Coming soon... the New England Boatworks Pre-Worlds in Newport on August 24-25, followed by the 2013 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds with racing on August 27-30.
Fifteen entrants and crew are registered.
Follow the results here and on the event site farr40worlds.com
“The teams will be battling it out for either the North American crown or the U.S. Circuit title or both,” said Farr 40 Class Director Geoff Stagg (Annapolis, Md.), “so there is really going to be a lot going on and a lot to follow—all very exciting.”
Defending North American Champion Jim Richardson (Newport, R.I./Boston, Mass.) and his team aboard Barking Mad currently hold the circuit championship lead with a total of 91 points, only two points ahead of current runner-up Alberto Rossi (Ancona, Italy) and his team aboard Enfant Terrible.
“This is very close competition, and we’re looking forward to racing against a lot of good teams in Martha’s Vineyard,” said Richardson, who also is a three-time world champion (1998, ’04, and ‘09), while Rossi claimed second at the Worlds last year. He acknowledged Enfant Terrible’s two 2013 circuit event victories, one having been at the Farr 40 East Coast Championship in Annapolis, and the most recent at the 159th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex where Barking Mad had to settle for second place on the final day of racing after losing on a tiebreaker to Enfant Terrible. (Richardson won the first of the 2013 circuit events – Quantum Key West Race Week, which served as the Farr 40 Mid-Winters—and finished third at the East Coasts.)
Struntje Light hangs on to lead while Barking Mad, Enfant Terrible make moves
Miami Beach, Florida, USA: A three-race day at the Miami Beach Invitational shuffled the fleet like a deck of cards. Struntje Light maintained its lead for the third straight day, but Barking Mad and Enfant Terrible made major moves on Friday as the overall standings scrambled like eggs.
It was a big afternoon for Barking Mad, which stood fifth in the seven-boat fleet after two days of action. Skipper Jim Richardson won the first race then followed with a second and fourth to move up to third overall with 29 points.
"We talked about this being a crucial day of racing and that it was important to put up some strong results," Richardson said. "Our goal was to get close to the lead and give ourselves a chance to win on the last day. It appears that we succeeded."
Barking Mad captured class honors at Quantum Key West 2013 in January, but found itself in an unusual position after the opening day of racing here in Miami - last place. Richardson's crew picked up two places on Thursday then really hits its stride on Friday.