Barking Mad still in control at Farr 40 Worlds

by Jan Harley/Jill Campbell on 27 Jun 2009
Already a two-time winner of the Farr 40 World title (1998, 2004), Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., USA) on his Barking Mad continues to lead the fleet in Porto Cervo after three races were sailed on the penultimate day of racing in the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2009 organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. Today’s races were contested in approximately 14 knots of Mistral breeze to bring the fleet to a total of eight races thus far.

Although Barking Mad, with 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) on tactics, leads the overall standings, today’s individual race winners were all Italian: victory went to Vincenzo Onorato’s Mascalzone Latino, Giovanni Maspero’s Joe Fly and Marco Rodolfi’s TWT, respectively, in the three races. Sailing conservatively, Richardson’s 6-3-3 scoreline was good enough for him to extend his overall delta to six points. With a 2-1-8 today, Massimo Mezzaroma’s Nerone (ITA) was able to move into second place in the overall standings, leapfrogging Joe Fly who now sits ten points behind thanks mainly to a disastrous first race.

Conditions were once again almost ideal and the first race started on schedule in 14 knots of wind. Mascalzone took the start and led the fleet of 25 around the first windward mark followed by Wolfgang Schaeffer’s Struntje Light (GER) and Alessandro Canavesio’s Mangusta Risk (ITA). At the leeward gate Mascalzone was followed by Nerone and Nanoq, with owner Prince Frederik of Denmark at the helm, and all three held their positions to the finish. Joe Fly was one of four boats over early and after returning to start correctly managed to make up ground from last to finish 19th.

Race seven saw Nerone, the 2003 Rolex Farr 40 World Champion, start well to lead Joe Fly and Goombay Smash, owned by Doug Douglass (New York, N.Y., USA), at the first windward mark in breeze of approximately 14 knots, but by the second windward mark Barking Mad had moved up to third behind Nerone and Joe Fly . The ensuing battle of tactics between Vasco Vascotto (Nerone) and Francesco Bruni (Joe Fly) almost succeed in the latter closing the gap, but Nerone managed to cross the finish line a few lengths ahead of Joe Fly with Barking Mad arriving third.

The wind held for the start of the third and final race and Flash Gordon, owned by Helmut Jahn (Chicago, Ill., USA), led the fleet around the course. The crew onboard includes son and co-helm Evan Jahn, Scott Murin and Brian Turuta (all Chicago), tactician Bill Hardesty, the 2008 Etchells World Champion, and Matt Cassidy (both San Diego, Calif.), Ed Norton (Charleston, S.C.), 2008 Olympian Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), Dave Gerber (Traverse City, Mich.) and 1993 Star World Champion Joe Londrigan (Springfield, Ill.).

Taking the tour behind Flash Gordon were TWT, with tactician Tiziano Nava, and Barking Mad, with TWT managing to overtake the Chicago team on the last leeward leg to finish first while Barking Mad maintained third. Nerone, which had started the day just one point out of first in the overall standings, was over early at the start of this final race of the day. That spelled serious trouble until, in a spectacular comeback, the team clawed their way back to finish eighth in the race.

'The third race kind of messed things up for us,' confirmed Vasco Vascotto – who also was tactician when Nerone won the world title in 2003 – on his return to Porto Cervo marina this afternoon. 'The guys did really well though and we got back up to eighth. We are sailing well, teamwork is good and it’s not over yet. The American’s on Barking Mad know how to handle things, this is a great battle! A great world championship in a fantastic place for racing, I have a lot of good memories here.'

Two more races may be held on tomorrow’s final day of racing to bring the series to the maximum ten. As normal in this highly competitive class, victory could go to a number of teams and tension will be high as every decision counts and even the smallest mistakes will weigh heavily. Major Filippo Petrucci, onsite meteorologist, is predicting more of the same conditions -- a continued Mistral wind which could reach approximately 20 knots. The Rolex Farr 40 World Champion 2009 will receive the World Cup trophy and a specially engraved Rolex timepiece during the prize giving scheduled to take place at on the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Piazza Azzurra.

General Classification Overall (Provisional):

1. BARKING MAD Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., USA), 1-6-4-1-6-6-3-3; 30.00
2. NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma (ITA), 5-1-13-2-4-2-1-8; 36.00
3. JOE FLY Giovanni Maspero (ITA), 4-5-5-4-1-19-2-6; 46.00
4. MASCALZONE LATINO Vincenzo Onorato (ITA), 2-10-2-9-8-1-13-13; 58.00
5. TRANSFUSION Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (AUS), 9-7-1-3-20-25-5-4; 74.00
6. FLASH GORDON Helmut Jahn (Chicago, Ill., USA), 20-4-3-11-11-20-4-2; 75.00
7. TWT Marco Rodolfi (ITA), 6-9-14-19-13-13-7-1; 82.00
8. TWINS Erik Maris (Paris, FRA), 14-8-15-14-5-5-6-18; 85.00
9. PLENTY Alex Roepers (New York, N.Y., USA), 12,13,19,13,10,4,15-5; 91.00
10. FIAMMA Alessandro Barnaba ITA, 3-12-7-10-24-10-16-12; 94.00

www.farr40worldchampionship.com , www.yccs.it , www.regattanews.com