At the time of its launch it was the largest glass reinforced plastic (GRP) constructed yacht in the market and because of its excellent racing history, one of the most famous Swan models ever built.

Swan 65 was designed to I.O.R Mk III to fulfil the continuously increasing demand for bigger sailing/racing yachts in the market.

In order to meet this demand Nautor had asked Olin Stephens to design a beautiful, fast and safe sailing yacht to continue the development of Swan range.

Stephens combined the requested characteristics in a fibreglass hull together with a luxurious interior and technical features that were then typical for successful racing boats.

[9][10][11] It took 133 days and 13 hours for Sayula II to sail the full race distance of 32,500 nautical miles.

This time the best result was presented by a sloop called King's Legend (121 days and 11 hours) skippered by Nick Ratcliffe and Skip Novak as the navigator, which finished in second place getting narrowly defeated by Conny van Rietschotens Flyer which was a 65 ft S & S designed purpose built racing yacht manufactured by Royal Huisman.

[14][15] In the same year Clare Francis the first female skipper to compete in the race, finished fifth in her Swan65 ADC Accutrac (126 days 20 hours).

Forward of the saloon are two matching guest cabins with upper and lower single berths parallel to the centerline.

The owners stateroom in the aft is very spacious, having a double and a single berth, dressing table, cupboards and wardrobes and with WC lavatory and shower.

Some yachts like Sayula II has even a small workshop fitted inside the boat to make repairs at sea easier.