In June 2026, the Swan 36 Tarantella – launched in 1967 – was presented at Nautor Swan’s Jakobstad shipyard following an extensive refit

It’s a summer’s day in Jakobstad (Pietarsaari in Finnish) on Finland’s west coast. A small but stunning sailing yacht with a crisp white hull and glimmering wooden details sits in the town’s cool waters, tied up alongside an intrigued crowd of onlookers. The retro beauty is the first Swan 36, Tarantella, and her ‘re-launch’ in June 2026 was a momentous repeat of the first time she splashed – in 1967.

Back then, Tarantella was the first yacht ever launched by Nautor Swan, an innovative shipyard founded by Pekka Koskenkylä in September 1966. This year, her momentous revival – following an extensive refit programme with support from brands such as North Sails – is part of the 60^th-anniversary celebrations of the shipyard that built her.

Pekka Koskenkylä founded Nautor Swan in 1966

Although Tarantella sports a decidedly classic look, the yacht represents Koskenkylä’s visionary spirit. Originally from the southern Finnish town of Somero, Koskenkylä founded Nautor Swan after building his first boat in his father-in-law’s garage. She was a wooden boat and was used to build the plug for his next project.

To create Tarantella, he enlisted the help of renowned American naval architects Sparkman & Stephens and made a pioneering choice to build her in fibreglass, at a time when the material was still considered cutting-edge technology. His plan was to build many boats from the same design and this first Nautor project launched 90 hulls.

The first production facility

Building the future of a new shipyard around fibreglass was a bold, visionary decision, and one that would ultimately single out Nautor Swan as the instigator of a revolution in yacht construction. As Koskenkylä recalls of his design of Tarantella: “I had to build the best boat in the world. I wanted to combine a racing boat with a cruising boat.”

SWAN EVOLUTION

The projects following the launch of Tarantella would further prove the seaworthiness of the shipyard’s vessels. Most notably, the Swan 65 Sayula II, led by Mexican skipper Ramón Carlin, won the 1973-74 Whitbread Round the World Race, the first edition of the iconic event later known as the Volvo Ocean Race (2001-19) then The Ocean Race.

Sayula II, a Swan 65, won the 1973-74 Whitbread Round the World Race

Other notable 1970s models included the first Swan 48, which emerged victorious in many top-level races, and the Swan 36, with 116 units built from 1975-79. Between 1978 and 1981, Ron Holland designed five yachts for the shipyard, and later collaborated with Jon Bannenberg on the Swan 100 Garuda launched in 1986.

The start of the 1980s heralded two significant, long-term changes for Nautor Swan. In 1980, Germán Frers stepped on board the design team of the Swan 51 – whose 36 units included Formosa, the shipyard’s 1,000th hull – and went on to become the shipyard’s main designer.

Germán Frers

Well over four decades later, the legendary Argentine architect and his studio continue to work with the yard, particularly on naval architecture. Recent designs include the flagship Swan 128 and new Swan 51 that both launched in 2025, the Swan 80 that splashed earlier this year and the Swan 73 due in 2027.

However, Frers wasn’t the only notable introduction in 1980. That year, a special regatta specifically for the Nautor Swan fleet was hosted by the prestigious Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo with the support of sponsor Rolex.

The biennial Rolex Swan Cup has been held in Sardinia every two years since 1980

Since held every two years, the Rolex Swan Cup is well established as one of the most popular mono-brand events in the global yachting calendar.

FERRAGAMO TO SANLORENZO

In 1998, just before the new millennium, fashion scion Leonardo Ferragamo bought Nautor Swan. Due to Ferragamo’s personal interest in racing, his ownership brought not only Italian flair to the growing fleet but also introduced one-design racing with the Swan 45 (2001) and ClubSwan 42 (2005), both designed by Frers and leading to regular events for Swan owners with a passion for competing.

Leonardo Ferragamo (left, with Pekka Koskenkylä ) owned Nautor Swan from 1998-2024

Today, there are regattas and circuits for the ClubSwan 28, 36, 43 and 50 models, all designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian under his company Juan K.

As the ClubSwan models evolved, the Swan and SwanMaxi fleets continued to grow significantly in number and size, with notable builds including the Swan 131 launched in 2006. In August 2012, a Swan 90S named Freya was the 2,000th Swan to be built and launched by the yard.

The Boatbuilding Technology Centre in Jakobstad on Finland’s west coast is Nautor Swan’s major production facility

More recently, the ‘House of Swan’ has also grown in terms of volume and technology. In 2019, a two-year expansion of the Nautor Swan boatbuilding facilities was concluded, resulting in new headquarters, christened the Boatbuilding Technology Centre (BTC), which spans 9,935sqm.

Post Covid, Nautor Swan entered the motoryacht market with the launch of the 43ft Swan Shadow, an inboard version called OverShadow, then the 76ft Arrow, which debuted at the 2024 Cannes Yachting Festival.

In 2024, Leonardo Ferragamo (left) sold Nautor Swan to Sanlorenzo, led by Massimo Perotti (right)

Also in 2024, the Sanlorenzo Group – headed by Massimo Perotti – became the major shareholder in Nautor Swan, with Ferragamo describing the deal as part of his mission “to propel forwards a brand that is so beloved and respected, and ensure its longevity by entrusting it to one of the world’s leading nautical groups”.

SAILING FORWARD

Nautor Swan has launched more than 2,350 yachts to date, with increasing demand for Maxi builds. The Swan 128, the current flagship, has a 39m hull designed by Frers and exterior styling by Micheletti+Partners, a frequent collaborator in recent years.

Be Cool, the first Swan 128, was joined in the water in 2026 by Raijin

Be Cool, the first Swan 128, was launched in 2025 and debuted at last year’s Monaco Yacht Show, while the hybrid second unit, Raijin, launched earlier this year and is due to appear at the Monaco event.

However, the aluminium Swan Alloy 44 – currently in build and designed by Malcolm McKeon – is set to become the yard’s flagship when it launches in 2028. Other recent large builds include the ClubSwan 125 Skorpios, which in 2021 became the largest monohull sailboat to race in the world famous biennial Rolex Fastnet Race.

Swan Alloy 44

Regatta racing remains a core part of the identity of Nautor Swan. Since the company became part of the Sanlorenzo Group, ClubSwan has become even more inclusive, developing a worldwide calendar of events alongside the one-design racing circuit and opening the programme to the entire Swan fleet: ClubSwan Legacy for the classic boats, ClubSwan Racing for the one-design classes, and ClubSwan Spirit for the modern Swan yachts.

In Asia-Pacific, the first Swan Asian Regatta was held in 2025 in Japan. This year, Nautor Swan became an official partner of the Rolex China Sea Race for the 2026 and 2028 editions of the 565nm offshore run from Hong Kong to the Philippines.

Hosted by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the Rolex Swan Cup attracted 170 entries for 2026

However, this year’s Rolex Swan Cup is due to become the biggest Swan event of all, with an anticipated fleet of 170 yachts – including both Swan 128s, the new Swan 80 and Tarantella.

In a touching gesture, Koskenkylä – the now 88-year-old company founder – sailed aboard his first Swan build in early September while she spent time in Spain at the Nautor Swan Global Service base in Badalona ahead of the Rolex Swan Cup.

Now 88, Pekka Koskenkylä took the wheel of Tarantella in September 2026

Starting with a Swan Soirée at Boot Düsseldorf in January and taking in Tarantella’s re-birth, the Swan 80 debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival and a record Rolex Swan Cup, Nautor Swan’s 60th year is nothing short of historic.

However, as part of the Sanlorenzo Group, the brand is using the occasion to not only recall its remarkable history but also look to the future to set yet more milestones, with the Swan 73 and Alloy 44 among all-new models in build. Furthermore, Tarantella’s sailing schedule will remain busy, as she plays a new role as an official ambassador of the brand.

The restored Tarantella, pictured at the 2026 Gotlund Runt Offshore Race in Sweden, is now an ambassador for Nautor Swan

Following the Rolex Swan Cup, she is due to participate in Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez in the south of France, while her provisional 2027 calendar includes the iconic Cowes Week in the UK.

“A Swan is never just a yacht,” says Gianguido Girotti, Nautor Swan’s CEO. “It becomes part of people’s lives, their adventures and their stories. It becomes a family legacy, passed down from one generation to the next.

Elvi, the first Swan 80, launched in 2026

“For 60 years, Swan has built exceptional yachts that have sailed the world – from the frozen poles to the sun-drenched Galápagos. The next chapter is not only about creating new yachts but also about building an even stronger community around them.”

nautorswan.com

apac.sanlorenzoyacht.com

Note: The original article first appeared in Yacht Style Issue 91