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Vincenzo Onorato Rushes to Rolex Farr 40
World Championship
Italys Ousted Americas Cup Hopeful to Skipper Mascalzone
Latino
PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS (November 6, 2002) Just eliminated
from the challenger races for the Americas Cup, Italys
Vincenzo Onorato has made a beeline to Paradise Island in the Bahamas,
where the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship begins next Wednesday,
Nov. 13. The four-day event, staged at the Atlantis resort, will
be hosting the strongest group of sailors north of the Hauraki Gulf
and is to be preceded this weekend by the MeesPierson Bahamian Championship
at which all but a few in the now 25-boat Rolex fleet will compete.
Onorato is bringing with him four of his Americas Cup crewmen
to sail as part of team Mascalzone Latino, the same name given to
his Americas Cup campaign.
"I took immediate action because we enjoy sailing and we love
the Farr 40 class," said Onorato, who finished second at the
1999 Farr 40 Worlds and won both the IMS Worlds and the Mumm 30
Worlds in 2000. "Im happy to be back." Onorato,
who will charter a boat for both the MeesPierson and the Rolex events,
owns two Farr 40s but logistically could not get either to the Bahamas
in time.
"The MeesPierson Bahamian Championship will give the teams
a chance to check out their Worlds competition at the same venue
and under the same conditions," said Farr 40 Class Secretary
Renee Mehl. "Many of the boats got together in Miami recently,
as well, to tune up. There will be some very serious racing at both
events."
Other Top Talent
It would be hard to pick a clear favorite for the Worlds, but the
two past World Champions, Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport,
R.I.) aboard Barking Mad and John Kilroy (Los Angeles, Calif.) aboard
Samba Pa Ti, have been training hard all year for this moment. Italy's
Antonio Sodo Migliori and Massimo Mezzaroma, who co-own Nerone,
should post a strong showing as the current Farr 40 European Champions,
with Philippe Kahn (Honolulu, Hawaii) and his Pegasus--helped by
1998 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year and Whitbread Round the World Race
winner Paul Cayard (San Francisco, Calif.)--promising to light a
fire under them. As dark horses, Steve Phillips (Arnold, Md.), driving
Le Renard, and Terry McLaughlin (Toronto, Canada), steering Defiant
also are keen to win.
"We haven't really sailed Defiant in a big fleet before,"
said McLaughlin, who bought his boat in March of 2001 to prepare
for the Canada's Cup, a match-racing event that he won in September.
"I anticipate it being difficult, especially with this group."
McLaughlin, the Canadian Yachting Association's 2001 Rolex Sailor
of the Year and the 1984 Olympic Silver Medallist in Flying Dutchman
class, will bring with him five crew from his winning Canada's Cup
team.
Having bought Le Renard only last summer, Phillips will be the other
"new guy on the block," but he comes with a cohesive team
that most recently topped the 50-boat fleet at the J/105 Worlds.
Sailing with Phillips will be Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.),
USA's three-time Star class Olympic Medallist who was named Rolex
Yachtsman of the Year in 2000.
Up to four of the typical nine-man Farr 40 crew are allowed to be
classified other than Group 1 amateur, while the owners strictly
must be amateurs and are the only ones permitted to drive. This
combination of class rules has cultivated a tight knit group of
owner/drivers who are second to none in ability and a vast pool
of talented sailors -- both amateur and professional -- clambering
for crew positions.
Also among the who's who of crew is Chris Larson (Annapolis, Md.),
America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veteran who was named Rolex Yachtsman
in 1997. He will sail with skipper John Coumantaros (New York, N.Y.)
aboard Bambakou, which won both its class and overall honors at
the Sardinia Cup held last month in Porto Cervo. Other notables
aboard are Great Britain's Lou Varney and Guy Barron.
Other Olympic medallists competing are Steve Benjamin (S. Norwalk,
Conn.), 1984 Silver-470 Men (aboard Virago, skippered by Stuart
Townsend of Chicago, Ill.); John Kolius (LaPorte, Texas),1976 Silver-Soling
(aboard Joss, skippered by by fellow Texan Owen Kratz of League
City); Robbie Haines (San Diego, Calif.), 1984 Gold-Soling (aboard
Crocodile Rock, skippered by Santa Barbara's Alexandra Geremia and
Scott Harris); Great Britain's Iain Percy, 2000 Gold-Finn, and 2002
Star Class World Champion (aboard Katanga, skippered by fellow countryman
Robin Patterson); John Kostecki (San Francisco, Calif.),1988 Silver-Soling,
and winner 2002 Volvo Ocean Race (aboard John Kilroy's Samba Pa
Ti); and Jeff Madrigali (Langley, Wash.), 1996 Bronze-Soling (aboard
Terry McLaughlin's Defiant).
Two well-known Bahamian sailors, Gavin Mckinney and Craig Symonette,
will sail aboard Norwegian Steam, skippered by Norway's Eivind Astrup
. Both past commodores of the Nassau Yacht Club, McKinney and Symonette
competed in August at the 5.5 Worlds to take a bronze medal and
finished second at the Scandinavian Gold Cup. "We are excited
to take part in such a high powered regatta and to get the chance
to show everybody how beautiful the Bahamas are," said Symonette.
Racing for
the fifth annual Rolex Farr 40 World Championship will take place
on the crystal blue waters off the coast of Nassau. Sailors will
be racing for the World Cup, which is a beautiful Boda crystal trophy.
A Rolex timepiece goes to the winning skipper.
FARR 40 ENTRIES AT WORLDS BY COUNTRY
updated 11/6/2002
USA (13)
BAMBAKOU John Coumantaros New York, N.Y., USA
BARKING MAD Jim Richardson Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I. USA
CROCODILE ROCK Alexandra Geremia/Scott Harris Santa Barbara, Calif.,
USA
FLASH GORDON Helmut Jahn Chicago, Ill., USA
LE RENARD Steve Phillips Arnold, Md., USA
GONE TOO FARR Dave Carrel Belvedere, Calif., USA
GROOVEDERCI Deneen/John Demourkas Montecito, Calif., USA
JOSS Owen Kratz League City, Texas, USA
NITEMARE Tom Neill Berkeley, Ill., USA
PEGASUS Philippe Kahn Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
SAMBA PA TI John Kilroy Los Angeles, Calif., USA
SOLUTION John Thomson Port Washington, N.Y., USA
VIRAGO Stuart Townsend Chicago, Ill., USA
ITALY (3)
BOTTADICULO Giovanni Arrivabene/Andrea Bocchini Massarosa, ITALY
MASCALZONE LATINO Vincenzo Onorato Naples, ITALY
NERONE Massimo Mezzaroma/Antonio Migliori Rome, ITALY
AUSTRALIA (2)
EMOTIONAL HOOLIGAN Marcus Blackmore Sydney, AUSTRALIA
KOKOMO Lang Walker Potts Point, AUSTRALIA
CANADA (2)
DEFIANT Terry McLaughlin Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
HONOUR Alek Krstajic Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
ENGLAND (2)
ASSEGAI Leonidas Christeanakis/Chris Hunt London, ENGLAND
KATANGA Robin Patterson London, ENGLAND
NORWAY (1)
NORWEGIAN STEAM Eivind Astrup Oslo, NORWAY
JAPAN (1)
SLED Takashi Okura Tokyo, JAPAN
GERMANY (1)
MORNING GLORY Hasso Plattner GERMANY/San Francisco, Calif., USA
29
October - Aggressive Fleet Prepares for Rolex World Championship
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