The original designer Sparkman & Stephens had a long association with Nautor and were responsible for the first 775 yachts sold. These early designs combined a luxurious interior in a fiberglass hull with features that were then current in successful racing boats, such as the separation of the skeg-hung rudder from the keel. They won numerous races including the Cowes Week in 1968, the Bermuda Race in 1972 by Swan 48, followed by even bigger success in 1974, when a ketch rigged Swan 65 by the name Sayula II won the first ever Whitbread Round the World Race. In 2016, this adventure was presented in a documentary film, The Weekend Sailor.
