★ Rolex Swan Cup

01Why it matters

No other regatta gathers Nautor Swan's full range in one place, and because the class runs every genuration of the yard's design history side by side, the week functions as an informal museum of performance-cruiser design as much as a competition. Its biennial rhythm — alternating years with the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup's annual date at the same club — keeps entries concentrated rather than splitting the Swan fleet's attention every year, which is part of why the event has held its scale since 1980.

02The week around it

Mid-September on the Costa Smeralda is already busy by the time the Swan Cup opens, since the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup finishes at the same club the weekend before; in even years a portion of the marine trade, media and support crews simply stay on for a second week, and Porto Cervo's small hotel and restaurant stock runs continuously full through both events. The resort is in its last full fortnight before many properties close for the season in early October.

03When to arrive

Arrive the Sunday racing begins if following the fleet from the Maxi Cup the week before; for a visitor coming only for the Swan Cup, Tuesday or Wednesday covers the core racing days and the mid-week rest day, with the final races and prizegiving on the Saturday.

04Where to stay

The same trade-offs apply as for the club's other September regattas: Porto Cervo village for proximity to the marina and clubhouse, Cala di Volpe and Romazzino a short drive away, and Baja Sardinia, Cannigione and Palau for lower cost and a twenty-to-thirty-minute commute. Book earlier than usual, since the back-to-back Maxi Cup and Swan Cup fortnight is the busiest stretch of the Costa Smeralda's September.

05Access and hospitality

Entry is restricted to Nautor Swan yachts registered through the class associations and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's Notice of Race. There is no admission charge to the marina, the village or the coast, and no public ticket, since the club's facilities and the prizegiving are for members, competitors and their guests only.

06Where the social activity happens

As with the club's other regattas, the Molo Vecchio quay and the Piazzetta above it carry the week's public life — crews and owners moving between the fleet and the village, and the cafés and restaurants taking the evening trade. The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda building is not open to the public, though the quay in front of it is.

07Getting there

08Practicalities

09History

The regatta was established in 1980 by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in partnership with Nautor Swan, the yard founded by Pekka Koskenkylä in 1966, with Rolex as title sponsor from early on. It has run on a two-year cycle ever since, sharing its venue and much of its organizing structure with the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which the same club runs annually and which immediately precedes the Swan Cup in the years the two coincide.

10Who is there

Nautor Swan owners across the yard's full production history, many racing their own boats; Swan owners' association members; Nautor Swan's own executives and design staff; professional racing crew hired for the week; and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda's membership.