Rolex Farr 40 World Championship - Time to deliver

by KPMS on 27 Aug 2013 It’s time to deliver. After two days of racing at the Rolex Farr 40 pre-worlds, fifteen crews from eight countries are ready to fight for the coveted title of Rolex Farr 40 World Champions. The venue is spectacular and historic, the boats are the thoroughbred of world-class one-design racing and the competition is top-notch.

The 16th edition Rolex Farr 40 World Championship is hosted by the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) at Harbour Court in Newport, RI. Racing starts tomorrow, August 27, and runs through Friday August 30, with a maximum of 10 windward/leeward races. 'The New York Yacht Club is pleased and honoured to welcome the Farr 40 class, and title sponsor Rolex, back to Newport. We wish for fair winds, great competition on the water, and enjoyment of our warm hospitality ashore at our Newport home,' said NYYC Commodore Thomas J. Harrington. The Farr 40 Class, which requires an amateur owner to helm the boat and allows only up to four professional sailors among the crew, is a premier international one-design class: 'More than 100 years ago the New York Yacht Club played an important role in the birth of one-design keelboat racing with the creation of the NY-30 class, and has remained committed to one-design racing ever since,' added Commodore Harrington.

The competition in the Farr 40 fleet is very close and it is impossible to make any predictions. The defending world champion is Helmut Jahn’s Flash Gordon 6 (USA), which won last year’s title in the home waters of Lake Michigan, Chicago. Helmut shares the helm with his son Evan, who is responsible for the starts and the upwind legs. Evan knows how difficult the task at hand is: 'In the past couple of years the competition level has been raised throughout the fleet, everyone is pretty much even. It will be hard to have consistent results throughout the series, but we are confident in our speed and boat handling.'

Barking Mad (USA) is the current leader in the 2103 Farr 40 International Circuit Championship and will be looking for a fourth victory. Terry Hutchinson is calling the tactics for American owner Jim Richardson: 'We share the same expectations as the 14 other boats here: winning. That is easier said than done, and looking at the fleet it’s clear that everybody’s in the same situation as the defending champion. We are happy with how we’ve progressed through the season and I am very confident that we have everything we need to be successful.'

Everyone is talking about the Italians of Enfant Terrible, who just won the New England Boatworks Farr 40 Pre-World Championship. Tactician Vasco Vascotto is eager to start: 'We are ready! The Rolex Farr 40 Worlds have been one of the most coveted events in the past decade of international sailing. Newport for me is synonymous to wind, currents and challenge. It is also a course that has given me a great deal of satisfaction, such as the IMS world title won with Vincenzo Onorato.'

Monaco is also on the list of top contenders: Nico Poons’ Charisma recently won the Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship. American Olympic medallist Morgan Reeser is the tactician on board: 'The Farr 40 Worlds is a very close event that nearly always comes down to the last leg of the last race. The variables that determine success in the Farr 40 continue to be consistent starting and fearless decision-making by world class tacticians.'

While most crews have been competing throughout the season, one team has been catching up: 'The Australian season ended in February. It’s been a challenge for us to get up to speed, sort our gear, get all our crew and boat mechanics under control, while getting used to sailing in this part of the world,' says Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, owner of 2011 world champion Transfusion (AUS).

Pursuit of excellence, timing and fair competition are key elements to this type of event, and core values in line with Rolex title sponsor of the competition since 2001.

Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2013

Yacht - Owner/Tactician - Country

Asterisk-Uno, Hasip Gencer/Ross Mc Donald, TUR
Barking Mad, James Richardson/Terry Hutchinson, USA
Charisma, Nico Poons/Morgan Reeser, MON
Endorphin, Erik Wulff/Max Skelley, USA
Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi/Vasco Vascotto, ITA
Flash Gordon 6/Bill Hardesty, Helmut Jahn, USA
Flojito y Cooperando, Bernardo Minkow-Julián Fernandez/Matt Ciesicki, MEX
Groovederci, John Demourkas/Cameron Appleton, USA
Nanoq, HRH Crown Prince Frederik/Jens Christiansen, DEN
Nightshift, Kevin McNeil/Andy Horton, USA
Oakcliff Racing, Oakcliff Sailing/Max Vos, USA
PLENTY, Alexander Roepers/Chris Larson, USA
Struntje light, Wolfgang Schaefer/Peter Holmberg, GER
Transfusion, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis/Gavin Brady, AUS
White Knight, Zoltan Katinszky/Erik Shampain, USA Farr 40 Worlds website