Farr 40s in Sardinia

New owner in the fleet Marcus Vivian provides a detailed report on last weekends racing, including the crashes, the protests and the injuries

The Farr40 Med circuit finished with a bang at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo with a three day regatta from 17 to 19 June. As always the winds were good, the racing tight and the bikinis on show. Three more boats made the trip down for the last round of the series including the highly rated Bambakou and Kokomo programs, and the Rrose team, last seen drifting around Portofino.

The sponsors where all out for the party atmosphere with the Deutsche bank guys turning up on a grey and red maxi, Audi and Boscolo in the obligatory Mediterranean gin palaces, and glamorous looking people all round.

The racing. Day one was held in a variable 8-12 knot northerly breeze, in the classic Porto Cervo race area under the islands. The wind was about 5 knots too light for the heavy slop making for a challenging day on the water. Performers of the day gained by drag racing from the start line to the left corner, for the geographic shift around the island, and putting in an early gybe to stay in better breeze for the run down. The usual suspects Nerone and Joe Fly put in solid performances, however the suprise of the day came from the Shinning team, notching up a 4th and two bullets to take the day in style from Nerone and Joe Fly.

Day two was another story. This time the classic 25kn+ Porto Cervo sea breeze came in and it was game on for all. The race committee decided to hold the day’s racing in the technical ‘Bomb Alley’, the bay adjacent to Porto Cervo where the Royal Navy sank the Italian Fleet in WWII, in search of less wind and flatter waters. Early casualties Breeze lost their mast crane on the way to the race area, and it was the end of their regatta.

Race one saw heavy air specialists Norwegian Steam show their class with an impressive 1st place from Twins 2 and the ever present Nerone. Twins 2 on the come back trail to salvage the regatta after a disastrous first day which threatened to blow their whole series.

Race two and it was all on. Gusts where pushing 30 knots as the fleet lined up for the start with only three races to go before the end of the med series, no discards allowed.

After a clean start, the fleet split with half the boats looking for an early lift off the left shore, and half looking to the right shore for the late right handed shift to the top mark. Both sides worked out fairly evenly, with Norwegian Steam rounding ahead of the fleet. This is where the action started as the boats that headed left, sometimes over lay, as they searched for a clear lane to get back on found themselves against a wall of nose to tail starboard tackers, also slightly over lay, doing north of 8 knots.

Early port line entrants Strunje Light and Madina Milano (with the gentlemenly Jesper Bank, and Eddy Owen on board respectivly) bore away sharply and ducked half the fleet. Cacharaza (with the aggressive Hugh Styles on board) used the confusion to advantage and tacked into a starboard lane created as the rest of the right hand boats worked themselves high, only to find Joe Fly spearing in on a hot port angle and glory on the mind. Cacharaza luffed to avoid, causing a domino effect that ended with some unpopular Italians, a trashed Australian mainsail as the boats locked together, and Joe Fly facing a DSQ which put their series in jeopardy.

In the end, the Norwegians took another bullet from the Twins and Nerone, as the Cacharaza crew joined Breeze in the bar, and the rest of the fleet lined up for race 6.

The final race of the day was more of the same. The breeze held up with Nerone and Twins again looking dangerous up the first beat in heavy airs, the Norwegians not far behind. Downwind, perhaps crew and helm fatigue became as factor as boats that had held it together so far started wiping out left and right. One casualty here was the highly rated Bambakou team who while steaming along into a gybe had a mainsheet threatening to take off owner John Coumantaros’ head. Tactician Ian Walker dove to the rescue, flicking the rope out mid gybe only to get his arm caught in the sheet during the wipe out, resulting in a suspected double fracture. The boat raced to shore to a waiting ambulance after taking a bullet for his owner.

The day ended with Nerone taking the gun from Twins, and the other Australian boat Kokomo. Norwegians in fourth, and all to play for in the final day.



There was only one race scheduled for the final day with first day performers Shining, Nerone and Joe Fly all in with a mathematical chance of taking the regatta. The breeze was threatening to build again, pushing the 20kn mark and again the committee decided to start the race in Bomb Alley. Bambakou and Cacharaza were back on the water. Cacharaza with a borrowed main, and Bambakou with a newly repaired tactician.

After a postponement, the race course was moved to the western end of the valley, with major shifts rolling down either side of the hills at the top of the course, and the breeze averaging down to around 15kn. Many boats choosing to go the #2 at the last minute, when only a half an hour before, all had been working up with #4’s. The fleet started conservatively, with Shining and Fiamma looking good around the top mark. Nerone hanging around mid fleet, Joe Fly looking ordinary out the back, with a lot of work on their hands.

After a tight first mark, the fleet then settled down for a steady race in shifty breeze. All boats had their rigs wound up expecting big breeze, so perhaps this explained the slower pace of the day. The championship contenders kept a close eye on each other, allowing Shining through for an easy win, followed by Fiamma and Twins 2.

At the end of the day, World Champions Nerone had again showed their class. Their consistency all season was again the key as they won the event and the Euromed Championship. New entrants Twins 2 placed second after a very impressive year, showing their form in both light and heavy airs, while the well established Joe Fly team came in third.

It was also another good year for the Farr 40 class. The Med fleet is still as strong as ever, and the level of competition second to none. The year long, no discard policy works well, keeping every race interesting, while the tight, nose to tail racing and down wind finishes provides great fun for the teams, great footage and fantastic returns for sponsors who all had a great time, day and night.

For us on Cacharaza it was a building year for the team’s first year racing a yacht for a bunch of guys used to sailing things with centreboards. The sponsors Saps2Sap.com and K2 Partnering Solutions had fun and got some good coverage, the performance had improved markedly, however we are still in search of more consistency that will come with more time on the boat after a full UK season, more experience in organising overseas campaigns and some new rags for next year. With that sorted, top results will come. Rounding in the top 5 is one thing, but its where you finish that counts.

So that’s over and out from the med until the Farr 40 Europeans, September in Punta Ala for more of the same.

Results from Porto Cervo
1- Nerone (5, 3, 4, 3, 3, 1, 7) pt. 26
2- Shining Sr. (4, 1, 1, 7, 6, 7, 1) pt. 27
3- Norwegian Steam (10, 5, 11, 1, 1, 4, 4) pt. 36
4- Struntje Light (7, 9, 6, 5, 5, 5, 8) pt. 45
5- Twins 2 (11, 13, 13, 2, 2, 2, 3) pt. 46
6- Joe Fly (3, 2, 3, 4, 16, 8, 10) pt. 46
7- Fiamma (16, 8, 10, 8, 7, 6, 2) pt. 57
8- Bambakou (6, 7, 5, 9, 9, 16, 5) pt. 57
9- TWT (2, 12, 14, 6, 8, 10, 9) pt. 61
10- Kokomo (8, 10, 12, 11, 12, 3, 6) pt. 62
11- Rrose (9, 6, 2, 13, 11, 11, 11) pt. 63
12- Cacharaza (13, 4, 8, 12, 9, 9, 13) pt. 68
13- Madina Milano (12, 11, 7, 10, 7, 9, 12) pt. 68
14- Breeze (1, 14, 9, 16, 16, 16, 16) pt. 88
15 - Farrfalina (14, 15, 15, 14, 10, 12, 14) pt. 94

Circuit points:

			Owner	Tactician
1	ITA 2272	Nerone	Massimo Mezzaroma	Vasco Vascotto
2	ITA 1805	Joe Fly	Giovanni Maspero	Luca Santella
3	FRA 007	Twins2	Erik Maris	Francois Brenac
4	ITA 13711	TWT	Marco Rodolfi	Tiziano Nava
5	GER 5055	Struntje Light	Wolfgang Schaefer	Jesper Bank