Nerone takes it

Action packed 40 Worlds concludes in Porto Cervo

The fourth day of the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship saw Massimo Mezzaroma crowned as the new world champion after another impressive performance. Three races were run on the last day of the event, and Mezzaroma’s team, which includes tactician Vasco Vascotto, had effectively won the regatta with a race to spare after posting a second and a first in the first two races. Second overall was Michael Illbruck’s Nela and third was John Coumantaros's Bamabaku.

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Race Committee succeeded in its ambitious task of catching up on yesterday’s lost races, nine of the ten scheduled races were run. Wind conditions today were again near the top of the range although sunshine and warm waters meant that spectacular action and enjoyment was again to the fore.

Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio had brought the fleet out an hour earlier than originally scheduled to try and get three races in, the early rise not suiting Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad however as the dark blue American boat was recalled from a premature start in the first race. The 37-boat fleet opted mostly for the left hand side of the course again although the first two boats at the top mark, Scott Harris and Alex Geremia’s Crocodile Rock and Michael Illbruck’s Nela found the right to be the side to be on, rounding the first mark in the top two slots, with the ever present Nerone following round in third place. The order remained the same for the next lap until Mezzaroma’s boat again found overdrive on the last run to collect a handy second place.

The second start saw Richardson’s Barking Mad win the start at the committee boat end and storm off upwind. The points leader Nerone starting further down the line and Mark Heeley’s GBR-25 all came together near the starboard tack layline for a long stretch to the mark on port. With Heeley to windward and Nerone to leeward the Richardson’s American boat was eventually squeezed back into the pack, the former two rounding the mark in good order behind Vincenzo Onorato’s Breeze and Michael Illbruck’s lately consistent Nela.



The winning Nerone crew

The port tack layline near the weather mark is always a dangerous place to be. Now firmly in the pack on the approach to the top mark Barking Mad on port, just got across the bow of Crocodile Rock before throwing in a hasty tack to windward. Crocodile Rock promptly came up right in the wind shadow, the crew on the weather rail could just watch as the mainsheet trimmer on Barking Mad eased the sheet to accelerate letting the boom run along the side of the leeward boat removing all the stanchions and lifelines to the mast, the last crewmember in the line sitting out to windward, co-owner Alex Germia, also collecting the boom in her face. Crocodile Rock retired, Barking Mad flew an ‘I’ flag accepting a 20% penalty, but the incident was to cost Richardson dearly when he ended up in the protest room later, was disqualified and lost any remaining chances of winning the championship.

Back at the front of the fleet Onorato’s Breeze led all the way down the run and opted for the port rounding of the gate and the right hand side of the second beat. Breeze lost one place on the second beat to Eivind Astrup’s Norwegian Steam before the second weather mark and then lost another four when the spinnaker sheet became disconnected from the sail in the set. Mezzaroma’s Nerone, along with Wolgang Schaefer’s Struntje Light, pounced at this point and moved through to eventually finish first and second at the finish line, with Illbruck’s Nela finishing in third.

By now the battle was for second place overall with Nerone having only to finish out of third last place to collect overall honours. Illbruck’s Nela, with John Kostecki calling the shots, had started the regatta slowly but had had nothing but a string of single digit results from the second day.

"Anyone who knows this class knows how hard it is to stay in touch," commented Illbruck. "We had three bad starts at the beginning of the championship but then we settled in and things just ticked. Our objective was to finish in the top ten here. We are new in this class we have sailed only five events and to finish in second place is unbelievable. The intensity in this class is full time, and full on. There is no room for excuses. Mistakes cost dearly.”

Ultimately it was John Coumantaris’ Bambakou that collected third overall, followed by Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi in fourth.

"There are no words to describe how happy we feel as a crew right now," said Massimo Mezzaroma, Nerone's owner. "We have travelled all over the world for the last three years sailing Farr 40 regattas, but it was here at home with an all Italian crew that we became world champions with the biggest ever fleet. This is a 100% crew victory. For the last three years we have spent 10-12 weeks together as a crew, racing, training, travelling. It has all been worth it.”

The next Rolex Farr 40 Worlds will be in San Francisco in September 2004.

Results:

Pos	Boat	Owner	SAILN.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Points
1	NERONE	A. SODO MIGLIORI/MASSIMO MEZZAROMA	ITA 1972	14	1	2	2	4	7	2	1	18	51
2	NELA	MICHAEL ILLBRUCK	GER 93	19	16	18	1	2	4	3	4	7	74
3	BAMBAKOU	JOHN COUMANTAROS	USA 52104	1	7	6	12	8	26	9	17	6	92
4	ALINGHI	ERNESTO BERTARELLI	2272	11	12	7	15	13	6	4	8	24	99.5
5	SOUTHERN STAR	JOHN CALVERT-JONES	AUS 1770	17	34	9	5	5	5	13	11	1	100
6	BARKING MAD	JIM RICHARDSON	USA 50955	15	2	14	4	1	3	10	38	15	101.5
7	MORNING GLORY	HASSO PLATTNER	GER 40101	13	20	3	7	3	17	8	22	9	102
8	CROCODILE ROCK	SCOTT HARRIS/ALEX GEREMIA	USA 46999	2	38	31	9	7	1	1	8	12	109
9	STRUNTJE LIGHT	WOLFGANG SCHAEFER	GER 5055	3	18	11	13	27	11	6	2	19	110
10	SEVEN	ALBERTO SIGNORINI	ITA 1161	8	10	15	14	24	8	19	23	5	126
11	WARPATH	STEVE & FRED HOWE	USA 69	22	8	1	19	11	32	5	10	23	131
12	NORWEGIAN STEAM	EIVIND ASTRUP	NOR 40	5	19	13	23	12	35	18	3	4	132
13	GROOVEDERCI	DENEEN & JOHN DEMOURKAS	USA 46957	7	30	10	6	21	29	11	15	3	132
14	LE RENARD	STEVE PHILLIPS	USA 40076	4	3	23	22	23	10	17	6	26	134
15	MEAN MACHINE	PETER DE RIDDER	NED 5764	24	38	8	3	9	27	7	12	14	142
16	GAME ON	JOHN OSWALD/JOHN BAINBRIDGE	GBR 7040R	11	11	16	8	10	15	31	29	14	145
17	WARLORD VII	PHILIP TOLHURST	GBR 7400	10	4	19	22	18	9	36	21	13	152
18	KATANGA	ROBIN PATERSON	GBR 8888	18	9	22	10	19	22	28	16	11	155
19	GBR 25	MARK HEELEY	GBR 25	9	6	34	29	29	21	12	9	8	157
20	VICTRIC 5	TONY DEMULDER	GBR 5R	6	31	12	23	28	2	22	13	21	158
21	HAGAKURE	MICHEL TIBERINI	FRA 29039	22	5	28	17	15	19	21	20	12	159
22	ATALANTI	GEORGE ANDREADIS	GRE 42	17	15	17	11	14	28	15	27	30	174
23	TWT	MARCO RODOLFI	ITA 13711	12	38	21	24	17	18	14	18	16	178
24	SLED	TAKASHI OKURA	JPN 5095	30	24	4	32	25	25	33	14	2	189
25	ALBABLU	RENATO IRRERA	USA 40040	31	29	20	33	30	14	25	5	17	204
26	MADINA MILANO	DARIO FERRARI	ITA 4038	18	13	12	38	26	20	16	24	38	205
27	ALEPH	PIERRE DETROYAT/HUGHES LEPIC	GBR 46R	35	17	35	25	22	13	23	25	22	217
28	BREEZE	VINCENZO ONORATO	ITA 1	29	25	27	21	20	23	30	7	38	220
29	BOTTA DI CULO	G. ARRIVABENE/R. MINCIONE	ITA 103	28	21	32	38	6	12	20	38	38	233
30	ZZENZERO 7	RENATO MAZZESCHI	ITA 4088	25	26	37	34	31	16	26	26	20	241
31	SARASTRO 3	J.P. DELMOTTE	USA 50051	32	14	25	28	32	30	34	19	28	242
32	KOKOMO	LANG WALKER	AUS 8883	27	23	30	20	35	38	29	33	10	245
33	RROSE	RICCARDO BONADEO	ITA 18	37	32	24	18	16	24	35	38	25	249
34	FARR FELU	ALAIN BOMPART	FRA 9383	26	28	26	27	33	31	32	28	29	260
35	SHINING SR.	DOMENICO CILENTI	ITA 0091	33	22	33	26	38	34	27	30	31	274
36	FARRFALINA	ROB GODDARD	GBR 8940	34	34	29	30	34	33	37	31	32	294
37	CACHARAZA	MARCOS VIVIAN	AUS 69R	36	35	36	35	38	36	24	32	27	299