Barking Mad pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in the 25-year history of the regatta, winning the Farr 40 class despite suffering a dreaded DNF. Barking Mad, skippered by Jim Richardson of Newport, R.I., did not finish Race 2 after a scary man overboard incident.
That type of result usually proves fatal in a no-throwout series, but the Barking Mad team kept plugging away - winning three of the final five races to pull out an improbable one-point victory.
"I wasn't too optimistic that we could win the regatta after what happened in that second race, but we just had to keep sailing with the understanding that every point was crucial," Richardson said. "We got better as the week went along and everything just sort of fell into place at the end."
Richardson steered the boat to a third place finish in Friday's first race, passing Provezza 8 at the finish line. That one point would ultimately prove crucial as Barking Mad wound up winning Race 10 and beating Enfant Terrible (Rossi Alberto, Italy). It was Richardson's second victory in Farr 40 class at Key West.
"We were four points behind Struntje Light and one ahead of Enfant Terrible going into the last race so we figured we had to win and hope those two boats beat each other up," Richardson said. "I think Enfant sat on Struntje a bit and pushed it back to sixth. Things just played out perfectly for us." -- Bill Wagner for Premiere Racing
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