CYCA entrants Kokomo and Ichi Ban are second and fourth respectively in the International Farr 40 class after the first day of the 4th Rolex Baltic Week being sailed from Neustadt, Germany.

Four incredibly tight and exciting races were sailed overnight, with the lead changing several times not only in all single races, but also in the overall ranking. At the end of the day the Jim Richardson’s US yacht Barking Mad led by a narrow lead by just two points from Sue and Lang Walker’s Kokomo from Australia.

CYCA Commodore Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban had its mainsail ripped in a collision with a German yacht at the start of the first race, but recovered well in subsequent races with an 8th and two bullets.

“It was very tough racing in tricky conditions,” said Terry Hutchinson, who is the tactician on board the leading Barking Mad. “But the race committee managed it pretty well.” The day started with a fresh and gusty westerly breeze, which decreased later on and shifted in a thunderstorm front.

“We battled for every metre and managed lots of manoeuvres – tacking, jibing, sail changes. The mark roundings felt like a ride on a roller coaster,” Hutchinson added. 

Owner and helmsman Jim Richardson, president of the international Farr 40 class association, takes Neustadt not just as a training session for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship at the end of the month in Copenhagen, Denmark. “We also want to catch the Kokomo in the European Circuit,” confirmed Hutchinson.

The German yacht Struntje light, skippered by Wolfgang Schaefer, tangled with Australia’s Ichi Ban at the start of race one, with the mainsail of the Ichi Ban getting stuck to the spreader of the German boat.

For Ichi Ban it was the end of the first race. Her brand new mainsail ripped and Matt Allan had to change to his old and used sail.

However, Ichi Ban recovered with an eighth in the next race,  followed by  two wins to lift to fourth overall at the end of the day, with the Italian Fiamma (Alessandro Barnaba) in third position. – RegattaNews/Peter Campbell

Overall ranking of the Farr 40 regatta after four races:

1.  Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, USA) 15 points
2.  Kokomo (Lang Walker, Australia) 17
3.  Fiamma (Alessandro Barnaba, Italy) 19
4.  Ichi Ban (Matt Allen, Australia) 24
5.  Struntje light (Wolfgang Schaefer, Germany) 26
6.  Groovederci (John Demourkas, USA) 27
7. Opus One (Wolfgang Stolz, Germany) 29