S/Y Galiana Swan 55

Galiana is a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens Swan 55 yawl. A yawl is a a two masted sailboat with the small mizzen mast placed behind the rudder and its boom extending over the transom.

In my opinion she is the classiest and most beautiful design ever built by Nautor's Swan. The design ends the lineage of yawl rigged offshore racing boats designed by Olin Stephens, the first two ones being the legendary Transatlantic, Fastnet and Bermuda Race winning Dorade from 1929 and Stormy Weather from 1934.

During the span of four decades, ca 150 yawls were built and raced by the best known and most successful sailors of those years. Among the famous skippers were three-time Bermuda winner Carlton Mitchell, IBM's Thomas Watson, Fiat's Agnelli, Enskilda Bank's Wallenberg, Humphrey Bogart, John F. Kennedy, Sven Salén, King of Spain, NYC commodore Brown – so sailing on Galiana we are in good company and can feel to be links in a long chain of history.

While Galiana is officially registered in The Finnish Heritage Agency as a classic yacht, being exhibited in the Classic Boat magazine and being eligible to race in a number of classic races she at the same time is also very much a proper tool of trade for ocean racing.

Prior to the 2023 Ocean Globe Race, she went through a very thorough two-year refit where her interior was changed for the needs of prolonged ocean racing in demanding conditions.

Every bunk is aligned with the keel, at sea the wider bunks can be made to only 60 cm width to enable comfortable sleep in rough weather with leeboards and safety belts in the bunks – the mattresses are of very high quality and bunks very comfortable.

There are no open, empty spaces below decks, risking falling down or being thrown around in rough seas, plenty of storage space, safe companionway and ways to keep the boat as dry and as warm belowdecks as possible.

For these features, the boat has been exhibited in the Practical Boat Owner magazine and Yachting monthly

In order to make the boat ready for the planned 14-month trip down the European coasts, to the Med, across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, up the US East Coast to Long Island Sound, down to Bermuda and back to Europe across the North Atlantic, the boat has been equipped with a strong autopilot, three electric winches, bow thruster, new rudder shaft and reinforced skeg area, rudder blade and strong rudder shaft.

Again, Galiana is ready to go!