| Nerone imperious, but
Transfusion emperor elect. |
| By the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds Media Team. |
 |
Photos by Daniel Forster for Rolex,
edited By Peter Andrews. |
| Friday, April 23, 2010. |
|
Day three dawned with the prospect of some breeze and some proper racing for the first time in the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. Even so, those watching got more than expected as the racing captivated from the start. The wind continued to make life difficult for the Race Committee and the competitors as it swung about violently during the day, rarely refusing to settle from one direction for any length of time.
The chessboard was active on the racecourse with boats making moves in all directions. Nerone (ITA)
looked to heading into the final day with a scoreboard lead, that was until an
uncharacteristic crew error at the final leeward mark of the day saw her slip
from third place to seventh. Also during the last race of the day and after dropping
down to eighth, Transfusion (AUS) pulled back up to finish fifth after
an intense day of four races. Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’ Transfusion on
21 points still leads the series by two points from Massimo Mezzaroma and Alberto
Signorini’s Nerone with
Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA) in third on 32 points. |
|
Massimo Mezzaroma and Vasco Vascotto's Nerone arriving
at the windward mark during the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010
in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
From the first race the story of the day looked to be all about Vasco Vascotto’s irrepressible optimism and ability to pull rabbits from hats when most others would have given up the ghost. In a ten boat fleet of this quality, passing lanes have been at a premium. When Nerone was slow up the first beat of the day rounding in eighth and six places behind Transfusion, her crew must have thought this was game-over. But their tactician, Vascotto, had other ideas. Just a minor hiccup in the master plan.
Nerone from that point worked her way through the fleet to finish in second, a long way behind the winner Alessandro Barnaba’s Fiamma (ITA), but just ahead of Transfusion in third. Barking Mad was plumb last, seriously denting her championship hopes. |
| |
Guido Belgiorno-Nettis' Transfusion from underwater
during day 3 of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
| In the second race of the day, Nerone went one better. Seventh at the first windward mark, she was first at the finish, and with Transfusion behind her once more. In the third race, the performance was almost exemplary as Nerone hit the top of the beat in second before winning convincingly from Goombay Smash, with Transfusion in sixth. Tied on points going into the final race of the day, Nerone’s luck seemed to be holding. Over early, she set herself a battle from the start, but when the race was abandoned halfway up the beat following a massive shift, the Italians’ looked to have a higher being watching over them. |
|
Jim Richardson's Barking Mad from underwater during day 3 of
the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
The restarted final race then looked to be going all Nerone’s way. Relishing undoubtedly the best conditions of the championship, she was fourth into the windward mark, with Transfusion buried. Was this to be the turning point in the championship race? In fact not.
At the bottom mark, a sail handling mess cost Nerone dearly and allowed Transfusion back into the driving seat. Even so, this was undoubtedly Nerone’s day and another series of miracles from the pocket maestro Vascotto, who was particularly cheerful as he stepped ashore.
"Today was one of the most wonderful days of the past few seasons. We did two firsts, one second and a seventh, and we can work tomorrow for something really important. We found passing lanes, we raced nicely in the shifts. These are conditions that we like a lot and many times we were ‘in phase’ as you like to say in the Anglo Saxon language. Only two points is behind is more or less even. Tomorrow will be tough for us, but for Transfusion too." |
|
Start of Race 5 on day 3, during the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010
in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Will the Italian team do anything special in preparation for tomorrow? Of course they will as Vascotto remarked with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, tonight we’ll start with a little wine and then tomorrow we’ll decide what to do!"
The Anglo-Saxon tacticians in the fleet were less consistently ‘in phase’ today and some found the going awkward. Two-time Olympic silver medallist Ian Walker, tactician on Doug Douglass’ Goombay Smash (USA), was close to putting a gun to his head after finishing 7th and 10th in the first two races. Ending the day with two podium finishes, improved life considerably.
"It was not physically tough out there today, but it was mentally very hard. In the first two races we were dreadful, just getting on the wrong side of some huge shifts. There was a little bit more wind in the last two races, it was a bit more regular we sailed well and got two seconds." |
|
Doug Douglass' Goombay Smash and Alberto Rossi's Enfant
Terrible rounding the top mark during the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010
in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Ray Davies, the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race exponent is tactician on Fiamma and had echoed the nature of the mental test.
"On the first race we had a very good start at the committee boat end and ended up tacking fairly early on the breeze. We went left, got in phase and played the right side of the course harder than anyone else getting a huge righty halfway up the beat. On the next start, we got caught on the line. We had to tack to get clear air and we were a bit out of phase early on the beat. We missed a couple of shifts down the run, got right back in form on the last beat, but then missed the last couple of shifts on the final run. We ended up right back in the pack again and really struggled. It was certainly a shifty day and you just had to be in phase all the time." |
|
Hoisting spinnaker onboard Alessandro Barnaba's Fiamma, during
the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Even Tom Slingsby, another Olympian and Laser World Champion and tactician on championship leader Transfusion, was feeling the effects of a difficult day.
"Things were changing all over the place today. A couple of times we saw Nerone in last and in those two races they finished in the top three. They sailed really well today and we were happy to minimize the damage against them and to be leading going into tomorrow. Everyone was getting tired on our boat by the fourth race. I was stressed out just with all the wind shifts and I was just trying to keep it together. The team did a great job." |
|
Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone sailing upwind on day 3 of the
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Transfusion was last at the Pre-Worlds so heading into the final day with a slender lead is a massive and surprising bonus. No one is taking anything for granted. Would Slingsby be adopting the same approach to tonight as his rival Vascotto? Not a chance, the Australian is heading to bed.
"I’m not doing anything special tonight, Just sleep. The more sleep the better! It could be an early start, so I’m just going to rest up and hopefully the team will too." |
|
The start of on day 3 of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in
Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Geoff Stagg, Manager of the Farr 40 Class, was out on the course today and had nothing but respect for the hard-working Race Committee and the persevering teams and he is relishing the prospect of a mouth-watering final day.
"It was tough day out there. Luigi (Peter Reggio) and his team were full on. The wind was moving around about 50 degrees. Tomorrow is a normal last day of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds. It is down to the wire. Barking Mad is lurking, 10 points back, that is a big reach. But Transfusion and Nerone are going to be all on. It is going to be very interesting to watch. Whoever wins the Rolex watch tomorrow will know they have been in a heck of a battle." |
|
Jim Richardson's Barking Mad about to turn a mark on day
3 of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
Today was Land Rover AutoBritannica Race Day and overall winners for the day (Races 5-7) were Nerone, Transfusion, and Estate Master. Race 4 was the Happenex Race, with Fiamma, Nerone, and Transfusion in 1st to 3rd places.
North Sails have provided on-site sail repair throughout the series from their Fort Lauderdale, Florida sail loft, as well as a daily weather forecast. Racing in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship concludes tomorrow, Saturday, April 24 with a possible first warning signal at 10.00. |
|
Lisa and Martin Hill's Estate Master sailing downwind on day
3 of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2010 in Casa de Campo.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
|
 |
|
|
For more information about the 2010 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, including results, crew lists, and media accreditation, please visit www.farr40worlds.com.
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds Results - Day 3
(Position / Name / Owner / Country / R1-R2-R3-R4-R5-R6-R7 / Total Points)
1. Transfusion, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (AUS), 1-1-3-3-2-6-5, 21.
2. Nerone, Massimo Mezzarona/Alberto Signorini (ITA), 2-5-5-2-1-1-7, 23.
3. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson (USA), 4-3-1-10-3-3-3-8, 32.
4. Estate Master, Lisa and Martin Hill (AUS), 7-2-10-5.5-4-9-1,
38.5.
5. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglass (USA), 8-8-2-7-10-2-2, 39.
6. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi (ITA), 6-10-4-5-6-4-4, 39.
7. Fiamma, Alessandro Barnaba (ITA), 5-7-6-1-7-1-10-6, 42.
8. Plenty, Alex Roepers (USA), 3-9-7-6-9-5-3, 42.
9. Struntje Light, Wolfgang Schaefer (GER), 9-4-9-4-8-7-9, 50.
10. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut and Evan Jahn (USA), 10-6-8-9-5-8-10, 56. |
|
| Outimage and Rolex © 2010 |
|
|
