Rolex Farr 40 World
Championship: Three weeks to the strongest Rolex
Farr 40 Worlds ever
June
10, 2003-- The 2003 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship
will be sailed on the waters off Porto Cervo,
Sardinia over four days 2nd – 5th July.
Hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the event
will be sailed on some of the most testing waters
in the world, where crews can expect both light
and strong winds, hot competition - and all set
to a breathtaking backdrop.
Twelve
countries, France, Italy, Switzerland, United
States, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Norway,
Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia
sailing the most internationally representative
large keelboat class in the world today, will
race for an ISAF endorsed World Championship title.
36 boats, the largest ever assembly of the class
in Europe, will race a ten race series where all
races count. The winner, as ever, will be the
most consistent performer after a gruelling set
of sprint races.
The
Farr 40 Class is a special class because of its
owner-driver rules that also require amateur status
for all but four of the crew. This One Design
class, first launched in the late1990s, is a modern
boat requiring all the techniques of state of
the art racing without the worry of constant development
and obsolescence. With over 130 boats built to
date strict rules limit everything on the boat
to a modern one design standard making sure that
the power of the sailing team is the only reason
for success.
In
the days before racing gets underway in Sardinia
the fleet will be put through rigorous safety
controls and test measurements. The number and
size of sails as well as the total crew weight
are all strictly controlled. Random spot checks
will also be made after each race day to ensure
rules compliance throughout the event.
Many
of the fleet’s owners are past players of
other professional programmes that have found
Farr 40 One Design racing, where they helm the
boats themselves, much more satisfying than leaving
the fun in the hands of a hired hero. Many younger
owners are finding that their sailing skills can
still be put to the test at the highest levels
without them having to dedicate their whole lives
to a top notch programme. Most of the fleet do
however retain the services of the top professionals
in the field to fill the roles of tacticians and
sail trimmers.
The
Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, held alternately on either
side of the Atlantic each year, will be the culmination
of a busy programme of racing in European waters
this year.
The
defending World Champion along with the 2001World
Champion will be present both trying to make it
two wins in this, one of the trickiest events
to win. The 2001 Champion Ernesto Bertarelli,
fresh from winning the America ’s Cup, will
be joined by some elements of his Alinghi Team
crew, back sailing together again for the first
time since their all-dominant Cup performance
in Auckland.
Ten
short races are scheduled for the four-day regatta.
The 8-mile two-lap windward-leeward race course
will include a spreader mark at the top of the
course and a leeward gate at the bottom to keep
the action close. Each race will normally take
one hour. The evenings will also be full with
a busy social programme for owners, crews and
guests in this exciting Sardinian port.
Television
will be covering the event for a 25-minute special
for distribution later in the year on many international
and local television channels.
The
Complete Entry List for the 2003 Rolex Farr 40
World Championship can be found at: www.farr40.org
The
2003 Rolex supported sailing season continues
with the Giraglia Rolex Cup (23rd – 29th
June) St Tropez-Genoa, the Rolex Farr 40 World
Championships (1st - 5th July) Porto Cervo, the
Rolex Fastnet Race (10th – 16th August)
Cowes-Plymouth, the Maxi Rolex Cup (7th - 13th
September) Porto Cervo, St. Francis Yacht Club's
Big Boat Series presented by Rolex (11th –
14th September) San Francisco, the Rolex International
Women’s Keelboat Championships (27th September
- 3rd October) Annapolis, the Rolex Middle Sea
Race (22nd October - 1st November) Malta, and
the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race (26th December
- 2nd January 2004) Sydney-Hobart.
