Thursday 4 March 2010

The St Maarten Heineken Regatta Kick Starts the 2010 Swan Caribbean Challenge



by Carolyn Lashmar

Nautor’s Swan, builder of luxury sailing yachts, is not only known for the exemplary design and manufacture of its products but also for its established community of Swan owners. It is through this dedication to providing owners with a unique experience of owning yachts that the Swan Challenge Series have been created.

The Swan Caribbean Challenge will be the first Swan Challenge event of the year, starting with the St Maarten Heineken Regatta, 4 – 7 March 2010.

The 2010 series will begin with the Heineken St. Maarten Regatta which will form the first element of the Swan Caribbean Challenge. The Caribbean Challenge will, this year, be awarded for performance over a combination of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the International Rolex Regatta, the BVI Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week.

The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta will see ten stylish and highly competitive international Swan yachts flock to the start line this year. These will include a huge variety of Swans, ranging from Swan 48, Avocation, owned by Karl Breyer, up to Swan 100, Varsovie, owned by Irena Virta. Also competing will be the Italian yacht, White Lie, a Swan 90, who will be serious contenders for a medal at this regatta.

The Swan Caribbean Challenge series is open to all Swan owners and annually features the most prestigious regattas in competitive sailing in the Caribbean. The best performing Swan within the Caribbean Challenge will be awarded the magnificent Silver Asprey Trophy at Antigua Sailing Week’s prize giving, the final event of the series.

The Swan Challenge Series

Incorporating a range of prestigious regattas across an international racing circuit, the Swan Challenge series covers seven regional categories, with the highest ranking Swan in each of the assigned events being awarded one of the prestigious Silver Asprey Swan Challenge trophies.

2010 Challenge Series events:
Heineken Regatta Caribbean Challenge (1) 4 – 7 March
International Rolex Regatta Caribbean Challenge (2) 26 – 28 March
BVI Regatta Caribbean Challenge (3) 29 March – 4 April
Antigua Sailing Week Caribbean Challenge (4) 24 – 30 April
North Sea Regatta North European Challenge (1)
RORC North Sea Race 14 May
North Sea Regatta (inshore races only) 21 -24 May
Newport – Bermuda Race East American Challenge 18 June
Cowes – Dianrd – St. Marlo Race North European Challenge (2) 2 July
Cowes Week North European Challenge (3) 31 Jul – 7 August
Baltic Sea Challenge Baltic Challenge 15 – 18 September
Les Voiles de St. Tropez Mediterranean Challenge 26 Sept – 3 October
ARC Race Transatlantic Challenge 21 November

Swan Maxi Class
Swan 45 Class
Club Swan 42 Class

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