pure Engineering (composite structure), Scott Ferguson (rig design), Southern Spars (rig development), North Sails (sail development).
With a crew of novice racers and on its first competitive outing, My Song has risen to conquer. The feat is made all the more impressive by the fact that it was accomplished at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, one of the toughest competitions in the world for large yachts. And then, to prove that it was not a matter of luck, My Songre repeated the feat the following week in a crowded Swan Cup.
“She proved to be a racing machine even in IRC/ORC races,” says Giovanni Pomati. “When My Song glided past bigger boats, the sailing world stood up and took notice. Personally, I would like to see a fleet of at least five ClubSwan 80s racing in the maxis, and I think that is a real possibility in the next few years.”
Juan K commented: “The ClubSwan 80 is a One Design and the concept is to have high performance boats, which are also the lightest, and from this platform you can add a range of interiors and features. Working together as a team we have managed to make performance and comfort co-exist depending on the use of the boat, and this is very exciting,” says Juan K. “My Song was only launched in June, a carbon fibre dream with a sloping keel and a forward rotating canard.”
Mario Pedol of the Nauta design studio added: “Despite having little experience with the yacht, they took a first and a third place on different days of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. We couldn’t be happier!”
Enthusiastic about My Song’s owner, experienced yachtsman and industrialist Pier Luigi Loro Piana, “this boat has been a three-year labour of love. There was not a day that I did not intervene directly in the project. Just getting on board this beautiful yacht now is a delight, but getting two podiums in our first regattas shows that there is exceptional potential here,” he commented.
The best of both worlds
At the start of the project, several months were spent evaluating different options for the boat’s hull and appendages. Foils and fixed keels were quickly discarded in favour of the canting keel and rotating canard, as they offered the best balance between performance and usability.
Once the optimum configuration was agreed upon, the Nauta team set about designing an interior that would meet the requirements of comfortable cruising without sacrificing speed on the race course. They left nothing to chance, carefully evaluating the effect on performance of each decision, and the result is astonishing.
(ClubSwan 80 My Song, the first test is already a success – barchemagazine.com – October 2022)
