DOUBLE TRIPLE WITH ICING ON THE TOP

Robert Oatley’s Wild Oats XI was announced this morning as the Overall Winner of the 68th Rolex Sydney Hobart. It had become clear overnight that none of the yachts still at sea could better the corrected time established by the 30.48m (100 foot) maxi skippered by Mark Richards. Wild Oats XI has repeated its historic performance of 2005, when it secured the treble of Line Honours, Overall Winner and Race Record.   Aside from Rani, in the very first race, Wild Oats XI is the only yacht ever to have achieved this impressive display of dominance. She has now done it twice. Bob Oatley was understandably impressed: “The main aim was the fastest time. To get the handicap too was fantastic, a real bonus. Getting the record trip was really the icing on the cake.” By 15:00 AEDT on 29 December, 13 yachts had finished the 2012 Rolex Sydney Hobart including two of the international entries: KLC Bengal from Japan and Ambersail from Lithuania. Last year’s winner, Loki, has so far come closest to unseating Wild Oats XI. Finishing last night at just before 21:00 even she was two hours adrift on corrected time. Black Jack, which arrived an hour before Loki, lies in third overall. Chris Bull’s Jazz holds fourth. Victorian yacht Calm had appeared to have the best opportunity of the yachts destined to arrive before dawn today. Needing to finish before 01:31, she was behind schedule yesterday afternoon. Owner Jason Van der Slot believed they would pick up pace but had not counted on stalling close to the finish: “We parked for two hours off Tasman Island and for an hour in the Derwent. We were aiming to finish in time to win and up to Tasman Island we were on track. It had all gone according to plan until then.” She eventually finished at 06:06 this morning and holds fifth place. Five yachts have retired so far and, for the 58 yachts still racing, a difficult evening lies ahead. In the lee of northeastern Tasmania there is a substantial wind shadow. From midway down the eastern seaboard to Tasman Island spindrift is flying off 3 metre waves in a 26 – 36 knot west-southwesterly. These conditions are forecast to prevail through much of 30 December too.

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On the morning of 28 December 2012, Wild Oats XI once again stamped her name in the Rolex Sydney Hobart history books. From the moment the start gun fired on Boxing Day the silver wraith seemed intent on condemning her rivals for line honours to the position of also-rans. Wild Oats XI’s finish time of 1 day 18 hours 23 minutes and 12 seconds sliced 16 minutes 58 seconds off her own record. Another commanding performance in a race she has begun to treat as her own.   Without doubt skipper Mark Richard’s crew of thoroughbred racers had some luck, but their race was not without problems. The first night saw the wind drop in the scheduled transition and her opponents close down the lead she had worked to establish during the afternoon. The crew held their nerve and once the northeasterly settled in they were off. Ragamuffin-Loyal’s endeavours to stay in touch with Wild Oats XI were hampered by a headsail gear failure from which the 100-foot maxi never recovered; Syd Fischer’s equally accomplished crew forced to accept the unwelcome role of bridesmaid. Ragamuffin-Loyal finished almost five hours behind Wild Oats XI. Had the apparent error of starting the race too early been converted to a penalty, her crew’s sense of disappointment would have been complete. Fortunately, the International Jury found that race officials failed to notify Ragamuffin-Loyal after five minutes that they had jumped the start, leaving the crew unaware that they should have returned and restarted. By 20:30 AEDT only four yachts had completed the 628 nm course. Lahana rounded out the maxi contingent just before 19:00, while Black Jack was the first mini maxi some 40 minutes later. Loki and Ichi Ban will be next home. None have so far been capable of posting a time that knocks Wild Oats XI off the overall podium position. The door may be open for a smaller yacht if the weather obliges. Calm, Jazz, Quest and Shogun look best placed to foil a second triple crown. They need the wind to shift substantially in their favour, something it has singularly failed to do so far. Wild Oats XI near finish (Photo by Rolex / Daniel Forster)

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The 68th Rolex Sydney Hobart got underway in exceptional conditions. The forecast southerly breeze providing the perfect angle for a spinnaker start and run down the harbour. The angle would prove less kind as the yachts exited the Sydney Heads and made their turn towards Hobart, finding the 20 – 25 knots now firmly on the nose. Mark Richards and Wild Oats XI looked to be in no mood to be interrupted in her bid to claim a sixth line honours, blasting off the line and showing Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin Loyal a clean pair of heels before popping out of the Heads comfortably in the lead.

 
 
An interesting night lies ahead. The decision how far to head out to sea was the first conundrum facing the crews. So far the bulk of yachts appear firm in the belief that staying inshore, and inside the rhumb line will pay better. Only, one or two boats have shown a determination to head offshore for any length of time. Mike Broughton, navigator on Chris Bull’s Jazz, felt ahead of the start that the fleet would do well to stay inshore for the initial section of the race, certainly until the major swing in wind direction expected during the night. This transition should see the wind back to the northeast and will have the yachts running under spinnaker for an extended period.

 
Start of the 2012 Rolex Sydney Hobart
Earlier this morning, Gordon Maguire, tactician on Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki, indicated some of their pre-race routing suggested the bigger yachts could profit enormously from the predicted northeasterly. If it arrives on cue, they could bite a huge chunk out of the course during the hours of darkness and be lying off Green Cape by mid-morning on the second day, 27 December. The small boats, meanwhile, such as race veteran Roger Hickman’s Wild Rose, might only find themselves parallel with Jervis Bay as dawn breaks. The difference in power between segments of the fleet will be all too apparent at this juncture.

 

WILD OATS XI, after the start
At 17:30 AEDT Wild Oats XI was 8 nautical miles north east of Kiama travelling at 12 knots, with some 50 nm under her belt after 4.5 hours of sailing. Any thought of setting a new record seemed to be on hold as navigator Adrienne Cahalan called in to report the wind speed dropping as evening arrives. Ragamuffin Loyal lies within striking distance just astern. Lahana, Ichi Ban and Black Jack round out the top five on the water. Conditions have been wet and hard on crews during these first few hours and the measure of performance differential between front-runners and back markers is clearly demonstrated by Charlie’s Dream. Averaging just 3.4 knots, Peter Lewis and crew were parallel with Botany Bay having knocked a mere 13 nm off the 628nm course distance.

The start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart is like few other yacht races. The natural amphitheatre formed by the deep-water harbour offers great viewing potential from the water, at water level from the beaches and coves, and grandstand opportunities from higher ground. Every Sydney-sider has a favourite location, and South Head must be one of the most popular and dramatic. A huge crowd always assembles to watch the fleet barrel down the harbour and make the sharp out into open water. This year’s spectacle was worth the effort involved. After a dreadful Christmas Day, when rain and wind battered Sydney, Boxing Day has been a joy. Blue sky and reasonably warm temperatures brought the locals out in their thousands to cheer the determined and enthusiastic crews off on their compelling adventure.

 

Entries

Abracadabra	5612	New South Wales	Tripp 47
AFR Midnight Rambler	8338	New South Wales	Ker 40
Akatea	NZL8710	New Zealand	Cookson 50
Ambersail	LTU1000	Lithuania	Volvo 60
Ariel	A140	New South Wales	Beneteau First 40
Asylum	YC10	South Australia	Sydney 38
Aurora	N3	New South Wales	Farr 40 – One Off
Black Jack	52566	Queensland	Reichel Pugh 66
Blunderbuss	RQ4000	Queensland	Beneteau First 40
Brannew	9988	New South Wales	Beneteau First 40 Cr
Breakthrough	6834	New South Wales	Beneteau First 40
Brindabella	10000	New South Wales	Jutson 79
Calm	SM5252	Victoria	TP52
Carbon Credits	6669	Queensland	Beneteau First 45
Celestial-Assistance Dogs	421	New South Wales	Rogers 46
Charlie’s Dream	RQ1920	Queensland	Bluewater 450
Chutzpah	R33	Victoria	IRC 40
CIC Technology Inca	F111	Aust Capital Territory	Vickers 41
Copernicus	6689	New South Wales	Radford 12
Corporate Initiatives	7407	New South Wales	Beneteau First 40.7
Cougar II	5200	Tasmania	TP52
Dekadence	S20	Victoria	DK46
Duende	ESP6100	New South Wales	JV52
Dump Truck	A6	Tasmania	Ker 11.3
Enchantress	SA346	South Australia	Muirhead 11
Eressea	6590	Queensland	Hanse 415
Finistere	F108	Western Australia	Davidson 50
Flying Fish Arctos	7551	New South Wales	McIntyre 55
Frantic	GBR5211	New South Wales	TP52
Geomatic	M495	Victoria	Hanse 495
Halcyon	R75	Victoria	Beneteau First 40
Helsal III	262	Tasmania	Adams 20
Holdens Secret Mens Business	YC3300	South Australia	Reichel Pugh 51
Icefire	R6572	New South Wales	Mummery 45
Ichi Ban	AUS 03	New South Wales	Jones 70
Illusion	5356	New South Wales	Davidson 34
INSX	SM5985	Victoria	NSX 38
Jazz Player	S390	Victoria	Bakewell – White 39
Jazz	5299	New South Wales	Cookson 50
Kioni	6146	New South Wales	Beneteau First 47.7
KLC Bengal 7	JPN4321	Japan	Humphreys 54
Lahana	10081	New South Wales	30m Maxi
Living Doll	R55	Victoria	Farr 55
Local Hero	1236	New South Wales	BH 36
Loki	AUS 60000	New South Wales	Reichel Pugh 63
Love & War	294	New South Wales	S & S 47
Luna Sea	8339	New South Wales	Hick 35
Lunchtime Legend	RQ14	Queensland	Beneteau First 40
Maluka of Kermandie	A19	Tasmania	Ranger
Martela	7075	Tasmania	IMX 38
Merit	8679	Queensland	Volvo 60
Occasional Coarse Language Too	8008	New South Wales	Sydney GTS 43
Ocean Affinity	RQ64	Queensland	Marten 49
Papillon	6841	New South Wales	Archambault 40RC
Patrice Six	360	New South Wales	X41
Peugeot Surfrider	7771	New South Wales	Beneteau 45
Primitive Cool	S777	Victoria	Farr 40 Mod
Quest	52002	New South Wales	TP 52
Ragamuffin Loyal	SYD100	New South Wales	Elliott 100
Rikki	NZL8008	New Zealand	Reichel Pugh 42
Rush	B45	Victoria	Corel 45
Sailors with disAbilities	6953	New South Wales	Nelson Marek 52
She	4924	New South Wales	Olsen 40
Shogun	6952	Victoria	JV 52
Southern Excellence	NOR2	New South Wales	Volvo 60
St Jude	6686	New South Wales	Sydney 47
This Way Up	RF360	Western Australia	Sydney 36CR
Toybox 2	MH4	New South Wales	XP 44
TSA Management	MH60	New South Wales	Sydney 38
Tusitala	SAM1	Samoa	Goss 60
Two True	YC400	South Australia	Beneteau First 40
Veloce	SM602	Victoria	Elliott 44CR
Wicked	SM4	Victoria	Beneteau First 40
Wild Oats XI	10001	New South Wales	RP100
Wild Rose	4343	New South Wales	Farr 43
Zen	3838	New South Wales	Sydney 38

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Over four days of racing at the Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship, held off Newport, R.I. from Wednesday, July 4 through Saturday, July 7, it was anyone’s guess as to who would win, since leading up to Saturday’s final two races there had been seven different race winners over the previous eight races and each day had yielded a different overall leader.  The event, headquartered at the Newport Shipyard and sailed on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound, hosted 11 teams that kept the bets going through to the last day, when Jim Richardson’s (Newport, R.I.) Barking Mad finally settled everything by clinching the championship after the day’s first of two races and finishing with an overall lead of six points.

“It’s great to win a continental championship,” said Richardson, who is a three-time Farr 40 World Champion (1998, 2004, 2009) and counts this as his first North American championship in the class. “It has only taken me 15 years,” he added with a smile at Saturday’s Rolex Awards Ceremony where he was presented with a Rolex Submariner timepiece for his team’s performance. “Today was a great day, and we got off to a great start in Race 9 and were able to finish second, which helped us to sew up our position for the event.”

Crewing for Richardson were Eric Aakhus (Newport Beach, Calif.); Dave Armitage (Newport, R.I.); Lindsay Bartel (Chicago, Ill.); Skip Baxter (Annapolis, Md.); David Chapman (Sydney Aus/Cowes UK); Zac Hurst, Zac (Valencia Spain); Martin Kullman (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Linda Lindquist-Bishop (Leland, Mich./Seoul Korea); and Matt Mcdonough (Jackson Hole, Wyoming).

In Race 10, with Richardson holding an unassailable 13-point lead, a dogfight broke out among three teams separated by only one point from each other. Fates weren’t sealed until the last leg, however, when the wind lightened, allowing an escape for Alberto Rossi’s (Ancona, Italy) Enfant Terrible to pass Alexander Roepers’ Plenty and cross the finish line in first. It put Enfant Terrible in second overall with 45 points, just two-points ahead of Struntje light, skippered by Wolfgang Schaefer (Germany), which finished in third-place overall with a fourth-place finish. Plenty had to settle for fourth overall with a fifth-place finish and 50 points, while Richardson, who cruised to ninth in that race, posted 39 points in the final standings.

“We won only two races in the regatta, but we have been really consistent,” said Enfant Terrible’s Rossi, who held onto second-place overall throughout the entire series. “Unfortunately, in the first race today we made a mistake when we had the opportunity to fight for the first position, but the best thing for me is that in the last race we showed that we could fight until the end.”

In addition to Barking Mad, Enfant Terrible and Struntje light, other first-place finishers throughout the week were Onur Erardag’s (Istanbul, Turkey) Provezza 8, John Demourkas’s (San Diego, Calif.) Groovederci, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’s (Sydney, Australia) Transfusion and Kevin McNeil’s (Annapolis, Md.) Nightshift.
Barking Mad’s Jim Richardson was presented with the Rolex Submariner timepiece  by Rolex USA’s Colette Bennett
Photo Credit Daniel Forster

“This was actually quite an unusual regatta because normally it’s so close going right down to the last race,” said Race Chair and Class Manager Geoff Stagg.  “The fleet was mixing it up on day one, day two, and day three, but then Barking Mad secured a lead where they really didn’t have to sail the last race.  Overall, it was a fantastic event.  The weather couldn’t have been better: we got ten races in, everyone loved Newport, and as a consequence, there is a high probability we’ll be back here for our world championship next year.”

Stagg explained that this year’s Rolex Farr 40 World Championship is scheduled for Sept. 17-20 in Chicago, which accounts for why so many foreign teams entered the North Americans in Newport.   “You are going to see many of the same boats that you saw here contesting for the world championship plus a few more,” said Stagg.  “What I get the most pleasure from is watching how good these owner/drivers are; I’d put them up against any of the pro sailors in the world.”

 

In addition to Rolex as title sponsor, supporting sponsors were Apollo Jets and Newport Shipyard. Vanquish Boats and PURE Yachting provided logistical assistance. The Organizing Authority was the Farr 40 Class Association in conjunction with The Storm Trysail Club.

Daily race reports and photos are available at www.Farr40.org, along with video coverage provided by T2PTV.

Final Results

Place, Yacht Name, Owner/Skipper, Hometown, Results, Total Points

1. Barking Mad, James Richardson , Boston, Mass., USA, 3, 3, 10, 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 2, 9, ; 39

2. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi , Ancona, ITA , 4, 6, 2, 6, 1, 5, 6, 7, 7, 1, ; 45

3. Struntje light, Wolfgang Schaefer , Lueneburg, GER, 2, 4, 8, 1, 2, 10, 10, 5, 1, 4, ; 47

4. Plenty, Alexander Roepers , New York, N.Y., USA, 7, 7, 5, 4, 10, 2, 4, 2, 4, 5, ; 50

5. Provezza 8, Ergin Imre / Onur Erardag , Istanbul, TUR, 10, 1, 7, 8, 4, 7, 1, 8, 3, 8, ; 57

6. Groovederci, John Demourkas , Santa Barbara, Calif., USA, 6, 5, 3, 7, 7, 1, 9, 11, 8, 2, ; 59

7. Transfusion, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis , Sydney, NSW, AUS, 9, 10, 1, 3, 5, 9, 8, 3, 6, 7, ; 61

8. Nightshift, Kevin McNeil , Annapolis, Md., USA, 1, 8, 6, 10, 9, 4, 2, 4, 10, 10, ; 64

9. Asterisk Uno, Hasip Gencer , Istanbul, TUR, 8, 9, 9, 5, 8, 6, 5, 6, 5, 3, ; 64

10. Charisma, Nico Poons , Monaco, MON, 5, 2, 4, 9, 6, 11, 7, 9, 9, 6, ; 68

11. Yellow Jacket, Bulman Scholz Syndicate , Annapolis, Md, USA, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 8, 11, 10, 11, 11, ; 106

 

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With three races conducted in strong winds, there was opportunity for boats to make a significant move in the standings on the second day of Quantum Key West 2012. Or in some cases it was a chance to further increase leads taken on Day 1. Pisces fit into the former category, moving into the overall lead in Melges 32 class by winning two of three races on Tuesday. Skipper Benjamin Schwartz and company showed superb boat speed and made some sound tactical decisions and now lead the 19-boat fleet by tiebreaker over John Kilroy and the Samba Pa Ti team. “We are a new program so it is a tremendous feeling to be doing well in a big-time regatta like Key West. Hopefully, we can keep it going,” said Schwartz, who joined the class last summer and promptly placed fourth at U.S. Nationals. Schwartz has America’s Cup veteran Ed Baird calling tactics and Quantum professional Scott Nixon trimming the jib and spinnaker. “You have to give Ed and Scott a lot of credit for getting our boat up to speed,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have a great crew. Today was very challenging because the wind velocity was up and down and the sea state was not very forgiving, but the guys never stopped working and we were able to change gears pretty well.” Race committees on all three courses completed three races in 8-14 knot easterly winds.

With five races in the bag, organizers with Premiere Racing are already halfway to the stated goal of holding 10 races during the five-day regatta. There was a lead change in the Farr 40 class as well with Charisma (Nico Poons, Monaco) and Struntje Light (Wolfgang Schaefer, Germany) overtaking Groovederci (John Demourkas, Santa Barbara, Cal.). Struntje Light has posted a pair of seconds and finished no lower than fourth in the seven-boat fleet, but Charisma holds the overall lead via tiebreaker by virtue of winning Race 5. “We had a very good day on the water and are happy with where we stand at the moment,” Schaefer said. “We have nice boat speed upwind and our crew work has been excellent. We have a very good tactician and he’s made some fantastic calls that have kept me in phase.” Renowned Italian professional and America’s Cup veteran Vasco Vascotta is calling tactics aboard Struntje Light, which has competed in Farr 40 class at Key West ever since 2002 with a top finish of third. “Wolfgang is doing a good job of driving and is getting better every day. The guys onboard have a great attitude and are ready to fight to the end. The good news is that we can still improve our performance.” PowerPlay lived up to its name by making a strong move in IRC 2 class with a strong line of 1-3-4 on Tuesday. Owner Peter Cunningham, a resident of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, has a nice mix of amateur and professional crew with tactician Tony Rey, trimmer Dave Scott and bowman Geordie Shaver among the superstars aboard. “We’ve only had the boat for six months and we’ve made a lot of modifications during that time,” Cunningham said. “We’re pretty happy with our performance so far. We’re sailing fairly well and having a lot of fun.” Quantum Racing, skippered by Doug DeVos, continues to set the pace in the 52-foot class and leads PowerPlay by six points. Terry Hutchinson, helmsman for the Swedish syndicate Artemis Racing that is Challenge of Record for the America’s Cup, has made strong tactical calls in leading Quantum to victory in three races and second in the two others. “Today was far from straightforward. The wind was very shifty and there are some tricky current patches to deal with,” Hutchinson said. In other classes, the three-race day merely served as an opportunity for the early leaders to extend on the competition.

Ran, a Judel-Vrolijk 72-footer, continues to sail impressively in the Mini Maxi class (IRC 1), winning all five races so far. Red, skippered by Joe Woods of Great Britain with Paul Goodison aboard as tactician, has accomplished the same feat in the inaugural Farr 400 class. “I guess we’ve just figured the boat out a little faster than the other teams,” said Woods, who has previously sailed a Melges 32 at Key West. “We’re winning, but not by much. The racing has been awfully close.” West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes has posted straight bullets in Melges 24 class and built a commanding 10-point lead over Alan Field and the WTF team. Detroit resident Bora Gulari is steering and getting tactical advice from Australian native and North Sails pro Jeremy Wilmot as West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes seeks to follow up on its 2011 national championship. Groovederci, skippered by Deneen Demourkas of Santa Barbara, Cal., has won all five races in Farr 30 class. Teamwork, a J/122 owned by Robin Team of Lexington, N.C., has posted two bullets and a pair of seconds in grabbing a narrow one-point lead over the 1D35 Tres Hombres in PHRF 1. “We’re having a great time because the conditions have been terrific and the competition has been spectacular,” said Team, who has his brother and two sons in the crew. “We’ve been mixing it up with Tres Hombres and finished overlapped with them in the first two races today. Rush is also tough so I think it will be a dogfight the whole way.” Rush, a J/109 skippered by Bill Sweetser of Annapolis, was named Lewmar / Navtec Boat of the Day after posting a superb score line of 3-2-1. Tom Babel is calling tactics while Quantum pro Tad Hutchins is calling tactics on Rush, which is currently third in PHRF 1 and second in the J/Boats Subclass. “The conditions were very good for us today. When the wind is 14 knots or less we can fly our big jib, which is kind of like our secret weapon,” Sweetser said. “We pay for that jib in our rating so it’s good whenever we can use it.” It’s been close but no cigar for Rush at Key West as Sweetser’s boat has finished first or second in class several times, but never come away as overall winner at week’s end. “One of these years we’re going to finally break through and it’s going to be wonderful,” he said. Regatta dates are January 15 – 20, 2012.

 

For more Key West Race Week photos by  Tim Wilkes check out Tim Wilkes Photography

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For the teams competing at the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in the Dominican Republic, it was a long, hot morning waiting dockside at the Casa de Campo Marina for the breeze to fill in. PRO Peter Reggio postponed the 11am start and kept the fleet dockside where they could find shade and stay hydrated. After an hour and a half delay, the fleet was sent out to the race area just a mile out from the marina entrance and racing was underway by 1pm. But the tropical Caribbean – temperatures in the 900F and high humidity – tested crewmembers’ concentration and focus. 
The SSW breeze was light at 6-8 knots for the first race. The race committee sent the fleet on a 1.7 nautical mile W-L-W-L course. Transfusion (AUS) led the pack down the line on starboard and was at the pin end at the gun.

 
Owner/helmsman, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis said, “We decided we wanted to go conservative at the start – we got ourselves a nice little lane, and we had a good start. And then the boat was fast and we just kept out of trouble, but Tom (Slingsby, tactician) must have felt it was just worth staying were we were — we didn’t do many tacks, and we got to the top mark first. Then we just kept that gap all the way. Very light, very challenging conditions…very exhausting, I’ve got to say it was really hard work.

 
“I think the first race was very nice, it was very satisfying, particularly with the Pre-Worlds result for us (Transfusion finished 10th).  It was nice to come back and get a first in the first race and keep the good result going.”
For the second race, the race committee reset the starting line to the west and sent competitors on the same course as the breeze increased slightly up to 12 knots. The fleet was even more tightly packed and hard by the pin end of the start line, Massimo Mezzaroma’s Nerone (ITA) was very close to being over early. Clearly they thought they were, though there was no flag or call from the RC boat, and after a boat length, Nerone turned around, sailed back and recrossed the start line. But the team was impressive as they clawed back from last place to finish in 5th place.
A frustrated Vasco Vascotto, Nerone’s tactician said, “We were supposed to be over the line, and we came back (to restart). It was a big present to everyone. We have an opportunity to do better – we made a present of four points today, I hope it is enough for the competitors!”
Alex Roepers’ Plenty (USA), overlapped and to windward of Lisa & Martin Hill’s Estate Master (AUS), tacked away for clear air and went to the right side of the course. Transfusion, midway down the start line was in clear air and stayed left up the first beat, slowly working they way through the fleet. At the top mark they were in third place and from there worked up to second at the leeward mark and by the windward mark the second time, they were in the lead, which they held to the finish.
The breeze dropped back to 6-8 knots for the third and final race of the day. At the start, it was Doug Douglass’ Goombay Smash (USA) at the pin end leading Estate Master, with Transfusion and Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light (GER) on their hip. Goombay Smash led the fleet all the way around the course and down the last leg they were under attack from Barking Mad.
Jim Richardson, Barking Mad owner/helmsman said, “The wind had lightened up a bit, and when you’re out in the heat all day and it’s light, it’s hard to concentrate. People get cranky on the boat, and people get cranky on other boats. But I thought our crew did a really good job of sailing in those conditions and everyone kept their focus.  We realized how difficult it is to sail in those conditions, so factoring all that we were pretty pleased.”
Barking Mad was second around the first mark and second around the leeward gate – they rounded the left gate, while Goombay Smash and Nerone went for the right hand gate. Heading downwind to the finish, Barking Mad started to reel in Goombay Smash, and Richardson said, “It’s hard to defend downwind in light air, and we got inside of them a little bit and we had a little bit of pressure. We were quite a distance away from them, but we were on their air.” The finish was looking to be too close to call until Barking Mad got into a bit more pressure and they crossed the finish line just ahead of Goombay Smash.
Today was the Casa de Campo Race Day. Day One’s overall leaders after three races – Transfusion, Barking Mad, Nerone – were presented with Farr 40 boat models built by Abordage.  The company, based in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, has been proudly producing beautifully hand-crafted ship models since 1989.

 

POS BOAT NAME OWNER / HELMSMAN         
1 TRANSFUSION  GUIDO BELGIORNO-NETTIS   AUS 6422 1 1 3      5
2 BARKING MAD  JIM RICHARDSON                         USA 50955 4 3 1    8
3 NERONE MASSIMO MEZZAROMA                           ITA 1972 2 5 5     12
   ALBERTO SIGNORINI
4 GOOMBAY SMASH DOUG DOUGLASS                    USA 2 8 8 2         18
5 FIAMMA ALESSANDRO BARNABA                        ITA 252 5 7 6       18
6 ESTATE MASTER LISA & MARTIN HILL              AUS 615 7 2 10     19
7 PLENTY ALEX ROEPERS                                             USA 60059 3 9 7   19
8 ENFANT TERRIBLE ALBERTO ROSSI                     ITA 20091 6 10 4  20
9 STRUNTJE LIGHT WOLFGANG SCHAEFER         GER 40 9 4 9        22
10 FLASH GORDON 6 HELMUT & EVAN JAHN     USA 60002 10 6 8 24

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The sailing conditions off the Casa de Campo resort in La Romana, Dominican Republic lived up to expectations as the Farr 40 fleet finished up a five-race series for the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds. Ten boats and teams from four countries – United States, Italy, Australia, and Germany – are in the Caribbean to tune up for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship which will run from April 21 – 24, 2010.

 
After five races for the Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds, it was Lisa & Martin Hill’s Estate Master (AUS) that finished on top, with Doug Douglass’ Goombay Smash (USA), and defending Rolex Farr 40 World Champion, Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) in third place.

Though the fleet is smaller than in recent Farr 40 Worlds, the racing was just as tight and competitive: in the five races, eight teams posted scores in the top three, the shifty conditions over the weekend giving all teams a shot at coming out on top.
 
On Saturday, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio and his race committee ran three races  — two nautical mile leg windward/leeward courses — that gave the fleet of ten boats a taste of the local conditions.
 
The 2008 Rolex North American Champion Doug Douglass and his Goombay Smash team won the first race of the regatta and went on to finish the first day of racing at the top of the leader board. Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master took second in race one and held off the Nerone (ITA), steered by Alberto Signorini to finish second. Defending Rolex Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad took the gun in race two ahead of Enfant Terrible (ITA) crossing in second and fellow Italian team Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (ITA) sliding into third.     
 
On Sunday, two more windward/leeward races were run, and going into the fifth and last race, Estate Master was tied with Goombay Smash for first place overall.  Both boats had a plan to start at the pin end, but it was Estate Master that pulled it off. Added to that, at the top of the first windward beat, Goombay Smash incurred a penalty for a port-starboard incident and had to do a 7200 turn, which effectively ended their chances of catching Estate Master.
 
Owner/helmsman Martin Hill plan to start at the pin end paid off, “We noticed there’s a trend at the bottom of the course — there’ s a right breeze and you get to the top mark and it goes left, so ideally you try to start on starboard as far as you can towards the pin, and then tack onto port and go for the top mark. That was our plan and we got down there and no one was around us, so happy days! I don’t know what was wrong, so we tacked and led the entire race. We’re not stupid enough to know that this is a practice race for the Worlds. Still I take any win, and it was lovely – the wind, the sunshine, and just being in the Caribbean, it’s just fantastic here.”

 
Hill, clearly enthused about his teams Pre-Worlds win, cautioned, “The only thing is there’s always a type of voodoo about winning the Pre-Worlds, it’s bad luck. But I said, ‘I’m not into superstitions, I’ve got to take any international regatta that I can’.
 
Hill’s wife, Lisa, sails on the boat in the pit position. Apparently a quick learner, she’s only been sailing six years, four of them on their Farr 40. After raising three kids in Sydney, she was looking around for something to do to fill her time. Hill said, “So I thought, well Martin’s not going to stop sailing, and so I sort of turned up one day and said ‘I’m here boys, and they sort of looked horrified’.  And I thought, ‘I’ve brought up three kids I think I can do this. Just be patient.’”
 
Given the distance they had to travel from Australia, Hill and his crew arrived in the Dominican Republic last Saturday a full week before the Pre-Worlds began, to get acclimatized to the time difference. They put the days to good use, sailing in the local conditions. Hill said, “We had a new mast and things to test out. It gave us a lot of confidence in testing the breeze and also we’ve been recording for the last month the wind direction, so we’ve been watching the trend.” “It’s a little obsessive”, he said with a laugh, “but you need a certain amount of confidence. We had the patience to wait for the shifts, we knew that it would come.”
 
Indicative of several teams whose scores trended up through the series, Alex Roepers’ Plenty (USA) had a second in the last race. Tactician Tony Rey said, “ We pulled some magic out there. We had a reasonable start and hit the first two shifts and sort of put our elbows out from there and tried to put everyone behind us.” 
 
About the upcoming Worlds, Rey said, “It’s going to be shifty enough, especially if we sail close to land – they’ll be plenty of lead changes to follow. This week is about getting off the starting line and being able to go straight for the first eight minutes. If you can do that, without tacking, you’re going to be in the top four at the top mark.”
 
Added to that is the fleet size which makes it even more critical to sail well, Rey said, “With ten boats you have to be very fast and you have to get a good start, it’s very hard to come back.”
 
The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship racing begins on Wednesday, April 21 through Saturday, April 24, and is organised by the Casa de Campo Yacht Club and the Farr 40 Class Association. Racing will be led by Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio, with Henry Menin as Jury Chairman. The Race Committee intends to conduct as many races as practical on each scheduled day of racing, with up to a maximum of ten races for the series.
 
A charity fundraising golf tournament for the competitors, on the famed Pete Dye-designed “Teeth of the Dog” golf course, will be held tomorrow, Monday, April 19.  Monies raised from the tournament will be donated to benefit the Haitian disaster relief effort, through Partners in Health (PIH), a Boston-based non-profit organization that has been on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. PIH operates world-renowned clinics and health care programs with 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants in eight sites across Haiti. For more information, go to www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti.

 

 
Rolex Farr 40 Pre-Worlds – Final Results
(Position, Name, Owner, Country, R1-R2-R3-R4-R5, Total Points)
 
1. Estate Master, Lisa & Martin Hill (AUS), 2-4-4-1-1, 12
2. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglass (USA), 1-5-3-2-6, 17
3. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson (USA), 4-1-6-4-4, 19
4. Fiamma, Alessandro Barnaba (ITA), 9-3-1-7-5, 25
5. Nerone, Massimo Mezzarona/Alberto Signorini (ITA), 3-6-2-9-7, 27
6. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi/Roberto Strappati (ITA), 6-2-7-5-10, 30
7. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut & Evan Jahn (USA), 10-9-9-3-3, 34
8. Struntje Light, Wolfgang Schaefer (GER), 5-7-5-8-9, 34
9. Plenty, Alex Roepers (USA), 7-10-8-10-2, 37
10. Transfusion, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (AUS), 8-8-DNF-6-8, 41

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