| PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS-(29-10-2002) With eight countries represented
on its current 24-team roster, the 2002 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship
will find itself in the international sailing spotlight from November 13-16
and on a stage unmatched in beauty. Set for Atlantis on Paradise Island in
the Bahamas, the event will use as its backdrop the resort’s exotic marine
habitat that is second in size and magnificence only to the ocean. For four
days of racing, Mother Nature’s laws for beneath the ocean will apply to
those atop it, “survival of the fittest” being the most applicable for this
battle-toughened Farr 40 fleet.
Barking Mad’s owner/driver Jim Richardson of Boston, Mass. and Newport,
R.I., will be gunning for something more than a second Farr 40 World
Championship title. With his first one secured in 1998, he'll set his
sights on making a hat trick out of his victories at two other
Rolex-sponsored events this year.
“You bet! I’m going for my third watch,” said Richardson, referring to the
championship’s coveted prize that he also won as overall victor at the New
York Yacht Club's Race Week at Newport and the St. Francis Big Boat Series.
“But the team wants that World Cup, too. Everything we’ve done has been in
preparation for winning this championship. We’ve had a very good year,
winning a half dozen regattas on both coasts and competing in several more.”
It’s a foregone conclusion in Farr 40 sailing that teams who have sailed
together over time do the best, and John Kilroy’s Samba Pa Ti team from Los
Angeles, Calif., just might be one of the tightest knit. It, too, has
spent a good amount of time racing on both coasts this year. Most notably,
Kilroy skippered Samba Pa Ti to win the Farr 40 class at the Acura SORC and
become this year’s Farr 40 National Champion. Also this year and at times
with races to spare, he won the Farr 40 West Coast Championship, the
Southern California Championship and the Northern California Championship.
As for past Farr 40 World Championships, Kilroy won the ’99 event and
finished second in 2000 before skipping the 2001 competition.
“It will be more a marathon than a sprint, because the boats are the same
speed and all have great tacticians,” said Kilroy about the competitive
profile of the 2002 fleet. “On any given day, someone new could win, and
any top boat could have a bad race.”
Having finished with his stint as skipper of the victorious illbruck
campaign for the Volvo Ocean Race, John Kostecki will return to the
tactician’s position on Samba Pa Ti, which he held when Kilroy competed in
his last two Farr 40 World Championships.
The fiercest competition from overseas teams promises to come from the
Italian team on board Nerone, winner of the very competitive Farr 40
European Championship in 2002 and consistently a top-three finisher at Farr
40 events.
For more information, contact Farr International, +1 410-268-1001 or
reneemehl@cs.com, http://www.farr40.org
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, Soquel, Calif., 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 (2)
BOTTADICULO Giovanni Arrivabene/Andrea Bocchini, Massarosa, 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
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