Rolex Farr 40 World Championship
Copenhagen, Denmark
29 August 29 – 1 September, 2007
What a difference a few hours made for the final day of racing at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark. After a delayed start of over three hours, PRO Peter Reggio and the Royal Danish Yacht Club race committee had patience and managed to add one final race to the scoreline, with nine races run in total.
Winner overall and World Champion Vincenzo Onorato and his team on Mascalzone Latino (ITA) didn’t need much to lock in their lead, finishing with a healthy 35-point lead over second placed Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi (SUI).
Mascalzone becomes the second team to win the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds twice (Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad is the other), though the Italian team is the first to do it back to back. Dockside the team was presented with the Farr 40 World Champion trophy, sprayed with champagne and all crew members treated to a dunking in the chilly water off the Royal Danish Yacht Club marina. Onorato, dripping wet and beaming, said, “I feel wonderful. Mascalzone first, Alinghi second. It’s my dream. Next dream is to do that in the America’s Cup maybe.
He continued, “Winning and defending the Worlds is just a matter of luck maybe. The secret was just to be relaxed. It is just a sail race and you must stay relaxed all the time. When things are happy you must not be so happy. When things are wrong you must not be so unhappy. This is the secret to be successful at the end. I have wonderful people on board. This world championship does not belong to me but to them.”
Today’s race provide a few shake-ups in the top of the scoreboard as Barking Mad’s (USA) 26th place and Alinghi’s 7th place resulted in the American team finishing third overall.
Four Australian teams contested the Worlds with Ivan Wheen’s Sputnik the newest to the one design class and the best placed when final results were tallied, finishing fourth overall.
Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan was the next best placed Aussie Farr 40, finishing 11th overall with a three point separation back to last year’s Farr 40 Worlds runner up, Commodore Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban. Finally Lang Walker, also a CYCA member, finished 20th from a fleet of 36 representing 13 countries with his Farr 40 Kokomo.
The 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship will be held in Miami Beach, Florida, USA from 16-19 April.
The Rolex Farr 40 World Championship joins other prestigious Rolex-sponsored 2007 events including the Rolex Fastnet Race, Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, Rolex Big Boat Series and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. – KPMS/Lisa Ratcliff
Day 4 – Top Ten OVERALL
Place, Boat Name, Country, Owner-Helm, R1-R2-R3-R4-R5-R6-R7-R8-R9 TOTAL
1) Mascalzone Latino, ITA, Vincenzo Onorato, 2-2-7-12-1-3-5-5-10, 47
2) Alinghi, SUI, Ernesto Bertarelli, 18-5-4-2-5-5-2-34-7, 82
3) Barking Mad, USA, Jim Richardson, 7-16-5-1-10-14-6-2-26, 87
4) Sputnik, AUS, Ivan Wheen, 5-30-2-5-6-10-1-19-13, 91
5) Opus One, GER, Wolfgang Stolz, 4-3-6-16-28-32-7-3-2, 101
6) Nerone, ITA, A. Sodo Migliori & M. Mezzaroma, 3-6-1-11-18-21-37DSQ-7-8, 112
7) Infinity, USA, John Thomson, 24-1-10-6-7-12-30-36-3, 129
8) Nanoq, DEN, HRH Crown Prince Frederik, 15-19-25-21-4-8-17-22-1, 132
9) Warpath, USA, Steve Howe, 23-13-22-4-19-2-12-12-25, 132
10) Twins, USA, Erik Maris, 33-4-15-7-17-1-15-23-18, 133
