02/10/2004

 Punta Ala - ITA

01/10/2004

 Punta Ala - ITA

30/09/2004

 Punta Ala - ITA

11/09/2004

 San Francisco - USA

Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) and his Barking Mad team entered the history books today at the conclusion of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in San Francisco by becoming the first team in the history of the class to win the coveted world championship title for a second time.

"I‘m very, very proud," said a beaming Richardson, clutching a glass of champagne minutes after his boat reached the dock at the St. Francis Yacht Club. "We‘ve been working at this since the first Worlds I won in 1998," he continued. "It is hard to win this regatta and everything came together perfectly for us. I had a teacher at school who said ‘you learn from doing and being done.‘ We‘ve been done enough that we‘ve started to learn some things from our competitors and figured out ways to improve and it all worked out."

In the first race today Barking Mad got into trouble with Norwegian Steam in a port-starboard incident at the end of the first beat, dropping it to the middle of the fleet. It was exactly the type of incident Richardson‘s team has strenuously managed to avoid all week. Tactician Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) said that this came about due to a miscommunication. "We had a 35 point lead," he said. "I screwed up what I was thinking, but we put the hammer down in the second race and sailed like we know how to sail." Hutchinson will soon go to Valencia, Spain to serve in the afterguard of the Emirates Team New Zealand America‘s Cup challenge, but will continue to sail with Barking Mad.

In the second race, Barking Mad took a commanding lead and was fifth to round the top mark. Up the long final beat, as the San Francisco Bay fog shrouded the race course, the team lost the charge to be first to the finish line by five seconds. This did not matter to Richardson. "It was close going up that last leg," he said. "but it doesn‘t matter whether you win by one point or one hundred."

With 47 points total and an exceptional single digit scoreline -counting a ninth place in the first race as its worst finish - Barking Mad finished 40 points ahead of the defending World Champions Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio sodo Migliori (Rome, Italy) on Nerone.

Geoff Stagg, president of Farr International, put Barking Mad‘s win into perspective. "It is the biggest margin in a Farr 40 world championship by miles, ever," he said. "I was thinking an average of an eighth-place might win it, but they did it with an average of fourth, which is great.

Barking Mad was very well prepared and the team was very well trained. They had good starts. They didn‘t get brilliant starts, but they were never in trouble on the start line. Terry was brilliant with the laylines particularly when the ebb tide was kicking in. It‘s the old story of their stars being aligned."

After a dismal set of results to date in the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, Stuart and MarrGwen Townsend‘s (Chicago, Ill.) Virago, on which Chris Larson (Annapolis, Md.) has been calling tactics, came from nowhere to win today‘s first race while fending off a strong challenge from Scott Harris and Alex Geremia‘s (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Crocodile Rock and John Kilroy‘s (Malibu, Calif.) Samba Pa Ti. Aside from Barking Mad‘s exceptional win, Kilroy‘s team was the class act of the day finishing third in the first race and winning the second, to finish 13th overall.

Samba Pa Ti was one of the favorites going into the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, but its early results in this regatta were disappointing in the extreme, including five uncharacteristic finishes in the 20s. "We spent the week trying to get the tune of the boat right," explained Samba Pa Ti tactician Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.). "Basically we used a brand new mainsail and it wasn‘t what we thought it was, so it took us a while to get things sorted out with the tune. We got going better yesterday afternoon and then today we went a bit more in the same direction and had good speed and had two great starts and were out in front from the get-go which helped a lot."

Nerone held on to second place overall, having scored some better results than yesterday‘s, while the fight for third place was closely fought between five boats. Steve and Fred Howe‘s (San Diego, Calif.) Warpath eventually beat Steve Phillips‘ Le Renard for third place.

With the 2004 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds over, the main contenders in the class do not have long to wait before the next running of this regatta - set to take place on Sydney Harbour on 1-4 March, 2005.


About the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds

The 2004 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place September 8-11 at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. Supporting sponsors include Lewmar and North Sails. For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results and photos go to www.stfyc.org.


About the St. Francis Yacht Club

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club is renowned for its expertise in running world and national championships, including the Melges 24 Worlds, and the J/105 and Star North American Championships.

(end)

Results-Final
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, St. Francis Yacht Club

Day 4 results, two races held September 11, 2004 (31 entries)

Place, Owner Name, Hometown, Boat Name, Race 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, total points

1. James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 9-2-1- 4-2-8-7-5-7-2, 47
2. Massimo Mezzaroma, Rome, Italy, Nerone, 10-3-3-8-6-10-11-22-4-10, 87
3. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath, 15-5-2-11-17-5-18-8-11, 103
4. Steve Phillips, Arnold, Md., Le Renard, 17-10-2-26-9-3-6-14-6-12, 104
5. Marco Rodolfi, Comasco, Italy, TWT, 2-16-20-23-3-4-3-10-20-8, 109

6. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif., Slingshot, 16-9-15-5-7-1-13-3-10-6, 110
7. Vincenzo Onorato, Naples, Italy, Mascalzone Latino, 21-25-13-7-8-2-1-6-27-3, 112
8. Marc Ewing, Glencoe, Ill., Riot, 8-19-8-6-10-11-26-12-11-4, 114
9. Peter De Ridder, Monaco, Mean Machine, 7-1-10-12-4-26-19-11-25-7, 122
10. Erik Maris, Paris, France, Twins 2-5-3-6-10-25-12-8-17-17-13, 125

11. Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Steam, 1-5-21-18-19-5-21-19-9-18, 135
12. Scott Harris/Alex Geremia, Santa Barbara, Calif., Crocodile Rock, 14-26-16-11-16-7-16-21-2-9, 137
13. John Kilroy, Los Angeles, Calif., Samba Pa Ti, 26-4-9-22-22-24-20-9-3-1, 139
14. Robert L. Hughes, Ada, Mich., Heartbreaker, 13-22-7-14-14-19-9-2-13-32, 144
15. Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, Evolution, 12-11-11-20-1-13-4-24-26-23, 145

16. Philippe Kahn, Soquel, Calif., Pegasus, 6-27-4-3- 30-21-23-15-5-16, 149
17. Giovanni Maspero, Milan, Italy, Joe Fly, 20-8-18-17-18-23-2-4-22-21, 152
18. Deneen & John Demourkas, Montecito, Calif., Groovederci, 25-14-25-9-24-18-14-1-12-17, 158
19. Peter Stoneberg, Orinda, Calif., Shadow, 11-6-24-1-12-14-28-16-31-20,162
20. Arien van Vemde, Loosdrecht, Holland, Sotto Voce,19-29-14-16-5-22-10-25-19-5, 164

21. Takashi Okura, Tokyo, Japan, Sled, 3-17-22-13-17-16-25-29-21-15, 177
22. Lang Walker, Sydney, Australia, Kokomo, 29-24-28-25-21-15-18-8-16-14,197
23. John MacLaurin, Los Angeles, Calif., Pendragon V, 27-28-12-24-23-30-15-7-15-19, 199
24. Stuart & Marrgwen Townsend, Chicago, Ill., Virago, 28-20-29-19-13-29-24-20-1-24, 206
25. David Thomson, Woodside, Calif., Peregrine, 31-15-17-15-26-9-17-27-24-28, 208

26. Wolfgang Schaefer, Luneberg, Germany, Struntje Light, 22-23-23-30-15-20-12-13-29-26, 212
27. Mary Coleman, Los Gatos, Calif., Astra, 30-7-26-21-20-6-27-31-14-32, 213
28. Alan Field, Los Angeles, Calif., Temptress, 4-21-19-28-27-27-31-26-18-27, 227
29. Tom Neill, Berkeley, Ill., Nitemare, 24-18-27-27-29-25-29-30-28-22-258
30. David Voss, Marina del Rey, Calif., Piranha, 23-32-30-31-31-31-22-28-23-25, 275
31. Helmut Jahn, Chicago, Ill., Flash Gordon, 18-30-32-29-28-28-30-23-30-29, 276

Dana Paxton
Media Pro Int‘l
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds
+1 401-369-0490 (mobile, in San Francisco)

International Media Contact :
Key Partners (KPMS)
Tel. +41796985956
info@regattanews.com

10/09/2004

 San Francisco - USA

Three more solid results in today‘s races on San Francisco Bay put Jim Richardson‘s (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad team into a nearly unbeatable position going into the final day of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds. With a scoreline of 8-7-5, Richardson‘s team now has 38 points overall, leading 2003 world champion Nerone owned by Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio sodo Migliori (Rome, Italy), which is in second place with 73 points. Going into the final day Italian boats hold three of the top four positions, with Marco Rodolfi‘s (Comasco) TWT in third and America‘s Cup boss Vincenzo Onorato‘s (Milan) Mascalzone Latino one point behind in fourth.

Barking Mad almost lost its comfortable lead at the start of the second race when it was forced out to the left-hand side of the course. When it tacked back, Richardson‘s team lost further ground by ducking several right-of-way boats coming through on starboard tack.

"We got around the buoy probably in 26th place and Nerone was third or something," said Richardson. "We jibed right around the spacer mark and caught a great puff, so we gained probably 10-12 places on the run." They followed this with a better second beat and another good run to finish seventh to Nerone‘s 11th. "We saw the potential to lose a lot of our lead to Nerone in that race, but the crew worked really, really hard. We were sweating bullets trying to make the boat go faster and trying to make every maneuver as good as we could," continued Richardson.

While Nerone is still hanging on to second place, tactician Vasco Vascotto admitted that today was one of the worst days of their entire Farr 40 campaign. "Come back for the Italians? It was a comeback into last position for us," said Vascotto. "We did a really bad job. The other Italians did a good job. In the second race we were third and we hit a mark. So we did a 360 and lost some positions, but worse, we lost control." Vascotto added that the mark they hit was one of the leeward marks, and at the time there were no other boats around. "That was the stupid thing," he said. "We did a lot of stupid mistakes, which is why we are a little upset."

Despite a slow start to this regatta, Onorato‘s team had today‘s best results, with a 2-1-6. ‘A good day at the office‘ as British tactician Adrian Stead put it. In race one they started at the pin end and prospered from a shift and the tide up the left side. At the top mark they led but were being chased hard by Chuck Parish‘s (Hillsborough, Calif.) Slingshot, on which local expert Dee Smith is calling tactics, and Steve Phillips‘s (Arnold, Md.) Le Renard, with Olympic medallist and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Mark Reynolds on board. While Slingshot pulled ahead to win the race, Onorato‘s team hung in by winning a final dash to the finish line against Le Renard and took second.

Mascalzone Latino won the second race. The Italian team rounded the weather mark in the top group and made gains on the run. "The key is to get away fast at the top mark and put some distance on the fleet," said Stead. "It takes so little to be at the back in this fleet. We learned some pretty harsh lessons at the Pre-Worlds last weekend when we wrapped ourselves around the windward mark twice. So we did some work on short tacks - ducking and stuff like that - and it has all helped."

On John and Deneen Demourkas‘ Farr 40, Groovederci, Deneen drove to victory in today‘s final race. "We started where we wanted to, at the [committee] boat, and immediately tacked right," she said. "It was the time of day to do that and we just kept going. At the weather mark, Heartbreaker was to leeward of us and we were both laying and they came up underneath us." Groovederci overtook Heartbreaker on the run to take the lead, holding this until the end of the usual long final beat to the finish.

The Demourkases first met through sailing in Santa Barbara. This year John, one of the founders of Nexxus Haircare Products Co., has only managed to helm ‘their‘ boat when Deneen was in Europe this past summer competing in the month long Tour de France a la Voile in their Mumm 30. "I wanted to buy a boat that we could share," recounted a resigned husband, "but the sharing didn‘t happen and it got to the stage where she had way too much experience at the helm." On board they sail with New Zealander Stu Bannatyne as tactician, a former crewmember on illbruck when it won the Volvo Ocean Race.

Deneen said that she doesn‘t get any breaks being a woman in this fleet. "I try threatening them: ‘woman driver - look out!‘ But they don‘t buy it," she said. On the subject of why there aren‘t more women drivers in this fleet she said, "I don‘t know. I have never understood why there aren‘t more. I guess it is not a role that women are accustomed to in sailing. It takes some money to do, particularly in this fleet. But I would encourage them that if this was something that they ever thought they wanted to do, they should do it."

Two final races are due to be held tomorrow at the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds and the Barking Mad crew will be playing it safe. "The key to winning is by not making mistakes," said Richardson. "We are not celebrating yet."

At a Farr 40 Class Association meeting yesterday, the creation of a Corinthian trophy for all Farr 40 racing, set for introduction in 2005. "Boats will race within the Farr 40 class rules, with the additional restrictions that only two professionals will be allowed and the allowance of three new sails per year in order to qualify for the trophy," said Renee Mehl, Farr 40 class secretary. "Regional fleet growth is expected and enthusiasm is high amongst both current and potential owners."

Two races are planned for tomorrow, the fourth and final day of racing.

About the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds

The 2004 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place September 8-11 at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. Supporting sponsors include Lewmar and North Sails. For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results and photos go to www.farr40.org or www.stfyc.org.

About the St. Francis Yacht Club

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club is renowned for its expertise in running world and national championships, including the Melges 24 Worlds, and the J/105 and Star North American Championships.

Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, St. Francis Yacht Club

Day 3 results, three races held September 10, 2004 (31 entries)

Place, Owner Name, Home town, Boat Name, Race 1-2-3-4-5, total points
1. James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 9-2-1- 4-2-8-7-5, 38
2. Massimo Mezzaroma, Rome, Italy, Nerone, 10-3-3-8-6-10-11-22, 73
3. Marco Rodolfi, Comasco, Italy, TWT, 2-16-20-23-3-4-3-10, 81
4. Vincenzo Onorato, Naples, Italy, Mascalzone Latino, 21-25-13-7-8-2-1-6, 82
5. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath, 15-5-2-11-17-5-18, 84
6. Steve Phillips, Arnold, Md., Le Renard, 17-10-2-26-9-3-6-14, 86
7. Peter De Ridder, Monaco, Mean Machine, 7-1-10-12-4-26-19-11, 90
8. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif., Slingshot, 16-9-15-5-7-1-13-3, 94
9. Erik Maris, Paris, France, Twins 2-5-3-6-10-25-12-8-17, 95
10. Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, Evolution, 12-11-11-20-1-13-4-24, 96
11. Robert L. Hughes, Ada, Mich., Heartbreaker, 13-22-7-14-14-19-9-2, 99
12. Marc Ewing, Glencoe, Ill., Riot, 8-19-8-6-10-11-26-12, 99
13. Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Steam, 1-5-21-18-19-5-21-19, 108
14. Giovanni Maspero, Milan, Italy, Joe Fly, 20-8-18-17-18-23-2-4, 109
15. Peter Stoneberg, Orinda, Calif., Shadow, 11-6-24-1-12-14-28-16, 111
16. Scott Harris/Alex Geremia, Santa Barbara, Calif., Crocodile Rock, 14-26-16-11-16-7-16-21, 126
17. Philippe Kahn, Soquel, Calif., Pegasus, 6-27-4-3- 30-21-23-15, 128
18. Deneen & John Demourkas, Montecito, Calif., Groovederci, 25-14-25-9- 24-18-14-1, 129
19. John Kilroy, Los Angeles, Calif., Samba Pa Ti, 26-4-9-22-22-24-20-9, 135
20. Arien van Vemde, Loosdrecht, Holland, Sotto Voce, 19-29-14-16-5-22-10-25, 140
21. Takashi Okura, Tokyo, Japan, Sled, 3-17-22-13-17-16-25-29, 141
22. David Thomson, Woodside, Calif., Peregrine, 31-15-17-15-26-9-17-27, 156
23. Wolfgang Schaefer, Luneberg, Germany, Struntje Light, 22-23-23-30-15-20-12-13-, 157
24. John MacLaurin, Los Angeles, Calif., Pendragon V, 27-28-12-24-23-30-15-7, 165
25. Mary Coleman, Los Gatos, Calif., Astra, 30-7-26-21-20-6-27-31, 167
26. Lang Walker, Sydney, Australia, Kokomo, 29-24-28-25-21-15-18-8, 167
27. Stuart & Marrgwen Townsend, Chicago, Ill., Virago, 28-20-29-19-13-29-24-20, 181
28. Alan Field, Los Angeles, Calif., Temptress, 4-21-19-28-27-27-31-26, 182
29. Tom Neill, Berkeley, Ill., Nitemare, 24-18-27-27-29-25-29-30, 208
30. Helmut Jahn, Chicago, Ill., Flash Gordon, 18-30-32-29-28-28-30-23, 217
31. David Voss, Marina del Rey, Calif., Piranha, 23-32-30-31-31-31-22-28, 227

Dana Paxton
Media Pro Int‘l
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds
+1 401-369-0490 (mobile, in San Francisco)

International Media Contact:
Key Partners (KPMS)
info@regattanews.com
 

09/09/2004

 San Francisco - USA

A day of sun, big breeze and a short lumpy sea on San Francisco Bay proved to be the favored conditions for Jim Richardson‘s Barking Mad at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. The New England-based team set the tone by winning the first of three races and is the only boat in the 31-strong fleet to have a score line comprising single-digit results. Today‘s first race began in lighter conditions with the sea breeze kicking in and building during the afternoon to more than 25 knots. Massimo Mezzaroma and Alberto Sodo Miglori‘s Nerone from Italy is in second place, with Peter de Ridder‘s (Monaco) Mean Machine in third-place overall.

After some extreme tactics at last year‘s Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in Sardinia, which disqualified Barking Mad from the penultimate race, the team has been playing it safe this time. "The thing about the early days of a regatta is that you can put yourself behind the eight ball and that‘s difficult to recover from," said Richardson, who is the 1998 world champion. "So we‘ve been trying not to lose the regatta in the first couple of days and position ourselves for the end."

Barking Mad‘s tactician Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.), who won the J/24 World Championship on this course six years ago, explained the day‘s strategy. "We did our best to get off the starting line in a position that wasn‘t going to be at a disadvantage to the rest of the fleet," he said. "We ‘ve been doing a pretty good job at getting the best starts without too much risk, and then from there, pick our way through when we can. We aren‘t trying to hit any home runs. We‘re relying on the things we do well to get us past boats."

The Italians seem to be almost shadowing their old rivals on Barking Mad around the race course. "They are the defending world champions," explained Richardson. "They know they have to beat us and we know we have to beat them." While 12 points seems to be a comfortable lead, Richardson and his tactician are only too aware that all it takes is one bad result in one race to see this evaporate. "It‘s a war of attrition right now to get to Saturday," said Hutchinson.

As ever there is much dockside discussion about the tactics for sailing San Francisco‘s Berkeley Circle, with the most common advice being to ‘hit the right side‘ of the course going up the beat, where there can be advantageous current in the deeper water, followed by a favorable shift off Angel Island. In fact today‘s three races were all won off the start line.

Peter Stoneberg‘s (Orinda, Calif.) Shadow won today‘s second race. "It was a perfect race," said tactician Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.). "The right was favored and we were fast. We started in the upper third of the line, punched on all the boats around us, and upped the speed. It was a classic good start, our first of the regatta. We pushed for two minutes and tacked over and I said to the boys ‘we could win this race.‘ Then it all fell into place."

Richard Perini‘s (Atarmon, Australia) Evolution team, the winners of today‘s third race, are sailing a brand new boat in anticipation of being the top local boat when the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds are held in Sydney, next March. "We got a great start at the pin end and we were able to tack across pretty much straight after the start," described tactician Hamish Pepper, who recently returned from Athens where he represented New Zealand in the Laser class. "We had a good lead right from the beginning. We jumped out at the start and had a good lane across, then the breeze shifted to the left and gave us a nice 50-yard lead at the top mark. They don‘t often come like that, but when they do, it is fantastic."

But the final word today goes to Isler. "This Rolex Farr 40 Worlds is the best big boat regatta for owner-drivers that there‘s ever been," he said. "In terms of the performance, two or three years ago, any boat here in the top 10 would be so far ahead, the game has been raised so much."

Racing continues through Sunday. Three races are planned for tomorrow, the third day of racing.

The 2004 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place September 8-11 at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. Supporting sponsors include Lewmar and North Sails. For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results and photos go to www.farr40.org or www.stfyc.org.

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club is renowned for its expertise in running world and national championships, including the Melges 24 Worlds, and the J/105 and Star North American Championships.

Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, St. Francis Yacht Club

Day 2 results, three races held September 9, 2004 (31 entries)

Place, Owner Name, Home town, Boat Name, Race 1-2-3-4-5, total points
1. James Richardson, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., Barking Mad, 9-2-1- 4-2, 18
2. Massimo Mezzaroma, Rome, Italy, Nerone, 10-3-3-8-6, 30
3. Peter De Ridder, Monaco, Mean Machine, 7-1-10-12-4, 34
4. Steve & Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., Warpath, 15-5-2-11, 45
5. Marc Ewing, Glencoe, Ill., Riot, 8-19-8-6-10, 51
6. Chuck Parrish, Hillsborough, Calif., Slingshot, 16-9-15-5-7, 52
7. Peter Stoneberg, Orinda, Calif., Shadow, 11-6-24-1-12, 54
8. Richard Perini, Atarmon, Australia, Evolution, 12-11-11-20-1, 55
9. Erik Maris, Paris, France, Twins 2-5-3-6-10-25, 59
10. Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Steam, 1-5-21-18-19, 64
11. Marco Rodolfi, Comasco, Italy, TWT, 2-16-20-23-3, 64
12. Steve Phillips, Arnold, Md., Le Renard, 17-10-2-26-9, 64
13., Philippe Kahn, Soquel, Calif., Pegasus, 6-27-4-3- 30, 70
14. Robert L. Hughes, Ada, Mich., Heartbreaker, 13-22-7-14-14, 70
15. Takashi Okura, Tokyo, Japan, Sled, 3-17-22-13-17, 72
16. Vincenzo Onorato, Naples, Italy, Mascalzone Latino, 21-25-13-7-8, 74
17. Giovanni Maspero, Milan, Italy, Joe Fly, 20-8-18-17-18, 81
18. John Kilroy, Los Angeles, Calif., Samba Pa Ti, 26-4-9-22-22, 83
19. Arien van Vemde, Loosdrecht, Holland, Sotto Voce, 19-29-14-16-5, 83
20. Scott Harris/Alex Geremia, Santa Barbara, Calif., Crocodile Rock, 14-26-16-11-16, 83
21. Deneen & John Demourkas, Montecito, Calif., Groovederci, 25-14-25-9- 24, 97
22. Alan Field, Los Angeles, Calif., Temptress, 4-21-19-28-27, 99
23. Mary Coleman, Los Gatos, Calif., Astra, 30-7-26-21-20, 104
24, David Thomson, Woodside, Calif., Peregrine, 31-15-17-15-26, 104
25. Stuart & Marrgwen Townsend, Chicago, Ill., Virago, 28-20-29-19-13, 109
26. Wolfgang Schaefer, Luneberg, Germany, Struntje Light, 22-23-23-30-15, 113
27. John MacLaurin, Los Angeles, Calif., Pendragon V, 27-28-12-24-23, 114
28. Tom Neill, Berkeley, Calif., Nitemare, 24-18-27-27-29, 125
29. Lang Walker, Sydney, Australia, Kokomo, 29-24-28-25-21, 127
30. Helmut Jahn, Chicago, Ill., Flash Gordon, 18-30-32-29-28, 137
31. David Voss, Marina del Rey, Calif., Piranha, 23-32-30-31-31, 147

Dana Paxton
Media Pro Int‘l
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds
+1 401-369-0490 (mobile, in San Francisco)

International Media Contact:
Key Partners (KPMS)
info@regattanews.com
 

08/09/2004

 San Francisco - USA

Contrary to expectations, the opening day of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds produced a fleet leader without professional crew or a two boat program or even a coach boat. Norwegian Steam owned by Eivind Astrup (Oslo, Norway) leads the 31-boat fleet after two races.

In front of a backdrop that includes downtown San Francisco, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges and Alcatraz Island, racing got underway on time in eight knots of breeze, with an inevitable two general recalls from the anxious teams.

At the weather mark rounding, Italian boat TWT, owned by Marco Rodolfi (Como, Italy), led Peter de Ridder‘s (Nederland) Mean Machine and Norwegian Steam. By the leeward mark Norwegian Steam had slipped ahead, a position it clung on to for the remaining three legs of the race.

"We were lucky in our choice of where we went on the course; we did more right than wrong," explained Astrup. "At the start we were on the right side near the committee boat. We tacked over immediately and had a good run out to the right. We had a small wind shift at the end, so we overstood, but it was worth it. Then downwind, we were catching the wind shifts and jibing on them well."

During the course of the race the breeze built to around 15 knots. Finishing 45 seconds after the Norwegian boat was TWT and Takashi Okura‘s (Tokyo, Japan) Sled on which Tony Rey (Portsmouth, R.I.) is calling tactics. Mean Machine was close behind until it had a collision with TWT at the weather mark.

"We were coming alongside TWT and we tried to pass them at the top mark by forcing them a little past it," recounted Mean Machine‘s tactician Ray Davies. "The current was sweeping us up and when we tacked, we had overlaid the mark and had to come back down. We were having trouble getting the bow down and we hit TWT." Acknowledging their mistake the team performed a 720-degree penalty turn, losing four places that they were unable to regain during the rest of the race.

Prior to the start of the second race there was drama on board David Voss‘ (Marina del Rey, Calif.) Piranha. Although they are the most successful team in the Schlock 35 class, Voss‘ crew is one of the newest racing here. Voss purchased the boat in July. During the pre-start, tactician Gordon Palmer was caught by the main sheet during a jibe, hurling him down to leeward. Palmer was unloaded onto a chase boat and taken to the hospital where he received two stitches. Apart from this and two black eyes, Palmer is expected to be back racing tomorrow.

By the start of race two the westerly sea breeze had filled in and was blowing 20 knots.

Mean Machine had one of the best starts, in the middle of the line. "There was a lot of sag in the line and we had nearly a boat length on everyone around us," explained Davies. They continued to the left, the only occasion today when this tactic paid, and rounded the top mark first ahead of two class favorites - Jim Richardson‘s (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad and defending World Champions Antonio sodo Migliori and Massimo Mezzaroma (Rome, Italy) on Nerone.

Mean Machine extended on the run, to approximately 200 yards ahead of its competitors as the boats flew downwind, semi-planing, in 25 knots of wind and an increasingly choppy sea. From here the Dutch team was untouchable finishing one minute ahead of Barking Mad.

Mean Machine is clearly one of the top boats to watch this week. This is only de Ridder‘s second season in the Farr 40, but to date this year he has won both Key West Race Week and the SORC. Here in San Francisco he is sailing with most of the same crew on board as took part in the East Coast regattas earlier this year.

The second race was one of mixed fortunes for the Norwegian Steam team. After a poor start and picking the wrong side of the first run the team was down to around 25th place. They then staged a remarkable recovery getting to the right side of the course on the second run, then hitting the left side aggressively on the final beat up to the finish by which time they had dropped to fifth.

After the first day Norwegian Steam leads the fleet. Astrup, who is in the shipping business in Oslo, has been campaigning the boat for three years and has an all-Norwegian crew including Arve Roaas, who sailed the last Volvo Ocean Race aboard djuice and tactician Herman Jorn Johannessen, 2000 Olympic bronze medallist in the Soling class.

Racing continues through Sunday. Three races are planned for tomorrow, the second day of racing.

The 2004 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place September 8-11 at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results and photos go to www.farr40.org or www.stfyc.org.

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club is renowned for its expertise in running world and national championships, including the Melges 24 Worlds, and the J/105 and Star North American Championships.

Rolex Farr 40 Worlds

Preliminary Results - Day 1, September 8, 2004 (Top 10 of 31)

Place, Owner Name, Hometown, Boat Name, Race 1, Race 2, Total Points
1. Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Steam, 1-5, 6
2. Peter De Ridder, Nederland, Mean Machine, 7-1, 8
3. James Richardson, Boston, Mass., Barking Mad, 9-2, 11
4. Massimo Mezzaroma, Rome, Italy, Nerone, 10-3, 13
5. Peter Stoneberg, Orinda, Calif., Shadow, 11-6, 17
6. Marco Rodolfi, Como, Italy, TWT, 2-16, 18
7. Erik Maris, Paris, France, Twins2, 5-, 18
8. Takashi Okura, Tokyo, Japan, Sled, 3-17, 20
9. Richard Perini, Atamaron, Australia, Evolution, 12-11, 23
10. Alan Field, Temptress, Los Angeles, Calif., 4, 21, 25


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dana Paxton, Media Pro Int‘l, 401-849-0220, (mobile) 401-369-0490

International Media Contact:
Key Partners (KPMS)
info@regattanews.com
 

07/09/2004

 San Francisco - USA

A good indication of the degree of intense competition expected this week at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship was evident this past weekend at the Pre-Worlds, the two day warm-up regatta held September 4-5, in San Francisco, Calif.

Held out of the San Francisco Yacht Club rather than the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds host, the St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC), John Kilroy‘s (Malibu, Calif.) Samba Pa Ti won with Chuck Parish‘s (Hillsborough, Calif.) Slingshot in second and the defending World champions from Rome, Italy, Antonio Sodo Migliori and Massimo Mezzaroma on Nerone in third. Samba Pa Ti finished the five race series with 32 points, four points ahead of Slingshot and nine ahead of the Italians.

Whether this is any indication of the teams‘ performance at the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds remains to be seen. Conditions for the Pre-Worlds were lighter and flukier than competitors expect from San Francisco. Stronger, more typical sea breeze conditions with 20-25 knot winds from the west or southwest are forecast for the rest of the week, and in this brisker conditions other boats may emerge at the top of the fleet.

"San Francisco is a micro-climate. The water that comes in from the Pacific is very cold, so generally you tend to have a lot of fog early in the morning, and as the land heats up the breeze comes in with it," said Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.), owner of Barking Mad and president of the Farr 40 Class Association. "You tend to have a lot of big breeze and, depending on what direction the tide is running, you can have flat water as well. So it makes for pretty exciting sailing."

Traditionally for events like the Big Boat Series presented by Rolex, racing is held along the city front where the tide can run up to three knots. To prevent the regatta from becoming purely influenced by the tide, the organizers of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds have moved the course to an area known as Treasure Island Racing Circle, known locally as Berkeley Circle, close to San Francisco‘s famous prison island of Alcatraz.

"Off the city front it really becomes tidal as far as trying to get relief from the tide or taking advantage of the tide," continues Richardson. "Down at the Circle it is a little more evenly spread out, so you can go right or left and still have a pretty good chance of coming out at the windward mark on top. The Berkeley Circle is the fairest venue here in San Francisco."

In sailing areas where there is both a powerful tide and a complex coastline, local knowledge of the intricacies of how these work can play a significant part in a boat‘s results. Despite heralding from Southern California, Kilroy owns a house in San Francisco and his team, which includes Paul Cayard (Kentfield, Calif.) on tactics, sails here regularly.

Richardson doesn‘t think that local knowledge will be an issue at the Worlds due to the experience of all the crew members. "Everyone in this fleet has sailed here in San Francisco enough that I don‘t think there are any great surprises or any great local knowledge things going on," he said. "It‘s pretty straightforward and sometimes the world‘s great tacticians get it right and sometimes they get it wrong, whether they have sailed here all their lives or not."

Even most of the Europeans teams are familiar with these waters. Several have been in San Francisco to compete in Farr 40 events earlier in the year. For example Nerone has been commuting from Italy to take part in the entire American season this year, winning the last Farr 40 event two weeks prior to the Pre-Worlds.

"We have been preparing for this event since September 2003, immediately after winning the last World Championship," said Migliori. The team, on which the talented Italian Vasco Vascotto is tactician, keeps a Farr 40 in the U.S. and another in Europe where this year it won both the Mediterranean Farr 40 circuit and the Rolex Sardinia Cup. Migliori confides that his team has spent a lot of time working on sails and tuning this year.

"We have a very good feeling about the racing area, after so many hours of tests," said Migliori who will be on the helm while co-owner Massimo Mezzaroma will be handling the ‘pit‘. "The boat seems to be very fast. The crew is made up of old friends and fantastic sailors. We will try to repeat our 2003 result. It will be very hard, but for sure we will have fun."

Despite having six less boats than when the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds were held in Sardinia last year, the class is more competitive than ever. "It is still a strong class," said Richardson. "There are a lot of really wonderful owners. Obviously the economy over the last couple of years hasn‘t been the strongest, but the fact that we are still racing 30-plus boats in a world championship is pretty impressive I think."

The last time the StFYC ran the Farr 40 Worlds was in 1999 when 18 boats took part. "This one, with 31, should be a good show," said John Craig, StFYC race manager. "I would say definitely that the professionalism of the class - for example the coaches, the technicians and two boat programs and the amount of time that guys are pouring into the programs these days - has definitely increased since 1999."

The teams have spent the two days between the Pre-Worlds and the start of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds on Wednesday completing their boat measurements, and crew weigh-ins - Farr 40s are usually sailed with 10 crew with a combined maximum weight of 760kg.

The 2004 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place September 8-11 at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, Calif. For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including daily racing reports, results go to www.farr40.org or www.stfyc.org .

Founded in 1927, St. Francis Yacht Club, within view of the Golden Gate Bridge, is a year-round host of over 40 regattas on San Francisco Bay. The club is renowned for its expertise in running world and national championships, including the Melges 24 Worlds, and the J/105 and Star North American Championships.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dana Paxton, Media Pro Int‘l, 401-849-0220, (mobile) 401-369-0490

International Media Contact:
Key Partners (KPMS)
info@regattanews.com
 

19/06/2004

 Porto Cervo - ITA

Si è conclusa quest'oggi con la settima ed ultima prova del programma, la terza tappa del Deutsche Bank Farr 40 EuroMed.

L'edizione 2004 del Circuito riservato al monotipo Farr 40, dopo 21 prove disputate nell'arco delle tre tappe del calendario (S.Tropez, Cala Galera, e Porto Cervo), ha visto l'affermazione di Nerone Meridiana, la barca campione del mondo in carica del duo di armatori Massimo Mezzaroma e Antono Sodo Migliori con Vasco Vascotto alla tattica, bissando il successo ottenuto nell'edizione 2003.

Da ricordare, a bordo, oltre ai tre già citati, la presenza del giovane Marco Carpinello a prua e di Massimo Bortoletto come randista, coppia che voci danno in procinto di accasarsi presso il team Oracle di Larry Ellison e Chris Dickson.

Al secondo posto il francese Twins 2 di Erik Maris ed al terzo Norwegian Steam dell'armatore Eivind Astrup e del bi-campione del mondo mumm 30 Erman Johannensen.

Nerone oltre alla vittoria finale nel Deutsche Bank Farr 40 EuroMed Championship, nel corso di questo lungo fine settimana di regata di Porto Cervo, valido quale Settimana delle Bocche 2004, si è aggiudicato anche l'Audi Trophy (Il trofeo riservato al vincitore degli Audi Days), e la vittoria di tappa. Quest'ultima non è stata tuttavia un successo scontato, dato che Nerone si è imposto su Shining Sr., dopo 7 prove sempre molto tirate, di un solo punto.

 Quest'oggi Shining Sr. dell'armatore padovano Domenico Cilenti con Gabriele Benussi alla tattica ha confermato il suo buon momento di forma, ottenendo la sua terza vittoria in questa tappa. Tanto  non è bastato però a superare Nerone cui è stato sufficiente un settimo posto per aggiudicarsi la vittoria di tappa. Al terzo posto della graduatoria generale di tappa Norwegian Steam dell'armatore Eivind Astrup, grande protagonista ieri con due vittorie di giornata.

 

Le regate Farr 40 tornerarro i prossimi 28 settembre-3 ottobre, quando a Punta Ala si svolgerà l'Audi Farr 40 European Championship 2004, uno degli eventi velici più attesi della stagione.

 

La classifica generale finale della terza tappa del Deutsche Bank Farr 40 EuroMed Championship 2004 dopo 7 prove:

 

1- Nerone (5, 3, 4, 3, 3, 1, 7) pt. 26

2- Shining Sr. (4, 1, 1, 7, 6, 7, 1) pt. 27

3- Norwegian Steam (10, 5, 11, 1, 1, 4, 4) pt. 36

4- Struntje Light (7, 9, 6, 5, 5, 5, 8) pt. 45

5- Twins 2 (11, 13, 13, 2, 2, 2, 3) pt. 46

6- Joe Fly (3, 2, 3, 4, 16, 8, 10) pt. 46

7- Fiamma (16, 8, 10, 8, 7, 6, 2) pt. 57

8- Bambakou (6, 7, 5, 9, 9, 16, 5) pt. 57

9- TWT (2, 12, 14, 6, 8, 10, 9) pt. 61

10- Kokomo (8, 10, 12, 11, 12, 3, 6) pt. 62

11- Rrose (9, 6, 2, 13, 11, 11, 11) pt. 63

12- Cacharaza (13, 4, 8, 12, 9, 9, 13) pt. 68

13- Madina Milano (12, 11, 7, 10, 7, 9, 12) pt. 68

14- Breeze (1, 14, 9, 16, 16, 16, 16) pt. 88

15 - Farrfalina (14, 15, 15, 14, 10, 12, 14) pt. 94

 

La classifica generale finale del Deutsche Bank Farr 40 EuroMed 2004 Championship 2004 dopo 21 prove

18/06/2004

 Porto Cervo - ITA

17/06/2004

 Porto Cervo - ITA

Si è conclusa, oggi, nelle acque antistanti Porto Cervo, la prima giornata di regata della Settimana della Bocche valida come tappa finale del Circuito Mediterraneo della classe Farr 40.
Accompagnati da una leggera brezza di direzione maestrale, con molti salti di vento, hanno preso il mare i sedici equipaggi che, sino a sabato prossimo, si contenderanno il Trofeo di questa 26a edizione della Settimana delle Bocche organizzata, sin dal 1972, dallo Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Tre prove a bastone per oggi, per le barche timonate dagli armatori stessi (come previsto dal regolamento della Classe).

Vento leggero, non superiore a 7/8 nodi alla partenza della prima prova di circa 8 miglia (con onde ancora formate dal precedente grecale): primi al traguardo gli uomini di Vincenzo Onorato su “Breeze” seguiti da altri due equipaggi italiani: “TWT” di Marco Rodolfi – che ha a bordo Tiziano Nava e Daniele Cassinari – e da “Joe Fly” di Giovanni Maspero con Giorgio Tortarolo alla randa e Giovanni Mascetti a prua.
Il secondo bastone - svoltosi nelle stesse condizioni meteo del primo – è stato appannaggio, invece, di “Shining S.R.” dell’armatore Domenico Cilenti, che ha preceduto “Joe Fly” e “Nerone” di Massimo Mezzaroma e Antonio Sodo Migliori, vincitore del Mondiale Rolex Farr 40 del 2003, con il triestino Vasco Vascotto alle scelte tattiche, Massimo Bortoletto alla regolazione della randa, che alcune voci danno in odore di Coppa America in uno dei sindacati italiani e il giovane e promettente Marco Carpinello.
Nella terza e conclusiva prova di oggi girano per primi la boa di bolina “Shining S.R.” seguito da “Rrose” di Riccardo Bonadeo, che porta il guidone dello Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.
Quest’ultimo bastone, comunque, viene vinto da “Shining S.R.” – l’armatore Cilenti ha chiamato a bordo un altro campione come Gabriele Benussi – che, dominando quindi due delle tre regate di oggi, giorno di apertura della Settimana delle Bocche, si porta in testa alla classifica provvisoria con 6 punti, seguito da “Joe Fly” (8 punti) e “Nerone” con 12 punti.

Da sottolineare che con le tre prove di oggi, Domenico Cilenti e i suoi ragazzi si aggiudicano il Boscolo Hotel Day Trophy 2004, speciale classifica che considera solo le prove delle prime giornate dei 3 eventi del circuito Euromed.

BOSCOLO HOTEL DAY TROPHY STANDING

La classifica generale dopo tre prove:

1- Shining Sr. (4, 1, 1) pt. 6
2- Joe Fly (3, 2, 3) pt. 8
3- Nerone (5, 3, 4) pt. 12
4- Rrose (9, 6, 2) pt. 17
5- Bambakou (6, 7, 5) pt. 18
6- Struntje Light (7, 9, 6) pt. 22
7- Breeze (1, 14, 9) pt. 24
8- Cacharaza (14, 4, 8) pt. 26
9- Norwegian Steam (10, 5, 11) pt. 26
10- TWT (2, 12, 14) pt. 28
11- Fiamma (11, 8, 10) pt. 29
12- Kokomo (8, 10, 12) pt. 30
13- Madina Milano (13, 11, 7) pt. 31
14- Twins 2 (12, 13, 13) pt. 38
15- Farrfalina (15, 15, 15) pt. 45

30/05/2004

 Cala Galera - ITA

TWT helmed by Marco Rodolfi and Tiziano Nava as tactician won the 2.nd Euromed Event in Cala Galera, after winning the last race when the french Twins2 was only 1 point behind the italian guys.

The result comes from two years of accurate preparation made by this crew even by winter season training session. We observe a very good speed on the white Rodolfi's boat, and this could come out even from the development of the sails made by the italian sailmaker Daniele Cassinari, that is even the TWT tailer,  recently passed with his brother Giovanni in the North Sails group.

Two races today to complete the 7 races of the event.

We are finally happy to signal that, in the final day, the President of the Mediterranean Fleet, Alberto Signorini came back to race as mainsail trimmer with Vincenzo Onorato on Breeze - ITA 1. Is that the signal that Signorini is preparing his comeback ? We have to wait till Porto Cervo to know it...

The 2.nd overall was Twins2 follow by Giovanni Maspero and his Joe Fly with Luca Santella as tactician and Giorgio Tortarolo as mainsail trimmer.

To signal the final 4.th overall of Nerone by Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori, reaching this good position after an unlucky first day.

Overall Standing

The next EUROMED DEUTSCHE BANK Event will be held in Porto Cervo from the 17.th till the 19.th of June.

29/05/2004

 Cala Galera - ITA

The fleet had to wait till 3.00 pm to have a Northern breeze and start the 4.th race.

Initially the wind was about 8 kn and it increased during the race till 15 at the end. The run was very tricky and shifty and at the end was Vincenzo Onorato and his ITA 1 - Breeze that crossed the finish line first.

At 16.30 the second run started in a building northern breeze and we can report that at the first leeeward mark the world champion Nerone (Mezzaroma/Sodo Migliori) was leading the fleet, just ahead TWT by Marco Rodolfi.

At the end the winner of the 5.th race was Nerone but TWT is still at the top of the provisional overall ranking.

Provisional Overall

1. TWT, Marco Rodolfi (4-3-1-2-4), 14 pti
2. Twins2 (FRA), Erik Maris (2-7-2-4-7), 22 pti
3. Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero (1-6-9-7-3), 26 pti
follow 10 boats

Stay with us....

28/05/2004

 Cala Galera - ITA

Three races on the first day of the second Euromed Farr40 Circuit Event, held in Cala Galera and organized by the Circolo Nautico e della Vela Argentario. The wind was pretty light (about 8 kn.) coming from West.

The first race was win by Joe Fly, helmed and owned by Govanni Maspero, with Luca Santella as tactician and Giovanni Mascetti on board.

The second run was win by the European Champion Wolfgang Schaefer on his Struntje Light and the third race was really dominated by Marco Rodolfi with TWT (Tiziano Nava as tactician), that after a very good and clear start was ahead the group in each mark.

At the moment we still are waiting for the complete provisional standing... we apologize for the delay...

Tomorrow we expect another light/medium wind day and the forecast says direction North... stay with us....

25/05/2004

 Cala Galera - ITA

The entire fleet is ready to sail in the second Deutsche Bank Farr 40 Euromed Championship regatta.

Among the entrance are both the current World and European champions, respectively “Nerone” of Mezzaroma and Sodo Migliori with Massimo Bortoletto as mainsail trimmer and Marco Carpinello as bowman, two of the best in their position on-board, and “Struntje Light” of Wolfgang Schaefer.

To help the organization of the crew accomodation here you have a list of accomodation facilities.  ACCOMODATION CALA GALERA

See yah on the water !

12/05/2004

 Portofino ITA

23 years have passed since two men, sharing a love for Portofino and for sailing, met to discuss a wonderful idea.

Indeed, we can thank Beppe Croce, the unforgettable President of the Yacht Club Italiano, and Aldo Zegna, then President of Ermenegildo Zegna, world leader in men’s luxury clothing, for the creation of this spring regatta which ably unites competition and enjoyment, lifestyle and culture, sport and society in one of the most exclusive settings in the Mediterranean.

The event, organised by Yacht Club Italiano, with the collaboration of the Comune di Portofino, is open to yachts over 55 feet, subdivided into Classes IMS (ORC Club) and Wally. This year entry is also Open to two One Design classes: the Nautor's Swan 45, its second appearance at the event, and the Farr 40, taking part in the Ermenegildo Zegna Trophy - Spring Regattas for the first time.

As per tradition, the Trophy will include a series of extra events involving well-known international celebrities, who focus the public's attention to environmental problems, promote the culture of the sea or reveal the many and varied secrets of boat design.

Finally, two important acknowledgements are awarded every two years - the "Life for Sailing" Award , a tribute to those who have devoted their lives to sailing, and the "Beppe Croce" prize, awarded to promising young sailors.
This year, on Saturday 15th May, the "Life for Sailing" Award will be presented, to Germán Frers.

The Argentinian designer of hundreds of boats famous worldwide.
The occasion will be marked by an interesting round table discussion, open to boat-owners and to the public, with some of the most prestigious designers in the world in attendance, on the subject "One Off: lines and shapes from dream to reality".

(thanks to www.trofeozegna.com )

   www.yci.it

   http://www.trofeozegna.com/portofino/edition/index.html

18/04/2004

 St. Tropez FRA

The italian boat Breeze, skippered by the former AC Challenger Vincenzo Onorato wins today the first Euromed Farr40 2004 Event.

Onorato choose this year Adrian Stead as tactician and the results clearly say that was the right choice.

The European champion Wolfgang Schaefer finished in the second place overall, followed by the first french boat, Twins2 by Eric Maris.

Today we had 3 races respectively win by Dario Ferrari (Madina Milano - Eddie Owen as tactician) Vincenzo Onorato and the European champion Wolfgang Schaefer (Struntje Light).

Today started like any day in the Med should, 7 - 8 knots of breeze, pleasant sunshine, little or no waves, and fourteen Farr 40's lined up for racing, in a competition with few points between the leading boats.On Struntje, we were sitting in fifth place with equal points to fourth. This left us eight points behind the consistent leader, Breeze, who was on 19 points. Crucially a number of boats had slipped in placings despite putting in fantastic performances, by being black flagged in yesterdays last race.

The breeze, as yesterday was coming from the left hand corner of the bay, with some distant clouds reasonably ominous and obvious. With yesterday's black flaggings, people were keen not to be caught out again and the fleet
started cleanly with a definite split, half the fleet going middle left and the other half going middle right, no-one keen to bang corners. (Nice ad Ted!-coiler)

This led to some obvious situations from port hand boats approaching the windward mark and the usual clatter of starboard boats stacked up. First around were Norwegian Steam, TWT, Shining Sr., Breeze and Madina Milano. The spreadermark had been laid at about 130 degrees off the windward mark. Shining gybed early and but for some shouts from other boats, were clearly heading inside the spreader mark. A swift kite drop and gib hoist saw them heading almost back upwind to unwind themselves. A good recovery was made and they ended up 8th on the finishing line.

Places can change frequently in this fleet and it is always worth hanging in there, even in seemingly impossible situations. Madina Milano went on to win the race followed by TWT and Norwegian steam.

The second race proved staying in touch is worthwhile. The fleet headed right up the first beat with freshening breezes, and inevitable spinnaker changes from the original pre race choice being called. These boats generally carry three kites, to be declared at the start of race day 1. The first being a downwind VMG kite (1S), good to about 10 knots of breeze.
Next kite in the line up is generally a hybrid VMG / Runner (1.5S), recently introduced to the fleet to provide a cross over from the VMG to the runner (2S), which is good for 10 - 12 knots plus. Bigger angles are sailed with the VMG kite in order to increase speed over the water in such light breezes.

There were no major incidents at the weather mark, with the usual suspects rounding first, Breeze, TWT, and a good appearance for Jo Fly. Struntje headed around the top mark in 11th place. Not much could be gained down the reach with few places changing, bar Struntje slipping to fourteenth place round the bottom mark. Three places were picked up on the next beat, playing shifts up the middle and another five places picked up by slipping down the left hand side of the fleet on the gybes, finishing a much more palatable 6th place.
 

17/04/2004

 St. Tropez FRA

Racing finally got underway today, the wind had abated to only 5.5 knots but the breeze was oscillating through 65 degrees causing a delay to the first start.
The start was quite conservative for a Farr 40 fleet but the right paid and after the 1.4-mile beat it was Shining Sr that got to the weather mark first, closely followed by Twins 2 and Norwegian Steam. The rest of the fleet were less than a minute behind, but the positions remained relatively unchanged until the top mark when Norwegian Steam managed to steal the lead from Shining Sr. However Norwegian Steam was outpaced upwind and conceded the first race to Shining Sr.
Race two saw more eager starts with bunching up around the committee starboard end and an obvious general recall. On the restart it was Norwegian Steam that found consistent speed to win the race by a fraction from Nerone and Struntje Light.
Third race was not very controversial with Fianna finishing first, Nerone second and Twins 2 being the top three.
Race four saw another general recall with Z flag being produced by the race committee. Four boats fell foul to this including the now consistent boat Cacharazza with Andy Beadsworth and Simon Fry aboard. This race was again taken by Shining sr.
With a little surprise, the boat that sits in pole position without having had a podium position yet was ITA 1, Breeze, with Adrian Stead calling shots this season and Flavio Favini as mainsail trimmer.
With all to play for and just 8 points separating the top 6 boats, sunday looks set to be a cracker. (thanks to www.bangthecorner.com)

The provisional standing:

1. Breeze, Vincenzo Onorato (4-5-6-4), 19 pti
2. Shining Sr, Domenico Cilenti (1-7-12-1), 21 pti
3. Twins2 (FRA), Erik Maris (3-11-3-6), 23 pti
4. Nerone, Antonio Sodo Migliori - Massimo Mezzaroma (6-4-2-DSQ), 26 pti
5. Struntje Light (GER), Wolfgang Schaefer (11-3-8-5), 27 pti

16/04/2004

 St. Tropez FRA

No races today.

The Race Committee decided this morning to cancel all today's races because of the strong weather conditions.

Force 9 during the day with winds up to 60 knots in the Gulf of St. Tropez with waves of more than 5 meter coming from E-SE.

Tomorrow forecast are for westerly winds force 6.

Happy hour at 6.00 o' clock pm with all crews meetings for a beer at the Sociètè Nautique de St. Tropez terrace.

Story of the day (thanks to www.bangthecorner.com) :

Twins 2 and Norwegian steam were shipped from US for the event. The container ship docked in Monaco and had problems against the new breakwater; apparently the ship started drifting and was driven up against the dock damaging the container ship so much that it could not leave the harbour.
This would have left the two far 40s aboard late for the first days racing. They decided to be dropped over the side by crane in the next bay. There was a running swell, which was not noticed by the crew from the safety of the ship until they were dropped over. The crew had to to fend off the huge cargo ship by hand to keep the rig from being smashed to bits; the crew then hoisted the number 4 and by all accounts it was wet and wild surf to St.Tropez, burying the bow several times. They arrived mid morning before the cancelled racing.

13/04/2004

 St. Tropez FRA

Fourteen boats are ready to sail in the first Deutsche Bank Farr 40 Euromed Championship regatta of the season.

The weather forecast for Friday is for S – SE strong winds, up to 35 knots with gusts of 50 knots.

If the Race Committee are able to start the race it is sure to be an exceptional show in the Gulf of St. Tropez.

Six Countries are represented at the Regatta with many famous and experienced tacticians and sailors again in the fleet.

Among the entrance are both the current World and European champions, respectively “Nerone” of Mezzaroma and Sodo Migliori, and “Struntje Light” of Wolfgang Schaefer.