BEST OF BOTH WORLDS?

THE SWAN 58 HAS AN AMBITIOUS DESIGN REMIT OF BEING A FAST, LUXURY BLUEWATER CRUISER THAT CAN ALSO BE HANDLED BY A COUPLE. DOES IT SUCCEED?

- RUPERT HOLMES

No other yard has been as consistently successful in producing iconic models as Nautor – historically Swans are invariably the very best yachts of their era and subsequently become design classics. But after more than 50 years can the company still weave its magic as effectively as ever?

Nautor is billing the Swan 58 as a ‘new bluewater concept’. The idea is that the priorities of safety, comfort and autonomy don’t compromise performance, or the pleasure of helming the boat. This model is also pitched as a proper bluewater cruiser that a couple can reasonably sail and look after themselves, without a professional skipper. But is all that really possible? We sailed the 58 in Barcelona to try to find out.

On my first trial, in only 6-7 knots of true wind, we made 6.5-7.5 knots sailing upwind, matching speed with a 55ft performance cruising catamaran while sailing noticeably higher, and romping away from another 60ft monohull. The ability to maintain speed in light airs adds greatly to the general enjoyment of life afloat, especially in the many popular parts of the world – including the UK in summer – where average wind speeds are well below 10 knots.

The helm has a lovely, precise and responsive feel that belies the boat’s hefty 25 tonne displacement and its brisk, yet effortless, pace. We had a solid Force 4-5 for my next sail, so popped the first reef in the main and kept three to four rolls of the headsail around the foil, more for comfort and ease of sail trimming than necessity.