2010 Farr 40 European Championship

[Stuart Streuli]

FARR® 40 CLASS 2010 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR PORTO ROTONDO

Annapolis, Md., USA (June 10, 2010) – The Farr® 40 Class Association in conjunction with the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo announced that the 2010 Farr 40 European Championship is scheduled September 30 –October 3 on the enchanting island of Sardinia, Italy. The regatta is the final leg of the 2010 Farr 40 European Circuit and expects to attract many of the owner/driver one-design yachts including defending European and current World champion Nerone, owned by Massimo Mezzaroma (ITA).

“Over the past 14 years, the Farr 40 Class has traveled to the world’s most beautiful yacht clubs, including numerous trips to Sardinia,” said Class President Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass. /Newport, R.I.), owner of three-time world champion Farr 40 Barking Mad (2009 - Porto Cervo; 2004 - San Francisco; 1998 – Miami). “We are grateful for the efforts of Farr 40 European Class President Wolfgang Schaefer to bring the Class back to Porto Rotondo.”

The next stop for the European Circuit is the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy for two events. From June 25-27, 10 Farr 40s are expected to compete in the second leg of the series before moving on to the ISAF Offshore Team World Championship – Audi Sardinia Cup, June 28 – July 3. Eight teams are currently entered in the dual-boat format and include Barking Mad, Nerone, Martin Strobel’s (SUI) Vanitas Cube, Giovani Maspero’s (ITA) Joe Fly, Alberto Rossi’s (ITA) Enfant Terrible, Alex Roeper’s (USA) Plenty and Angela & Wolfgang Schaefer’s (GER) Struntje Light.

“The Farr40 Class has a very friendly relationship with the Porto Rotondo Yacht Club,” said Wolfgang Schaefer. “We are delighted that they will host the Europeans and I am sure that we will have great races in Porto Rotondo.”

Since its founding in 1985, the Porto Rotondo Yacht Club has hosted a number of important regattas. “I am very happy to welcome again the Farr 40 fleet, owners and crew,” said Yacht Club Porto Rotondo Commodore Luigi Carpaneda. “I hope that everybody will appreciate our new Clubhouse, which has been completely rebuilt. I am looking forward to welcoming everyone there. The YCPR has a long standing relationship with the Farr 40 Class, and I am confident this will continue well into the future.”

The Farr 40 Class maintains an extensive international schedule that revolves around regional fleets in the U.S., Australia, Southern Europe and the Nordic region with the annual Class “crown jewel” – the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. This past April, the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship took place at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic where Nerone was crowned champion. The 2011 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship – the Class’s 14th – will take place February 23-26 at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, in Sydney, Australia.

For more information about the 2010 Farr 40 European Championship or the schedule of 2010 Farr 40 Class events, please visit http://www.farr40.org/ <http://www.farr40.org/> .

[Stuart Streuli]

NERONE TAKES LEAD AT FARR 40 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2010

Porto Rotondo, Italy. 1st October 2010. With five races completed in the series Italy’s Nerone, owned by Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo-Migliori and with America’s Cup veteran Vasco Vascotto calling tactics, now sits in first place overall. Three-time Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richardson has slipped from the top spot he gained yesterday to second place overall with his Barking Mad (USA) while fellow American Alex Roepers is in third with Plenty, on equal points with Richardson. Over the course of today’s three races, each approximately six miles long, the fleet saw winds increase from a tranquil 10 knots from west north-west at the start of racing to 22 knots with gusts of 26 for the final legs of the third race. Bullets today went to Charisma (MON), owned by Nico Poons, Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light (GER) and Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (ITA) showing that nothing can be taken for granted in this fleet.

Racing in the Farr 40 European Championship 2010, organized by the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo in conjunction with the Farr 40 Class Association and the Farr 40 European Fleet, commenced yesterday, 30th September and continues through Sunday 3rd October.

The ten competing one-design yachts started racing proper at 1 p.m. (CET) after a first attempt at completing a windward-leeward race was abandoned as the majority of the fleet got stuck in a windless hole at the start of the first downwind leg. The first race of the day, Race Three of the series, hosted a hard-fought duel between Nerone and Charisma that eventually saw Charisma steal into the lead on the second upwind leg, a position she would hold for the duration. Struntje Light finished third.

The Mistral had picked up to approximately 18 knots for the start of Race Four. Nerone won the pin end but the Italians found themselves over early and relegated to the back of the fleet after completing their penalty turn. The current Farr 40 World Champions recovered well however to round the windward mark in third place behind Struntje Light and Charisma. All three held their positions to the finish.

The presence of veteran Kiwi sailors Ray Davies and Tony Rae aboard Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (ITA) shone through in the final race of the day as they stormed around the course well clear of the rest of the pack. Plenty, with Chris Larson on tactics, moved up to claim second place on the first downwind run leaving Struntje Light, Charisma, Barking Mad and Nerone tightly packed behind to fight it out for third place, a battle which Nerone won.

Vascotto of Nerone was quietly confident about the next two days racing: “Unfortunately we go over early in at least one race per day! We are sailing well though and now we are leading by three points so we recover well each time. I am very happy with the performance of the entire crew and how we are sailing with these winds. Tomorrow we want to continue to perform well, like we have been so far. Obviously Barking Mad, Plenty, Struntje and also Charisma are sailing well, but we are happy with what we are doing.”

Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Saturday 2nd October, at 11 am. Eight to ten knots of south easterly breeze are predicted.

For further information please visit www.farr40.org , www.farr40.net or www.ycpr.it or follow the Farr 40 class on Facebook and Twitter. Live information from the race course is available on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Farr40Class <http://twitter.com/Farr40Class> ).

Provisional results 1st October 2010
Pos. Sail no. Name, Owner (Bow No.) Overall Score R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
1 ITA 1972 NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma, (8) 15.0 3 4 2 3 3
2 USA 50455 BARKING MAD James Richardson, (1) 18.0 2 1 4 7 4
3 USA 60059 PLENTY Alex Roepers, (9) 18.0 1 6 5 4 2
4 MON 69 CHARISMA Nico Poons, (2) 22.0 6 8 1 2 5
5 GER 40 STRUNTJE LIGHT Wolfgang Schaefer, (10) 24.0 8 5 3 1 7
6 ITA 252 FIAMMA Alessandro Barnaba, (4) 29.0 5 7 7 9 1
7 DEN 2007 MONICK David Holm, (7) 32.0 4 10 6 6 6
8 ITA 40091 ENFANT TERRIBLE Alberto Rossi, (6) 34.0 9 3 8 5 9
9 ITA 4003 MANGUSTA RISK Andrea Canavesio, (3) 37.0 10 2 9 8 8
10 GBR 7400 HOOLIGAN 6 Edward Broadway, (5) 46.0 7 9 10 10 10

[MLovett]

Porto Rotondo, Italy. 2nd October 2010. Nerone (ITA), owned by Massimo Mezzaroma and AntonioSodo Migliori, retains the top spot in the overall classification at the Farr 40 European Championship at the conclusion of the penultimate day of racing. Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) also holds on to second place while a bullet and a second place today helped Wolfgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light (GER) push Alex Roeper’s Plenty (USA) into fourth place. PRO Peter Reggio was able to fit in three races today in the championship organized by the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo in conjunction with the Farr 40 Class Association and the Farr 40 European Fleet. While Struntje Light and Barking Mad both took their second bullets of the series, overall leader Nerone - with Vasco Vascotto calling tactics - chalked up her first win. A further two windward-leeward races are scheduled for tomorrow and with just eight points separating the top four boats and no discards coming into play, the battle for the podium is still wide open.

Racing was delayed slightly as the fleet waited for the predicted easterly breeze to arrive. At 1 p.m. Race Six of the series started in approximately eight knots of wind from 060°. Struntje Light, with tactician Jes Gram Hansen, chose the right hand side of the course and it paid off as the German boat led from start to finish. Tactician Hamish Pepper took Barking Mad into second place on the first downwind leg and held the position to cross the line ahead of Andrea Canavesio’s Mangusta Risk who, despite an average start, steadily gained ground on each leg to finish third.

Race Seven saw current Rolex Farr 40 World Champion Nerone lead the fleet from the start and build on the lead throughout to commence the final downwind leg over one minute ahead of Charisma (MON), owned by Nico Poons, and Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (ITA). All three crossed the finish line in the same order.

The breeze shifted slightly left for the start of the third and final race of the day and remained at approximately eight to nine knots. Leaders from the off were Barking Mad, Struntje Light and Nerone and they remained undisturbed for the duration.

Wolfgang Schaefer, who won the European Championship in 2003; commented on the day: “We won the day but we are still four points behind. We had a very good first race today, on the correct side and we had nice pressure lines and we got round the first upwind mark first and were lucky to hold it for the whole race. The second race was a little bit more difficult we had one bad mark rounding but we recovered a bit to finish fifth and the last race was good again. It was another very shifty day but we had enough wind to get in three races. It was tactically very difficult but it was also not easy to trim quickly so it was a big challenge, but that is exactly what this class wants and likes.”

Antonio Sodo Migliori, co-owner of Nerone also found the condition’s challenging: “It was a difficult day because when you have light wind and unstable conditions it is always very hard to choose a side of the course and also to control your opponents. We believed in the right side of the course and the sirocco that was supposed to come in but didn’t, so sometimes we went right and it didn’t go so well. We managed to recover though and a first, a third and a fifth is not bad.”

Sodo Migliori heads into the final race day in first place but is aware he needs to be consistent tomorrow too: “With two more races and no discard a four point lead is not much, we need to sail well . Here you can take a seventh or an eighth place before you know it.”

Racing is scheduled to conclude tomorrow, Sunday 3rd October with the first signal at 11 a.m. The final prize giving is due to take place at 5.30 p.m.

This event closes the Farr 40 racing season in the Mediterranean and several of the participating boats will now travel from here to Australia to compete on the Farr 40 circuit there in preparation for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship 2011 scheduled to be held in Sydney from 23rd to 26th February 2011.

For further information please visit www.farr40.org , www.farr40.net or www.ycpr.it or follow the Farr 40 class on Facebook and Twitter. Live information from the race course is available on Twitter (twitter.com/Farr40Class ).

[MLovett]

Nerone burns the competition to win Farr 40 European Championship

3rd October 2010. Porto Rotondo, Italy. 2010 is clearly Nerone’s year: although the Farr 40 owned by Antonio Sodo Migliori and Massimo Mezzaroma has won both European and World Championships in the class several times, never has she claimed both titles in the same year. That changed today as the Italian crew, with tactician Vasco Vascotto, added the Farr 40 European Championship 2010 to their long list of achievements which includes winning the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in April of this year. Second place went to three-time Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richardson (USA) with his Barking Mad while Wolfgang Schaefer took third place with his Struntje Light (GER).

Two windward-leewards were held on today’s fourth and final day of racing in the event, organized by the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo in conjunction with the Farr 40 Class Association and the Farr 40 European Fleet, and brought the fleet to their full quota of ten races completed in the series. Sirocco winds of 15 - 18 knots, sunshine and a rising swell accompanied the ten competing Farr 40s as they flew round the marks on the regatta course off Porto Rotondo. The battle was on between Nerone and Barking Mad for the top spot and the Italians took two bullets with Barking Mad right on their tails in both races. Charisma (MON), owned by Nico Poons came in third in the first race while Struntje Light took third in the final race of the series to ensure third place overall, a position they had contended to the bitter end with Plenty (USA), owned by Alex Roepers.

Antonio Sodo Migliori was clearly pleased with Nerone’s performance: “We are more than happy. We set out to be cautious, we just wanted to stay close to Barking Mad who was our nearest rival but it was one of those days when things go well and we sailed well, we were fast and we found ourselves in front each time and we held on to that.”

This event marks the end of the Mediterranean season and Sodo Migliori will now continue racing in Australia: “The boat will go directly to Sydney now where we will do a training regatta in December and then the Worlds in February and then we’ll come back home to Italy.” Nerone’s tactician Vasco Vascotto explained how this victory is one of the team’s most significant to date as it marks the return of co-owner and helmsman Sodo Migliori to sailing following a helicopter crash in March of this year: “This was a very important regatta for us because it is our first with Antonio back at the helm. It’s a miracle he is still with us and back aboard, I know participating in the Europeans was a goal for him and was part of his motivation over the past months. And we won!”

“The whole week was great,” continued Vascotto, “today was particular because we had to make sure we kept that four point lead and it’s not easy because you have to control your opponent and concentrate on sailing well. I chose the pin end in the first race, which was a mistake, I realized we were being pushed into a corner but we kept our cool and went round the back of everyone to get back in the middle of the course and was our best move of the day. When we got in front of Barking Mad we just had to stay there. In the second race everything went right for us and we were lucky.”

“Nerone sailed a very very good regatta.” commented Jim Richardson of Barking Mad, “We know it, we have been battling them for ten years and sometimes we get them and sometimes they get us. We had a pretty good regatta here, we sailed well although we had a couple of moments that could have gone better. Our hats are off to Nerone though, they did better. Vasco and Antonio and the team on Nerone have been sailing together for a very long time and they’re very very good. Struntje Light also did a good job coming in third - there was a full on battle for third place that came down to the very end.”

During the prize giving held at the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo’s Clubhouse overlooking the marina Commodore Luigi Carpaneda and President Luigi Donà dalle Rose awarded prizes to the winners of the Farr 40 European Championship and Nerone also took home the Farr 40 European Circuit Trophy based on the combined results of this event and a circuit leg held in Porto Cervo in June.

The Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship will take place from 15th to 18th October in Annapolis, Maryland (USA). Racing for the Farr 40 fleet will continue in Australia over the coming months in preparation for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship 2011 scheduled to be held in Sydney from 23rd to 26th February 2011.

For further information please visit www.farr40.org , www.farr40.net or www.ycpr.it or follow the Farr 40 class on Facebook and Twitter. Live information from the race course is available on Twitter ( twitter.com/Farr40Class ).

Final Results
Pos. Sail no. Name, Owner (Bow No.) Overall Score R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8N R9 R10
1 ITA 1972 -NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma, (8) 26.0 pt 3 4 2 3 3 5 1 3 1 1
2 USA 50455 -BARKING MAD James Richardson, (1) 32.0 pt 2 1 4 7 4 2 7 1 2 2
3 GER 40 -STRUNTJE LIGHT Wolfgang Schaefer, (10) 41.0 pt 8 5 3 1 7 1 5 2 6 3
4 USA 60059 -PLENTY Alex Roepers, (9) 43.0 pt 1 6 5 4 2 4 4 6 4 7
5 MON 69 -CHARISMA Nico Poons, (2) 47.0 pt 6 8 1 2 5 7 2 8 3 5
6 ITA 252 -FIAMMA Alessandro Barnaba, (4) 55.0 pt 5 7 7 9 1 6 3 4 7 6
7 DEN 2007 -MONICK David Holm, (7) 66.0 pt 4 10 6 6 6 8 9 5 8 4
8 ITA 4003 -MANGUSTA RISK Andrea Canavesio, (3) 71.0 pt 10 2 9 8 8 3 6 7 9 9
9 ITA 40091 -ENFANT TERRIBLE Alberto Rossi, (6) 76.0 pt 9 3 8 5 9 8 10 5 8
10 GBR 7400 -HOOLIGAN 6 Edward Broadway, (5) 94.0 pt 7 9 10 10 10 9 10 9 10 10