Long Beach, Calif. (May 14, 2014) - A brush fire fueled by the Santa Ana winds created a smoky backdrop for the Farr 40s preparing to leave the docks at Long Beach Yacht Club for the first day of racing at the 2014 Rolex Farr 40 North Americans. The breeze continued to fire things up as the 19 boats sailed three tight races on the Pacific Ocean.
The first race got off as scheduled at noon in 16 knots of breeze, and after a general recall and restart the fleet was led around the five-mile long course and across the finish by 2013 Rolex Farr 40 World Champion Alberto Rossi and his Italian team on Enfant Terrible. At the first gate, Bernard Minkow and Julian Fernandez, on the Mexican-flagged Flojito y Cooperando were second, but by the finish they had been overtaken by New York's Alexander Roepers on PLENTY.
A change in direction and drop in speed to 10 knots of breeze, dictated a change of course and the fleet was sent off on race two aimed directly for Catalina Island. Rossi continued to exhibit the form that won him the first race, with Germany's Wolfgang Schaefer on Struntje light and Malibu's Jeff Janov, on Dark Star, following him across the finish line.
Intense jockeying for room at the boat end of the line marked the start of the final race of the day as the breeze piped back up to 17 knots. Alexander Roepers on PLENTY was the race winner, followed by Annapolis' Kevin McNeil at the helm of Nightshift.
LONG BEACH, CALIF. (May 15, 2014) – As temperatures in Southern California soared to record highs, the 19-strong fleet competing in the 2014 Rolex Farr 40 North Americans took to the Pacific Ocean for three races on day two of the championship series. The competitors had been postponed ashore while the breeze worked into race-worthy condition, but by 1230 racing was underway through the flawless teamwork of the Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) Race Committee led by John Busch.
“We had three nice starts, and that helps a lot,” said Germany’s Wolfgang Schaefer on the docks after racing. In the first race of the day Schaefer’s Struntje light led the fleet at the second mark and kept that position to cross the line first, ahead of Annapolis’ Kevin McNeil at the helm of Nightshift and Chicago’s Helmut Jahn and his team on Flash Gordon 6. “We are probably one of the crew with the most miles on our flight tickets to come here, because eight of 10 [of the crew] came from Europe,” continued Schaefer. “That means the investment – time-wise, commitment-wise – for us is very high. But, we all agree that this investment was fantastic.”
Schaefer has been in the class since 2000 and currently serves as its vice-president, while also serving as vice-president of the ORC (Offshore Racing Congress), giving him unique perspective on the sport. “I must say the Farr 40 class is extremely good. The boat is good. The guys that are sailing with these boats are some of the best in the world. And I know from my country the guys are looking to the Farr 40. The reason is the boat is good, but the key point is the class is fantastic. The owners are absolutely great and the leadership in the class is good, and I can say that because I am not the President. The class holds up perfect: we have restricted sails and restricted professionals, and most of all we have the owner-driver rule.”
Final top ten results:
1. Plenty, Alexander Roepers, 33.0 points
2. Flash Gordon 6, Helmut Jahn, 35.0
3. Groovederci, John Demourkas, 50.0
4. Enfant Terrible, Alberto Rossi, 55.0
5. Nightshift, Kevin McNeil, 59.0
6. Struntje light, Wolfgang Schaefer, 63.0
7. Flojito y Cooperando, Bernardo Minkow / Julian Fernandez, 70.0
8. Dark Star, Jeff Janov, 72.0
9. Blade 2, Michael Shlens, 91.0
10. Temptress, Ray Godwin, 112.0
Long Beach, Calif. (May 16, 2014) – It was feast or famine for the third day of the 2014 Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship being hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club. The schedule for the day was to sail three races, but all did not go according to plan. A weak onshore breeze postponed the start of the first race of the day and with the 19-strong fleet anxious to get sailing, once the wind speed reached four to five knots the sequence for the first race was underway.
Leading through the gate was Santa Barbara’s John Demourkas on Groovederci. He would continue to lead the fleet around the course to take his first win of the series in breeze that he characterized as “nudging a degree at a time.”
“We went to the pin end and luckily found a lot of real estate there to have a nice start,” said Demourkas about the win. “We got out clean and just stuck with it on the left [side of the course] and it held the whole time. That was really the key.” Demourkas is used to sailing in light air, which they get a lot of in Santa Barbara, but considers his team an all-weather boat. “I like the bigger breeze; it’s certainly more fun and less nerve wracking. Luckily that lefty held out for both legs.”
Following Groovederci through both the gate and across the finish line were Bernardo Minkow and Julian Fernandez on the Mexican-flagged Flojito y Cooperando, Chicago’s Helmut Jahn and his team on Flash Gordon 6, Germany’s Wolfgang Schaefer on Struntje light and Annapolis’ Kevin McNeil at the helm of Nightshift.
Long Beach, California: After tearing up race courses on the East Coast for the past two years, there has been a change of scenery for the grand prix Farr 40s as action in the Northern Hemisphere has relocated to the west coast for 2014. The next chapter in the class' history will be written this week at the Rolex Farr 40 North Americans when the 19 registered owner-drivers go head-to-head over four days of racing (May 14-17) hosted by Long Beach Yacht Club.
To handicap the field, one needs look no further than the 2014 season opener held at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in March:
Alberto Rossi and his Italian team on Enfant Terrible scored the first win of the season to pick up right where they left off last fall when they won the 2013 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Newport, R.I. Annapolis' Kevin McNeil at the helm of Nightshift, who was second at the worlds (after losing a tie-breaker to Rossi) , finished behind New York's Alexander Roepers, on PLENTY, to round out the top-three at the CBYC event.