Yesterday a handful of select guests got the first look at the ClubSwan 80 My Song. She’s a sailing superyacht for commanding racecourses. In fact, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia in September will be her first race.
“The ClubSwan 80 design answers a specific brief: a fast maxi optimized to race in the Mediterranean as well as offering an accommodation to enjoy life at sea and fun short-handed sailing,” explains Mario Pedol of Nauta Design. The studio handled interiors, or what he terms “the ‘second life’ of this racing machine,” meaning her leisure hours with the owners and friends. Exposed carbon fiber, thin mahogany paneling for weight savings, and lighting design with LEDs primarily concealed within the removable furnishings set the scene. Except for the saloon benchseats, the crew can remove every interior component for racing, including the oven.
That dual personality is important to Nautor’s Swan, which conceived the project as an alternative to ultra-high-tech racing yachts. Those types of projects are thrilling, but appeal to a small portion of sailors. The ClubSwan 80 therefore intends to broaden reach.
Of course, since performance is paramount, she has proven technology. For instance, she borrows her hull form and sail plan from the smaller ClubSwan 36. She further borrows that model’s approach to twin rudders. Her canting keel, meanwhile, provides lightness and power, simultaneously being Med-friendly for docking. (The keel is 15’5”, or 4.75 meters.) Yet another racing element is the retractable bowsprit, for safety upwind. It extends for holding a spinnaker, though, downwind. Additionally, the My Song sailing team selected a rotating canard to benefit upwind performance in light air. This further should aid tacking in strategic situations during racing.
Still on the subject of racing, the ClubSwan 80 construction, at Persico Marine, is the same as that of the carbon fiber “arm” on the current America’s Cup yachts. Also notable, the shipyard employs robotic carbon lamination, the same as that in the aerospace industry.
“The market is always asking for something different, out of the box, and our ClubSwan Yachts range can offer a fresh, bold, and innovative solution,” says Giovanni Pomati, CEO of Nautor Group. “The CS80 is a pure racer but is also an incredible yacht for fast sailing, shorthanded sailing, and comfortable sports cruising.”
Besides out on the racecourse, look for My Song at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Nauta Design nautadesign.com
Nautor’s Swan nautorswan.com
Persico Marine persicomarine.com
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