Italians feel at home, lead Farr 40 Midwinters

San Diego, CA (March 5, 2015) – The second day of the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship returned to the harbor course, with 11 teams jostling between Harbor Island and the cruise ship terminals for three more races.

With the race course just off the Little Italy section of downtown, Italian tactician Vasco Vascotto continued his mastery of the venue, guiding Alberto Rossi’s Enfant Terrible to a 1-1-4, and now holds an 8 point lead after six races over reigning World Champion Alex Roepers’ Plenty.

Two more days of racing is planned, with the fleet having the option of either the ocean or harbor course. A maximum of 11 races are planned with no discard. Racing concludes on Saturday, March 7.

Additional report by event media…
Going into the second day of racing at the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship, the Italian crew aboard Enfant Terrible faced the near impossible task of maintaining their lead against a class with some serious talent. The impossible must be an Italian special, because not only did they remain the overall scoreboard leaders, but they did so by placing 1st in two of the races and 4th in the last.

Day Two of the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship was the Maserati of San Diego Race Day, and it took place in San Diego Bay. The 11 teams took center stage on the busy waters, as harbor cruises, military vessels and spectator boats scurried along the outskirts of the racing course. “You all are providing the sailing fans on the 19th floor of the ESET building downtown with some truly exciting racing,” said Robin Dishon, whose office overlooks the course.

More than just a beautiful backdrop, the city-front venue offers notoriously shifty winds, forcing teams to constantly re-evaluate and think through every maneuver to get the most out of the best puffs. “The conditions were difficult but great,” says Wolfgang Schaefer, whose boat Struntje light has been a top competitor. “The wind was shifty and puffy and the tide stayed on top. It was pretty similar to lake sailing.”

Schaefer and his crew, who have been together for three years, trailed close behind Enfant Terrible throughout the first race of the day to finish in 2nd place. Alex Roeper’s Plenty was pushing hard from behind and finished in 3rd place.

For the first two races of Day Two, the Race Committee opted for a one nautical mile long W4. “I can’t remember the last time we’ve done a mile beat,” said Groovederci owner John Demourkas. “In close quarters, it’s very invigorating to be around so many boats going the same speed. It’s like a match race scramble.”

Demourkas’s crew made it out of the scramble to finish 4th in the second race of the day. Roepers and Plenty found the perfect puff on the first downwind leg, taking them from their original position in 6th place to their finish at 3rd place. Enfant Terrible and Flash Gordon 6 finished 1st and 2nd, respectively.

The momentum Plenty gained in Race 5 carried over into their last race of the day, where they held a substantial lead throughout the five leg course. Their first place finish bumped them up to the second spot in the overall scoreboard, with Struntje behind by two points.

Friday’s racing will take place on the ocean venue, where substantial breeze is expected to fill in throughout the afternoon. The first warning signal scheduled for 11:30am.

Preliminary Results – Day 2 (11 boats; 6 races)
1. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi , ITA – 2 -2 -3 -1 -1 -4 ; 13
2. Plenty, Alex Roepers , USA – 1 -6 -7 -3 -3 -1 ; 21
3. Struntje light, Wolfgang Schaefer , GER – 10 -1 -2 -2 -5 -3 ; 23
4. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut Jahn , USA – 8 -3 -1 -6 -2 -8 ; 28
5. Groovederci, John Demourkas , USA – 4 -9 -4 -5 -4 -5 ; 31
6. Nightshift, Kevin McNeil , USA – 3 -7 -5 -7 -8 -7 ; 37
7. Insanity, Rick Goebel , USA – 7 -4 -8 -8 -10 -2 ; 39
8. Temptress, Ray Godwin , USA – 6 -5 -6 -9 -6 -10 ; 42
9. Blade 2 , Michael Shlens , USA – 9 -8 -9 -4 -7 -6 ; 43
10. Foil, Gordon Leon , USA – 5 -11 -11 -11 -11 -9 ; 58
11. White Knight, Zoltan Katinszky , USA – 11 -10 -10 -10 -9 -11 ; 61

Complete results – Event details – Class website

Photos by Sara Proctor

2015 International Circuit
March 4-7: F40 Midwinter Champ – San Diego, CA
May 27-30: F40 Event # 2 – Cabrillo Beach, CA
July 22-25: California Cup – Marina del Rey, CA
August 19-22: Rolex North Americans – Santa Barbara, CA
September 24-27: Rolex World Championship – Long Beach, CA

Click here for full 2015 calendar.