A Swan 36 from the famous Nautor yard in Pietarsaari, Finland was the type of boat that Del Fairley had set his heart on, but the one he found in 2018 on the hard at East Down Yacht Club on the east coast of Strangford Lough was in a very sorry state. 

Undeterred by the deteriorated condition of the boat Del and his wife Gill set about what proved to be a four-year-long restoration project for the Swan, which had, by then, been given back her original name, Lofna. Lofna seems to be seen an alternative spelling of the Norse name Lofn which means ‘praise’.

Lofna's aft deck pre-restoration

So after Lofna’s relaunch in October 2018, she was towed to the pontoon at Down Sailing Club at Ballydorn near Whiterock on Strangford Lough, and Del and Gill spent the winter of 2018/19 making her waterproof while they stripped and cleaned the inside. The next Spring, they trailed her to the nearby Cadoo Boatyard. By that Autumn, Lofna was taken on a new trailer to Bryan Willis's workshop in Larne.

Then began the mammoth task of making Lofna look like new. And for anyone considering taking on a similar job, this is what was involved. The topsides and coachroof were stripped completely and six coats of epoxy resin applied to replace the gelcoat. Hundreds of hours of fairing and surface preparation followed, and then she was resprayed using epoxy primer and topcoat. The coachroof was also resprayed with non-skid paint. Below the waterline, all the through-hulls and seacocks were replaced with modern composite fittings.

The hull had previously had osmosis treatment, so after stripping the old antifouling, this was faired, painted with epoxy primer then treated with an environmentally responsible antifouling. The entire deck-hull joint was resealed with flexible epoxy resin externally and additional laminated fibreglass internally, while the chainplates were remade by Gary Ghio from Cushendall.

The teak deck was in good condition and only required sanding - except the cockpit, where a significant amount of work was needed to replace and recaulk the teak, build custom fibreglass draining hatch frames and remake the locker hatches. The steering pedestal was completely rebuilt with help from Owens Engineering in Waringstown, and an inboard linear drive autohelm was installed under the cockpit. This was particularly satisfying for Del and Gill as they had been told: "that won't fit in a Swan 36". The deck gear was mostly reused, including six self-tailing winches fitted by a previous owner.

Lofna in the  workshop. The topsides and coachroof were stripped completely and six coats of epoxy resin were applied to replace the gelcoat

After all that work, there were two big jobs left to tackle – installing a replacement engine, which at first appeared it wouldn’t fit a Swan 36, but with custom mounts and a remote oil filter it did. The other task was replacing the teak cockpit coaming, which turned out to be rotten inside. This complex job was done by shipwright Daniel Dorman at Whiterock on Strangford Lough, who satisfyingly was able to use reclaimed teak floorboards from the closed-down Belvoir Park Hospital in Belfast.

Lofna's new deck

With help from many willing friends, the 16-metre mast was transported from Whiterock, while Lofna herself was moved from Larne. They were finally reunited in Carrickfergus, where the standing rigging was replaced and the mast restepped.

Del and Gill were delighted to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lofna's refurbished interior

And so by early August this year, after four years of work, some 3,000 hours of labour and more than ten years on the hard, Lofna was ready to relaunch.

Lofna sailing on Belfast Lough

She completed a 220-mile shake-down cruise to the Clyde in September and is now berthed in Bangor Marina, where work on her interior fit-out, electrics and plumbing are continuing to be ready for the 2023 season. By then, Lofna will be approaching 55 years old.

Lofna in Campbelltown

Irish crew are on the start line this week for the largest fleet of ClubSwan 36s gathered in the historic Croatian port of Split for a highly competitive event to decide the class's first European Champion.

No fewer than 12 of the state-of-the-art one-design racing machines will contest the ClubSwan 36 Europeans over four intense days beginning on Wednesday, 5 October.

Richard Thompson's Guernsey entry Black Seal has several Irish crew onboard. The Thompson crew includes National Yacht Club bowman Will Byrne, North Sails sailmaker Nigel Young from Royal Cork and Kinsale ex-pat Jeremy Elliott in the role of Watch Captain. 

The championship is based at the ACI Marina in Split, with ACI – the Adriatic Croatia International Club – a sponsor of the event working alongside ClubSwan Racing and one of the Mediterranean's largest marina chains.

No fewer than 12 of the state-of-the-art one-design racing machines will contest the ClubSwan 36 Europeans Photo: Studio Borlenghi

"We are thrilled to be heading into our first ever European Championship event; it confirms that the class has struck a chord with owners and found its place in the sailing world," said Federico Michetti, Head of Swan One Design Sports Activities.

"There's going to be super-tight competition out on the water and great camaraderie ashore – it is going to be a spectacular regatta. We are hugely appreciative of ACI's support and collaboration in developing the class and putting on this event,” he added.

With no result discards available in any of the ten scheduled races, consistency, faultless crew work and smart tactical decision-making will be the key to success in what is sure to be a closely contested championship with eight nations represented.

As the 2022 season's five Nations League regattas have demonstrated – with the opening trio producing three different winners – several teams have shown the skills and determination to be European Champion.

Among those going into the regatta as leading contenders are Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G Spot and Lorenzo Mondo's Farstar.

The Irish crew line up on Swan 36 Black Seal

G Spot won the ClubSwan 36 class at the season's opening event, the Swan Tuscany Challenge back in April, and then doubled down on the feat with victory at the two most recent regattas – Copa del Rey and last month's season finale, the Rolex Swan Cup. The team also took Monaco to third place in the Nations League when the season-long competition concluded in Porto Cervo.

Farstar, meanwhile has finished runner-up in all three of the regattas she has taken part in this year, only losing the first one – the Swan One Design Worlds in July – on countback, and is certain to want to go one better in Split.

Other likely title contenders include Black Seal, with Richard Thompson's team posting the biggest regatta winning margin of the season at the Swan Sardinia Challenge, Edoardo Ferragamo's Cuordileone, and Mehmet Taki's Facing Future, both regularly featuring on or near the podium.

Indeed Taki is looking forward to the challenge: “It has been a fun and competitive season so far, and the European championship will be a great way to end it. We are proud to represent Turkey at this event.

“We have taken some race wins and have twice been on the class podium, so we are here to do well. We trained in Split last winter so that local knowledge may come in useful, and the facilities here are fantastic, as is the sailing.”

Also out to make an impact are a trio making their first appearance this season – Go Racing and Lucky flying the Croatian flag, and Tacit Consent racing for Finland.

Though something of an unknown quantity to most of the fleet, both Lucky and Tacit Consent, along with Bracing Breeze and Facing Future, took part in the 2021 ClubSwan 36 ACI Cup which was held down the Croatian coast in Rovinj and was something of a forerunner for the new European challenge.

“The ACI Cup was a big milestone for us,” said Ivan Kljaković Gašpić, project manager for ACI Sail which also runs the ClubSwan 36 Training Centre in Split.

“I'm extremely impressed by the quality, the number, and the standard of the competition at the ClubSwan 36 Europeans. We have reached a level we have never seen before in Split.

“One of our main goals at ACI is to establish Croatia as a superb sailing destination and a regular stop for the ClubSwan Racing circuit. The upcoming ClubSwan 36 Europeans will certainly shape the future of sailing on the Adriatic,” added Gašpić, an Olympic Finn sailor.

ACI Sail was created to provide a world-class sailing experience for sailors from all backgrounds. In collaboration with Nautor Swan the unique ACI Sail ClubSwan 36 Training Centre was set up to deliver on that vision.

In addition to the excellent facilities at the ACI Marina and the prospect of superb sailing conditions, the social side ashore has not been neglected with an Opening Cocktail Party, Crew Dinner Party and Sailors' Party all scheduled for after racing.

The ClubSwan 36 Europeans get underway on Monday, 3 October with registration and measurement, with a practice race on Tuesday. Racing runs from Wednesday to Sunday, 8 October, followed by the celebratory prize-giving.

The Irish crew that put Guernsey's entry Black Seal on the Club Swan 36 podium in Sardinia in June have regrouped in Valencia ahead of this week's Swan World Championships.

As Afloat reported earlier, on board Richard Thompson's Black Seal for June success were National Yacht Club bowman Will Byrne, North Sails sailmaker Nigel Young from Royal Cork and Kinsale ex-pat Jeremy Elliott, in the role of Watch Captain. 

"We have the same team as Sardinia where we secured the win but this week is the World Championships, so the pressure is on," Byrne told Afloat.

"This week is the World Championships, so the pressure is on"

The ClubSwan 36 fleet will renew their season-long tussle and the lineup will include Italy's Far Star, making her first appearance in 2022, and Turkish entry Facing Future, with owner Mehmet Taki looking to consign his 2021 Worlds result to history.

"We knew the ClubSwan 36 class was going to be fun, and very, very competitive, which we had confirmed at last year's Worlds when we were bottom of the leaderboard with Bracing Breeze," said Taki.

"But we have worked hard, learned some lessons, and we were able to earn a place on the podium at the Tuscany Challenge back in April, so we are heading to Valencia in good spirits and looking forward to a great regatta."

Back in June, a string of five back-to-back race victories at the Swan Sardinia Challenge secured a well-deserved though tight win for Black Seal. Black Seal finished ahead of Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G-Spot – who had won the ClubSwan Racing season's opening event in Tuscany in April – and Edoardo and Vanni Pavesio's Fra Martina.

The ClubSwan Racing fleet took to the water yesterday off the historic Spanish port city for a final shakedown ahead of the Worlds, one of the highlights of the Mediterranean sailing season.

All 34 of the yachts gathered to compete in the World Championships for three classes – the ClubSwan 36, ClubSwan 42 and ClubSwan 50 – took part in the Practice Race, fine-tuning crew work and getting the measure of the competition.

Click here race results

A string of five back-to-back race victories at the Swan Sardinia Challenge in the ultra-modern ClubSwan 36 class helped Richard Thompson's Black Seal crew – with three top Irish sailors onboard – secure a well-deserved though tight win.

Black Seal finished ahead of Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio's G-Spot – who had won the ClubSwan Racing season's opening event in Tuscany in April – and Edoardo and Vanni Pavesio's Fra Martina.

As Afloat reported earlier, on board Black Seal were National Yacht Club bowman Will Byrne, North Sails sailmaker Nigel Young from Royal Cork and Kinsale ex-pat Jeremy Elliott, in the role of Watch Captain

Ten races were sailed at Marina di Villasimius, a magnificent national park setting that provided some great racing for the Challenge.

Richard Thompson's Black Seal had back to back wins in the ClubSwan 36 fleet Photo: Studio Borlenghi

A delighted Thompson said: "It's great – as much relief as delight because you know we had already had a decent lead going into this morning and really the only people who could beat us were ourselves, but we managed to avoid that, so that's fantastic and everyone did a great job.

"It was a fantastic day's sailing; in fact the best day's sailing I've ever had in a ClubSwan 36 in terms of wind and sea conditions and we recorded a top speed of 21.5 knots today which is pretty fast. I've got to say it's not as scary as it looks. You're slightly scared but you're very exhilarated and actually, the boat handles so well in a breeze."

And he added: "We just really focused down on the simple things and tried to make sure we do all of them really well and not complicate our lives, and somehow that worked pretty well."

The ClubSwan fleet will gather again in Valencia, Spain, from 5-9 July for the Swan One Design Worlds which will establish the 2022 World Champions in each of the one-design classes – the ClubSwan 36, ClubSwan 42, ClubSwan 50 and Swan 45.

The Irish crewed Swan 36 Black Seal continues its lead in an eight boat fleet in the final day of racing at the Swan Sardinia Challenge.

Skippered by Richard Thompson of Guernsey, Black Seal has a ten-point margin over Monaco's  Giangiacomo Serena di Lapigio after eight races sailed at Marina di Villasimius. 

National Yacht Club bowman Will Byrne, North Sails sailmaker Nigel Young from Royal Cork and Kinsale ex-pat Jeremy Elliott, in the role of Black Seal's Watch Captain, had a win and a fourth win races seven and eight yesterday with two races left to sail.

Based in the Marina di Villasimius on the tip of Sardinia's southeast coast, the Swan Sardinia Challenge has attracted a fleet of almost 30 one-design Swan yachts across three classes – the renowned Swan 45s, the ultra-modern ClubSwan 36s and what will be the season's largest gathering of the high-performance ClubSwan 50s – between them flying the flag for at least 12 countries.

Results here

A trio of Irish sailors on the crew of the Guernsey-based Swan 36 Black Seal skippered by Richard Thompson are at the top of the leaderboard after the second day of racing at the Swan Sardinia Challenge. 

Dun Laoghaire bowman Will Byrne from the National Yacht Club, North Sails sailmaker Nigel Young from Royal Cork and Kinsale ex-pat Jeremy Elliott had three wins yesterday to be seven points clear at the top of the eight-boat fleet with four races left to sail.

Based in the Marina di Villasimius on the tip of Sardinia's southeast coast, the Swan Sardinia Challenge has attracted a fleet of almost 30 one-design Swan yachts across three classes – the renowned Swan 45s, the ultra-modern ClubSwan 36s and what will be the season's largest gathering of the high-performance ClubSwan 50s – between them flying the flag for at least 12 countries.

Richard Thompson's Swan 36 Black Seal Photo: Stefano Gattini/Swan 36

The ClubSwan 36 class welcomed the appearance of Alex Kudlich onboard Bracing Breeze, another asset for Germany in the Nations League, and Thompson's Black Seal flying the flag for Guernsey in the Channel Islands.

In the pre-event billing, the fleet was expected to face stiff competition from their hard-charging classmates, not least Italy's Fra Martina who placed fourth in the season opener in Tuscany but so far it's all going Black Seal's way.

"We knew from the outset that the competition in the ClubSwan 36 class was going to be both fun and intense, and we saw the reality during last season," said Vanni Pavesio, owner of Fra Martina and Class president.

In 2018 Co Down sailor Del Fairley made a wish list of boats to buy from which he would choose his favourite design, and top of the list was a Swan 36. His wife Gill knew nothing about this! But when Del discovered an unfortunate looking Swan 36 on the hard at East Down Yacht Club on the east coast of Strangford Lough, he jumped at the chance and had a look.

He was undeterred by the sorry state of the boat, which had the name 'Icon' on the transom. Del said, "Sitting on an old trailer in the yard was indeed a Swan 36. It was in a terrible state of repair, with torn covers revealing a white boat stained green by years of dirt. Closer inspection revealed the white paint on the hull had blistered, and a large sign had been taped onto the boat stating, "THIS BOAT IS UNINSURED" - a warning to keep away in case the rusting trailer collapsed. The nameplate on the transom said "Icon", although I was told she had been renamed, Seamróg which is Irish for shamrock. Not the lucky variety".

Lofna's aft deck (anobe and below her cockpit

In his view, the S&S Swan 36 offers a near-perfect combination of beautiful lines from the great Olin Stephens - sailing performance and quality fibreglass built by the now legendary Nautors yard while still retaining the looks of classic yachts of an earlier era. The most miniature S&S Swan is convenient for both sailing and yard facilities, but practicality aside, it also ticks the very important box marked "emotion".

Inside Lofna's forward cabin

A borrowed ladder gave access to the cockpit, which contained a dirty brown pond as leaves and moss blocked the drains. Over the years, soil had started to form on the deck and cockpit seats. Even grass had begun to grow. After the water drained from the cockpit, and as Del walked around the teak deck, he found it in surprisingly good condition. Despite the dirt, the quality of the deck fittings - which included six stainless steel Andersen Self Tailing winches was good. But unfortunately, she had lain in the boatyard for six years.

(Above and below) Lofna's interior as found

Down below, conditions were much worse. The filthy water inside had been drained to the level of an open through-hull. Del continued, "I later learned the yardman had pulled out a transducer to reduce the weight of the water inside in case the trailer collapsed. Below this level, the boat was still filled with a toxic soup of rainwater, used engine oil, battery acid and dissolved flares. The Volvo Penta engine had been completely submerged, and six litres of dirty oil had floated out, forming an oily black internal waterline almost halfway up the saloon door. Even the air inside the boat was acrid and difficult to breathe, but despite everything, the potential of this boat was obvious (to me anyway)".

He continued, "I was prepared to take on a boat in "project" condition, and this one would need a complete refit, but the first and most crucial challenge was, of course, Gill herself! Fortunately, she was also able to see past the condition, and negotiations with the owner were quickly concluded. They bought the Swan in September 2018 – she had been launched in July 1968 as Lofna - a name they promptly decided to return to.

Lofna was the 21st boat built by the Nautor yard in Pietarsaari, Finland, which was started in 1966 by Finnish entrepreneur Pekka Koskenkylä. In 1996, Lofna was in French ownership and located in Mallorca when she was sold to a new English owner who renamed her Icon of Hamble. After 15 years in the same ownership and a major refit in England, she was sold to an Irish owner in April 2011 who called the boat Seamróig, although she was still badged as Icon.

So Lofna was relaunched in October 2018, and Del and Gill thought she would surely float, given how well the hull had kept water in and she was towed to the pontoon at Down Sailing Club at Ballydorn near Whiterock on Strangford Lough. Winter 2018/2019 was spent keeping the rain out while the inside was cleaned and stripped, and the following Spring, they used a borrowed trailer work to take her to the nearby Cadoo Boatyard.

By Autumn 2019, a new trailer had been built, and they set about moving Lofna 50 miles by road from Strangford Lough to the workshop run by Bryan Willis Marine in Larne. After an anxious October journey, Lofna arrived in Larne for the work to continue in the luxury of an indoor heated workshop. The plan is to relaunch Lofna in spring 2022.

Del had thought, "With the investment in time, effort and money so far, we could, of course, have bought a French production boat and just gone sailing, but for us, that would leave the "emotion" box sitting empty. We're still not sure if we found our next yacht or if she found us. Either way, we can't wait to set sail on Lofna and are very much looking forward to meeting other S&S Swan owners on the water in the years ahead".