Early lead for Goombay Smash

Farr 40s flex their muscles in Dominican Republic Pre-Worlds

Farr 40 teams from Australia, Germany, Italy and the USA lined up on the picturesque azure waters of the Caribbean today, for day one of the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 Pre Worlds, hosted by Casa de Campo Yacht Club and Marina at the Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic.

Used to prepare for the imminent 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, this regatta provides teams with the opportunity to check out the competition and practice before racing for the ultimate class title, the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Champion, due to start on Wednesday, 21 April.

Spread throughout the ten boat fleet are Farr 40 defending and former World Champions, and North American, European, and Australian class Champions, all with their eye on the prize.

The race course, located two miles from the Casa de Campo Marina provided an ENE breeze which reached 24 knots in the third and last race of the day. The race committee, led by PRO Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio sent the fleet on three two mile windward-leeward courses and the flat water only started to gain a little chop in the last race of the day.

The 2008 Rolex North American Champion William Douglass and his Goombay Smash (USA) team won the first race and went on to finish the opening day of racing in the Rolex F40 Pre Worlds at the top of the leaderboard with nine points - the only team to have a single digit result. Lisa and Martin Hill’s Australian team Estate Master took second in race one and edged out the Italians on Nerone, steered by Alberto Signorini, to round out the top three.

Defending Rolex Farr 40 World Champion Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) took the gun in race two with Italian team Enfant Terrible (ITA) crossing in second and Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma sliding home third.

Fiamma (ITA) improved on their result in race three by winning while the fourth of the Italian entries at this event, Nerone (ITA) was second, with overall leader Goombay Smash (USA) third.

“We had lots of fun today, it was very shifty, with the breeze fluctuating in strength," said Barnaba after racing. "Race one wasn’t such a good one for us with a bad start, but races two and three we started to improve. We are happy with the way we are going. This the first time I have sailed with Ray (Davies) and Tony (Rae) and we are starting to work well together. This is my first time racing in the Caribbean and it’s nice to sail in a place with flat water and warm air, I’m looking forward to the next few days.”

Racing will conclude tomorrow and teams will then spend the following two days completing final measurement requirements and enjoying the world-class golf and resort facilities at Casa de Campo. Monday will see Farr 40 teams challenging for a non sailing prize, the Farr 40 Golf Tournament, a fundraiser benefiting the Partners in Health /Stand with Haiti organisation.

2010 Rolex Farr 40 Pre Worlds Day 1 Provisional Results:

1 Goombay Smash W.Douglass USA 9
2 Estate Master L&M Hill AUS 10
3 Barking Mad J.Richardson USA 11
4 Nerone M.Mezzaroma/A.Signorini ITA 11
5 Fiamma A.Barnaba ITA 13
6 Enfant Terrible A.Rossi ITA 15
7 Struntje Light W.Schaefer GER 17
8 Plenty A.Roepers USA 25
9 Transfusion G.Belgiorno-Nettis AUS 27
10 Flash Gordon 6 H.Jahn USA 28