September 11 - 14 2014
2014 Rolex Big Boat Series event website
Santa Barbara, Calif. (July 18, 2014) - Skipper Alberto Rossi and his team aboard Enfant Terrible sure know how to close out a tight regatta. Holding a narrow one-point lead going into the final day of the Farr 40 West Coast Championship, the Italians went out and won the opening race then survived a match race duel with chief challenger Flash Gordon 6 during the second race to secure the overall victory.
Enfant Terrible wound up winning four of 11 races over four spectacular days of racing to capture the West Coast Championship with a low score of 44 points, one better than skipper Helmut Jahn and his crew on Flash Gordon 6. Voodoo Chile, a Corinthian entry owned by Lloyd Clark of Tasmania, put forth an impressive performance for a team with just two professionals to take third with 48 points.
Santa Barbara, California, USA: Santa Barbara delivered Chamber of Commerce conditions for the second day of the Farr 40 West Coast Championship - bright sunshine, clear skies, 75 degree temperatures and solid winds.
A southwesterly breeze that built to 15 knots enabled principal race officer Peter Reggio to complete three races for the second straight day and the sailors arrived back at the dock tired and satisfied.
"What an absolutely spectacular day on the water," Farr 40 class manager Geoff Stagg said. "There was not a cloud in the sky and the mountains made for a beautiful backdrop. You could not ask for more perfect conditions and the result was some really great racing."
Santa Barbara, Calif. (July 18, 2014) - A clear indication of close, competitive yacht racing comes when there are large numbers of boats converging at the rounding marks. That happened in dramatic fashion during the first race of the third day at the Farr 40 West Coast Championship, being hosted by Santa Barbara Yacht Club.
Almost the entire 15-boat fleet arrived at the first windward mark simultaneously and the result was that there was nowhere to go. There were whistles, several boats doing penalty turns and a total of 10 protest flags flying by the time it was all over.
"It was a real mess," said Flash Gordon 6 skipper Helmut Jahn, whose desperate pleas for room at the mark went unheeded.
Santa Barbara, Calif. (July 16, 2014) - One of the notable storylines going into the Farr 40 West Coast Championship was the arrival of three Australian boats to the 2014 International Circuit. The Aussies made quite an impact on the opening day of the regatta, but it was an old standby that come out on top after three races were conducted off Santa Barbara.
Flash Gordon 6, skippered by longtime class member Helmut Jahn, showed tremendous consistency and captured the day with a solid score line of 2-3-5. With a low score of 10, Flash Gordon 6 leads a trio of boats that are tied with 13 points.
"We are very happy and satisfied with our effort today, but we know it doesn't mean much at this point. There are three more days of racing and we have a bunch of boats nipping at our heels so we need to continue sailing well."
Four-time ISAF Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams is calling tactics for Jahn, a Chicago architect who entered the regatta in third place of the International Circuit standings following three events.