40 Farr 40s expected for class's world title

by Key Partners (KPMS) on 25 Aug 2006
In less than two weeks, Newport will become the stage for a battle that has been brewing around the world for the past nine years. Never before, have 40 Farr 40s assembled to contest the class's world title. That may all change September 6-9 when the 2006 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship takes place.

Currently, Stagg Yachts, the class's management arm, is anticipating that 40 teams will take to the starting line - already the entry list stands at 37 with a handful of programs not yet committed.

One team that has been focused on Newport ever since their victory at the 2005 Worlds in Sydney, Australia is current world champion Richard Perini's Evolution, from Sydney. To win a second World Cup among what many call the toughest one-design fleet racing in the world, his Evolution team will need to focus on flawless boat handling and a little luck as Newport's fall weather conditions can be tricky to analyze.

'One of the things we've improved on our team is eliminating our condition-specific weakness,' said Perini. 'We used to do poorly in light air, but we're pretty comfortable now. We don't have a favorite condition, but given the choice we like more wind than less..we're quite comfortable in all conditions.'

The fleet in Sydney was 28 boats strong and included many of the 2006 entries. The fleet in Newport may be tougher to compete in, not only because of its size, but for the fact that every boat has been training for this moment, selecting the very best amateur and professional crew members.

Four teams that will be hard to beat include four World Champion teams:

2004/1998 world champion and Newport summer resident Jim Richardson on Barking Mad with tactician Terry Hutchinson of Emirates Team New Zealand and Morgan Trubovich of BMW Oracle Racing;

2003 world champion Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori, (Rome, Italy) on Nerone with tactician Hamish Pepper, an Olympian and America's Cup tactician;

2002 world champion Steve Phillips (Arnold, Md.) on Le Renard with tactician Mark Reynolds, the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist;

and 1999 world champion Ernesto Bertarelli (Switzerland) on Alinghi with tactician Brad utterworth, three-time America's Cup winner and skipper of Team Alinghi, current holder of the America's Cup.

The team on Perini's Evolution also will be up against their countrymen aboard Matt Allen's Ichi Ban and Lang Walker's Kokomo, 7th and 14th, respectively, in 2005. 'Matt has had some good results since he's been racing in Newport,' said Perini of Ichi Ban's recent triumph in the 16-boat Farr 40 class at the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex. 'He is the only thing we have as a bench mark for our team.'

Another team Perini looks at as serious competition is Mascalzone Latino, the eponymous entry of Vincenzo Onorato. With tactician Russell Coutts, the three-time America's Cup champion and two-time ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year on the team, Onorato has a good chance of winning the Worlds, something he has attempted since joining the class in 2000. This year alone, Onorato has won the Rolex Farr 40 European Championship, the Sardinia Rolex Cup, Rolex Capri Sailing Week and Acura Key West Race Week. 'Vincenzo has been doing really well, he beat us in the Rolex Trophy Series One Design in our other boat,' said Perini of the Australian event lead up to the Rolex Sydney Hobart held over the Southern Hemisphere summer.

In addition to the World Cup, the winning skipper will be presented with a commemorative Rolex timepiece. The recently created Corinthian Trophy will be presented to the best performing team that declares itself in the Corinthian category. Basically, those teams have a maximum of two professional sailors on board and a reduced number of new sails in the calendar year. Corinthian Trophy competitors race with the rest of the fleet, and owners who register for the Corinthian trophy are also eligible for winning overall event prizes.

Already, 10 teams - roughly one-third of the fleet - have registered their intention to compete for this trophy. The Service Academy Trophy will be awarded to the top military academy crew. Currently, there are two such teams entered from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y.

Taking place on Rhode Island Sound, daily races will use the same course configuration - short windward-leeward courses lasting a little over one hour each - under the guidance of Principal Race Officer Peter 'Luigi' Reggio with assistance from the New York Yacht Club's Race Committee. On Sept. 1-2, the Worlds fleet will participate in a tune-up regatta, the Belle Mer Farr 40 Pre-Worlds.

From August 30 - September 9, all of the teams will be based at the Goat Island Marina, with Belle Mer serving as the event's Race Village and host of the Media Center. Social activities will take place at New York Yacht Club's Newport clubhouse Harbour Court, Belle Mer, and culminate at the Rolex Awards Party, held at the historic Gilded Age mansion Marble House on Bellevue Avenue.

Rolex Farr 40 World Championship - Preliminary Entry List, as of August 10, 2006

Owner, Boat Name, Country Representing
1. Hugh Lepic, Aleph, GBR
2. Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi, SUI
3. Jeffrey Siegal, Appreciation, USA
4. Jim Richardson, Barking Mad, USA
5. Carlo Alberini, Calvi-Game On, ITA
6. Dario Ferrari, Cannonball, ITA
7. Richard Perini, Evolution, AUS
8. Alessandro Barnaba, Fiamma, ITA
9. Simon Williams, Fresh Guidance, USA
10. John Demourkas, Groovederci, USA
11. Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker, USA
12. Matt Allen, Ichi Ban, Sydney, AUS
13. Paul Zabetakis, Impetuous, USA
14. John Thomson, Infinity, USA
15. Lang Walker, Kokomo, AUS
16. Steve Phillips, Le Renard, USA
17. Eduardo Souza Ramos, Madina, BRA
18. Vincezo Onorato, Mascalzone Latino, ITA
19. Peter de Ridder, Mean Machine, NED
20. David Holm, Monick, DEN
21. HRH Crown Prince Frederik, Nanoq, DEN
22. Massimo Mezzaroma/Antonio Sodo Midgliori, Nerone, ITA
23. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Nimbus, Kings Point, USA
24. Eivind Astrup, Norwegian Steam, NOR
25. Wolfgang Stolz, Opus One, GER
26. Philippe Kahn, Pegasus, USA
27. Alexis Michas, Phish Food, USA
28. David Voss, Piranha, USA
29. Tom Enright, Pretty Sketchy, USA
30. Rod Jabin, Ramrod, USA
31. Henrik Jansen, Silver Bullet, DEN
32. Takashi Okura, Sled, JPN
33. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Solution, Kings Point, USA
34. Alan Field, Temptress, USA
35. Erik Maris, Twins, FRA
36. Fred/Steve Howe, Warpath, USA
37. Zoltan Katinszky, White Knight, USA

The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship is in its ninth year and will celebrate its 10th anniversary in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007. The World Championship has been sailed in North America, Europe or Australia every year since the class was established in 1997. The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship joins other prestigious Rolex-sponsored 2006 events including the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Swan Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

For more information about the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including the full list of entries, go to the official event website www.farr40worlds.com. Results also will be posted on New York Yacht Club's website www.nyyc.org.