Six pontoons filled with Swans from different eras and 170 yachts gathered in one place. On its opening day, the Rolex Swan Cup 2026 turned Porto Cervo into a tangible representation of Nautor Swan’s six-decade history. Not through models displayed ashore, but through yachts that are still sailing and, in many cases, competing on the same racecourse.
This is one of the most interesting aspects of the 23rd edition, organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in collaboration with Nautor Swan and with Rolex as Title Sponsor. Entries reached the maximum number allowed by the organisers, setting a new record for the event. Around 1,800 sailors are taking part.
The opening day, 16 September, was characterised by light winds. Nevertheless, the Race Committee was able to start a short coastal race from the Gulf of Arzachena. The fleet sailed upwind through the Passo delle Bisce towards the Isola dei Monaci, while the course for the three Swan Maxi classes was extended to 9.6 nautical miles. Yet, even before looking at the racing, the yachts gathered along the pontoons tell a much broader story.
From Tarantella to the latest Swans: six decades on the same pontoon
At the beginning of this story stands Tarantella, the first Swan ever built. A Swan 36, she was the model that marked the beginning of the Finnish shipyard founded by Pekka Koskenkylä in 1966. The project belongs to the origins of the brand’s racer-cruiser philosophy: a yacht designed to combine sailing performance with the ability to cruise comfortably.
Sixty years later, Tarantella is in Porto Cervo alongside today’s Swans. Her presence makes it possible to compare the origins of the brand with yachts developed through materials, technologies and approaches to sailing that have changed profoundly over the decades.
At the other end of the timeline are the latest projects, including the new Swan 80. Her exterior lines are by Lucio Micheletti and reveal a very different approach from that of the historic generations. The profile is low and streamlined, with continuous surfaces and a superstructure designed to follow the yacht’s lines in a fluid way.
Bringing these yachts together makes it possible to see how profoundly sailing yacht design has changed, while maintaining the relationship between performance and cruising that has accompanied Swan since its beginnings.
Vahine: when design is measured over time
Between the first Swan and the contemporary generations are yachts that reveal another aspect of nautical design: the ability to continue sailing decades after their launch. One example is Vahine, Swan 65 hull number 002, launched in 1973. The classic 65-foot ketch represents an important generation in the shipyard’s history and, according to information gathered in Porto Cervo, has covered around one million nautical miles over forty years.
That figure takes the discussion beyond aesthetics. On a yacht designed to sail, the quality of the project is tested over time through use, maintenance, upgrades and the ability to continue facing the sea. In Porto Cervo, the presence of yachts belonging to such distant generations makes this dimension particularly clear.
A fleet that tells the story of Swan’s evolution
The Rolex Swan Cup therefore brings together yachts conceived for different purposes within the same setting. Alongside Swans designed by Sparkman & Stephens are the Classics by Frers, cruising yachts, Maxis and the more recent ClubSwan classes.
Hull shapes, appendages, deck proportions and materials have changed. So too has the way spaces are organised on board. What was already an advanced balance between racing yacht and cruising yacht in the 1960s has gradually developed into increasingly specialised families.
The composition of the fleet itself makes this evolution visible. Swan Legacy, Maxi, Pure Cruising and ClubSwan One Design yachts coexist at the Rolex Swan Cup, bringing together boats from different eras and designed around different ways of experiencing sailing.
During the opening day, characterised by light winds, more than one hundred Swans sailed together through the Passo delle Bisce during the coastal race. It was a particularly representative scene for this edition: hulls, proportions and design solutions belonging to different generations were sailing through the same stretch of water.
Six decades of Swan gathered in Porto Cervo
The Rolex Swan Cup therefore also provides an opportunity to see how sailing yacht design has evolved. From the Swan 36 Tarantella to contemporary models, six decades of development can be traced through hull shapes, deck layouts, materials and the organisation of spaces on board.
Alongside the racing, the event also maintains a strong connection with sailing culture. In Piazza Azzurra, Paul Cayard, an honorary member of the YCCS, Rolex Testimonee and Nautor Swan ambassador, met the public and spoke about his relationship with the Star and the role the class has played throughout his sailing career.
The Rolex Swan Cup continues until 19 September, but the record presence of 170 yachts has already created a distinctive snapshot of the shipyard’s history. In Porto Cervo, yachts separated by decades of design development now sit side by side, offering a direct view of how the way a Swan is designed, built and experienced has changed over sixty years.
