Plenty and Barking Mad are sitting pretty after two races
Porto Rotondo, Italy 30 September 2010
Day One of the Farr 40 European Championship 2010 saw the ten competing yachts complete two windward-leeward races in light and tricky conditions. Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) with Hamish Pepper onboard calling tactics leads the provisional overall. Behind Richardson is Plenty (USA), owned by Alex Roepers and with Chris Larson picking the shifts who is equal with Massimo Mezzaroma in the third.
After a long wait off Porto Rotondo during which the fleet got in some practice starts, Race One of the series finally got off to a start at 3:00 p.m. in light 7 knot oeast south-easterly breeze. Plenty dominated from the off and was followed round the windward mark and the leeward gate by Nerone, current Farr 40 World Champion with Vasco Vascotto calling tactics. On the second upwind leg both Plenty and Barking Mad chose the left and at the mark Barking Mad had climbed up the fleet to second place ahead of Nerone, all three held their positions to the finish.
By the start of Race Two the area’s prevailing Mistral wind was blowing off the coast at approximately 12 knots. Once again Plenty was hot off the mark but the top end of the fleet remained compact as they rounded the windward mark with Roepers leading Struntje Light (GER), owned by Wolfgang Schaefer, Barking Mad and Andrea Canavesio’s Mangusta Risk (ITA).
Nerone and Fiamma (ITA) with ETNZ's gun tactician and one of the sport's hardest working yachtsmen onboard, were over the start line early and the resulting penalty left them buried in the fleet. The wind swung right for the second upwind beat and Barking Mad rounded firstt pushing Mangusta Risk into second with Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible in third, while Plenty had slipped back to sixth. Mangusta Risk took the lead on the final downwind leg but it was a real dog fight as Barking Mad snuck across the line within inches of the Italian boat. Enfant Terrible, with Pietro D’Alì on tactics took third while Nerone recovered to finish fourth after fighting their way back from ninth place on the first upwind leg.
Jim Richardson, owner of Barking Mad, was beaming dockside after the first day’s results.
“It was very shifty, sometimes there was good breeze and sometimes there wasn’t, but we did a pretty good job of sailing the shifts and being in the right place on the course and it worked out pretty well," he said.
“In the second race, we rounded the leeward gate fourth with Plenty leading Struntje and Mangusta. Struntje and Mangusta then went to the left hand side of the course and we went right, Mangusta came back with us and Plenty tacked off and went right and the left filled in with pressure and we got around all of them. Then we had a run to the finish line neck and neck with Mangusta the whole way and we just nipped them at the finish line.”The Hip Young Brits onboard Hooligan VI don't have Stuey from The Family Guy as their (inflatable) mascot this year but tactican Aaron Cooper said the vibe is very positive amongst their young camp. "We've improved over the last year and posting a seventh today in the first race was awesome for our team's morale," Cooper said. Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Friday October 1, at 11:00 am. North-westerly winds of 12 to 14 knots are predicted.
Provisional results
1 USA 50455 BARKING MAD James Richardson, (1) 3.0 2 1
2 USA 60059 PLENTY Alex Roepers, (9) 7.0 1 6
3 ITA 1972 NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma, (8) 7.0 3 4
4 ITA 4003 MANGUSTA RISK Andrea Canavesio, (3) 12.0 10 2
5 ITA 40091 ENFANT TERRIBLE Alberto Rossi, (6) 12.0 9 3
6 ITA 252 FIAMMA Alessandro Barnaba, (4) 12.0 5 7
7 GER 40 STRUNTJE LIGHT Wolfgang Schaefer, (10) 13.0 8 5
8 DEN 2007 MONICK David Holm, (7) 14.0 4 10
9 MON 69 CHARISMA Nico Poons, (2) 14.0 6 8
10 GBR 7400 HOOLIGAN 6 Edward Broadway, (5) 16.0 7 9
Lulu Roseman
Nerone and Fiamma (ITA) with ETNZ's gun tactician and one of the sport's hardest working yachtsmen onboard, were over the start line early and the resulting penalty left them buried in the fleet. The wind swung right for the second upwind beat and Barking Mad rounded firstt pushing Mangusta Risk into second with Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible in third, while Plenty had slipped back to sixth. Mangusta Risk took the lead on the final downwind leg but it was a real dog fight as Barking Mad snuck across the line within inches of the Italian boat. Enfant Terrible, with Pietro D’Alì on tactics took third while Nerone recovered to finish fourth after fighting their way back from ninth place on the first upwind leg.
Jim Richardson, owner of Barking Mad, was beaming dockside after the first day’s results.
“It was very shifty, sometimes there was good breeze and sometimes there wasn’t, but we did a pretty good job of sailing the shifts and being in the right place on the course and it worked out pretty well," he said.
“In the second race, we rounded the leeward gate fourth with Plenty leading Struntje and Mangusta. Struntje and Mangusta then went to the left hand side of the course and we went right, Mangusta came back with us and Plenty tacked off and went right and the left filled in with pressure and we got around all of them. Then we had a run to the finish line neck and neck with Mangusta the whole way and we just nipped them at the finish line.”The Hip Young Brits onboard Hooligan VI don't have Stuey from The Family Guy as their (inflatable) mascot this year but tactican Aaron Cooper said the vibe is very positive amongst their young camp. "We've improved over the last year and posting a seventh today in the first race was awesome for our team's morale," Cooper said. Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, Friday October 1, at 11:00 am. North-westerly winds of 12 to 14 knots are predicted.
Provisional results
1 USA 50455 BARKING MAD James Richardson, (1) 3.0 2 1
2 USA 60059 PLENTY Alex Roepers, (9) 7.0 1 6
3 ITA 1972 NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma, (8) 7.0 3 4
4 ITA 4003 MANGUSTA RISK Andrea Canavesio, (3) 12.0 10 2
5 ITA 40091 ENFANT TERRIBLE Alberto Rossi, (6) 12.0 9 3
6 ITA 252 FIAMMA Alessandro Barnaba, (4) 12.0 5 7
7 GER 40 STRUNTJE LIGHT Wolfgang Schaefer, (10) 13.0 8 5
8 DEN 2007 MONICK David Holm, (7) 14.0 4 10
9 MON 69 CHARISMA Nico Poons, (2) 14.0 6 8
10 GBR 7400 HOOLIGAN 6 Edward Broadway, (5) 16.0 7 9
Lulu Roseman