Capri, Italy - Spectators on the Bay of Naples saw first-hand just how close Farr 40 racing tends to be during the final race of Rolex Capri Sailing Week.
With the westerly wind piping up to 12 knots on Saturday afternoon, leading boats Enfant Terrible and Flash Gordon 6 engaged in a thrilling downwind finish in tight quarters.
Enfant Terrible, the Italian entry led by owner-driver Alberto Rossi, held a narrow lead and was trying desperately to hold off the fast-charging Flash Gordon 6. Peter "Luigi" Reggio had a front row seat to the action from his perch on the committee boat.
"Flash Gordon gybed earlier than Enfant Terrible and was going for the pin end. Enfant quickly gybed to match and came up with more speed and was starting to roll Flash to leeward," Reggio said. "It was incredibly close and those two boats finished with their spinnakers overlapped. Flash Gordon's spinnaker was about a foot and a half to leeward of Enfant Terrible's spinnaker. If the buoy had been another boat length to leeward, Enfant probably would have won the race because of her speed. It was really an amazing, bang-bang finish and pretty cool to watch."
Almost all the mark roundings were that tight within the Farr 40 class during Rolex Capri Sailing Week, which featured four days of fabulous racing on the Bay of Naples. Skipper Helmut Jahn and the crew of Flash Gordon 6 got the gun in both races on Saturday to cap a terrific finish to the event.
Flash Gordon, which was in fourth place after two days of racing, clawed its way into second in the overall standings on the strength of winning the final three races.
"This is the first regatta we've sailed in a while so it took some time to get ourselves comfortable back in the boat. Once we did, it started to show in our results," said Evan Jahn, who serves as co-helmsman along with his father. "To close the regatta with three straight bullets is very encouraging. We can go home happy even though we did not wind up winning the event."
Jahn did not hesitate when asked why Flash Gordon 6 suddenly found a faster gear over the final two days of action. "I think we found wind conditions that were a little better suited to our weight as a crew," he said.
Flash Gordon 6 and Pazza Idea wound up equal with 26 points with the American entry winning the tiebreaker by virtue of having one more first place finish than the Italian team.
Rossi and his team aboard Enfant Terrible was consistent throughout the regatta and secured the victory with a low score of 21 points. Veteran professional Vasco Vascotto served as tactician for Enfant Terrible, which won three races and placed second in five others.
Enfant Terrible took the lead away from Day 1 leader Struntje Light in the heavy air conditions on Thursday and never relinquished its hold atop the standings. While pleased with the victory in the opening event of the 2017 International Circuit, Rossi acknowledged that Enfant Terrible still has work to do in order to be in top form for the 20th anniversary Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, being held off Porto Cervo, Italy in mid-July.
"I want to win the worlds like all the other boats. This is the beginning of working toward that goal," Rossi said. "We really enjoyed this regatta. Sailing off Capri in such fantastic conditions is so beautiful. This is such a wonderful place."
Flash Gordon 6 led wire-to-wire in winning the first race of the regatta, but fell to fourth after finishing fourth in both races held on Thursday in 20-24 knot winds. Evan Jahn said the team's struggles in strong breeze were a wake-up call that needs to be addressed before the worlds.
"When we sailed in breeze we were a little out of tune. During the debrief we figured out what was going wrong, but in the heat of the battle it's kind of hard to stop the snowball effect," Evan Jahn said. "Sailing in heavy air takes a higher level of execution and coordination. In order to do that, you just have to go sailing more and now we have that opportunity."
Rolex Capri Sailing Week was the first event of the 2017 season for Flash Gordon 6, which captured the 2016 Farr 40 North American Championship aboard a chartered boat. The father-son tandem plans to charter again for the Chicago NOOD while their boat is in Porto Cervo.
"We're going to show up to Porto Cervo early to do some thorough training," Evan Jahn said. "Porto Cervo has pretty consistent breeze so I'm sure we'll have time to work out the chinks."
Capri delivered a wide range of conditions over the course of four days with Saturday's westerly providing a stark contrast to the southeasterly that had predominated during the regatta. Racing in light, moderate and heavy winds tested the six-boat fleet while the sailors were treated to a spectacular backdrop throughout.
"It was another awesome day to go sailing. It's absolutely beautiful here," Jahn said on Saturday afternoon. "The sky is crystal clear and you can see Mount Vesuvius in the distance along with the Italian coast. Capri really stood out on the ocean today."
Pazza Idea was impressive for three days of the regatta, winning two races and placing either second or third in the other six. Skipper Pierluigi Bresciani was disappointed the Italian entry finished with a pair of fourths on Saturday and vowed improvement at the next event - the Farr 40 Gaeta Open (June 8-10).
Meantime, owner-driver Luca Pierdomenico and the crew of MP30+10 closed the regatta in encouraging fashion by taking two thirds on Saturday. That Italian boat had previously posted a pair of seconds with the overall result marking progress for the program.
"You obviously have Enfant Terrible and Flash Gordon, which are both very high-level teams. Also, Pazza Idea has put a bit more effort into their program than we have," Pierdomenico said. "We are really happy with our overall performance against such tough competition. We will continue to work hard to become even more competitive."
Pierdomenico was pleased with his boat's speed in certain conditions and said the key to improvement involves rig tune and trim in varying conditions.
"When we are at our best, we are as fast as the fastest teams out there. We've had some issues with changing gears and need to work toward maintaining top speed at all times. We also need to make sure we are aware of situations before they happen," he said.
Visit www.RolexCapriSailingWeek.com for more details on the regatta.
Farr 40 Class Standings
1, Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi, Ancona, Italy, 5-1-2-3-1-1-2-2-2-2=21
2, Flash Gordon 6, Helmut & Evan Jahn, Chicago, 1-4-4-4-4-3-3-1-1-1=26
3, Pazza Idea, Pierluigi Bresciani, Verona, Italy, 3-3-3-1-2-2-1-3-4-4=26
4, MP30+10, Luca Pierdomenico, Civitanova Marche, Italy, 4-2-5-2-3-4-4-4-3-3=34
5, Arctur, Vasyl Gureyev, Kiev, Ukraine, 6-6-6-6-5-5-5-5-5-5=54
6, Struntje Light, Wolfgang Schaefer, Lueneburg, Germany, 2-5-1-5-7/DNF-7/DNC-7/DNC-7/DNC-7/DNC-7/DNC=55