The Swan European Regatta concluded yesterday with Filip Balcaen’s Swan 56 Aqua Equinox taking overall European title and winner of Class A, having achieved podium position in four out of the five days of this regatta.

This impressive Belgian Swan took the 55-strong fleet by storm, fighting off the constantly competitive Swan 45s and the experienced Swan 60 Island Fling. Balcaen had a mixed crew with three professionals, including Nautor Challenge Watch Captain, Boewe Bekking, and the remainder amateur. Balcaen was obviously delighted with his result: “I am thrilled with our win and very happy for my crew. I think we won because of our consistency and because we didn’t make too many mistakes throughout the whole week. You can always improve on the small things, but it is the tactical decisions that matter and that’s what we got right.”

After racing was abandoned on Wednesday due to extremely light winds, the Race Committee was keen to complete two races yesterday to ensure the discard came into play. The Swan 45s, Island Fling and Aqua Equinox dominated Class A yet again. The strong tides played a major tactical role, forcing the fleet to split as the Swan 45s took the better wind and the bigger boats took the weaker tide in the first race.

It was Glynn Williams’ Swan 45 WISC that eventually won making a valiant attempt to catch Aqua Equinox on the leaderboard. The second race was delayed as the Race Committee waited for the breeze to fill in. Eventually the start gun was fired for a new course taking both fleets west on a 10 nm course for Class A and a 8.75 nm course for Class B.

Aqua Equinox visibly relaxed and ended the race in sixth position, allowing Island Fling and WISC their last stab at glory. It was WISC that crossed the line first securing their position as second overall in the regatta and in Class A.

The fight for winner of Class B was undertaken to the bitter death, with the three favourites, Stephen James’ Swan 48 Jacobite, Libby Deegan’s Swan 441 Menenes and Alain Foulquier’s Swan 441 Saga battling it out from the moment the start gun was fired. After the eventual tussle between Jacobite and Menenes, in both races, it was Libby Deegan’s Swan 441, that claimed the Class B title, beating her second position in 2001: “I am so glad we beat Jacobite! The Solent is hard when you are trying to win short races, but we managed to just pip them to the post. I definitely think our local knowledge has been useful, and having Jo Richards [GBR Challenge Design Team] onboard really helped us with any tactical decisions.”

Overall Results

1 Aqua Equinox, Filip Balcaen Swan 56 BEL

2 WISC, Glynn Williams Swan 45 GBR

3 Amnesia, Graham de Zille Swan 45 GBR

4 Crackerjack, Keith Miller Swan 45 GBR

5 Cuordileone, Leonardo Ferragamo Swan 45 ITA

Class A Overall Results

1 Aqua Equinox, Filip Balcaen Swan 56 BEL

2 WISC, Glynn Williams Swan 45 GBR

3 Amnesia, Graham de Zille Swan 45 GBR

4 Crackerjack, Keith Miller Swan 45 GBR

5 Cuordileone, Leonardo Ferragamo Swan 45 ITA

Class B Overall Results

1 Menenes, Libby & Graham Deegan Swan 441 GBR

2 Jacobite, Stephen James Swan 48 GBR

3 Xaossa, Jean-Michel Carpentier Swan 42 FRA

4 Saga, Alain Foulquier Swan 44 FRA

5 Flying Neleb, Frederico Garcia-German Swan 39 ESP