Blue Pearl Wins 2007 TransAtlantic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup
by Carol BareutherAnders Johnson’s Swan 70, Blue Pearl, earned the overall winner title in the inaugural Transatlantic Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. This event for yachts 70-feet in length and longer, promoted by the International Maxi Association (IMA) and organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda with the support of the Real Club Nautico de Tenerife and the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, saw a field of seven entries.
Johnson, who hails from Stockholm, Sweden, and his almost exclusively Swedish crew – including skipper Klabbe Nylof who has crossed the Atlantic over a dozen times – finished an unassuming fourth over the line on December 8, after 12 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes and 41 seconds at sea.
"It was good for us on board," said Johnson. "Everybody had fun and we are really pleased with the result. We had a few problems with wrecked spinnakers and a lot of sails damaged, but overall it went well. At the end of the race, we had two days with not very much wind at all, which was quite annoying; then the wind came back on the last night and we were logging 18 and even up to 20 knots so that was really good.”