Beautiful conditions provided the perfect setting for the first of two days in the Rolex Farr 40 Match Race in Miami where six international teams are competing as a warm-up to the Rolex Farr One Design Invitational.

One round of matches plus one flight in the second round was completed yesterday and past Farr 40 world champion Jim Richardson (Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I.) and his Barking Mad team lead the round robin scoreboard with 5 wins, 1 loss. Massimo Mezzaroma and Antonio Sodo Migliori (Rome, Italy) and the Nerone team also completed the day with a 5-1, but lie in second overall as their one loss was to Barking Mad.

Richardson commented after the racing: “This is the first time that the Farr 40 class has organised match racing and it was a great learning process for all of us out there. We all sailed six matches of two windward/leeward laps, making the crew work intensified. It was a fun start to the week.”

Peter Stoneberg and his Shadow Rock team of Orinda, Calif. are even on 3 wins and losses with Peter de Ridder and his Mean Machine of Monaco, with 2 wins, 4 losses.

For Annapolis sailor Steve Phillips, the learning curve was a bit steeper thanks to an unsuspected hit in the mouth by the boom during the pre-start of the first match against Twins2, owned by Erik Maris of France. The Le Renard skipper, who is a past Farr 40 world champion, lost the edge off of his three front teeth, but recovered quickly and went on to win the race. Unfortunately for them the day didn’t go any better currently standing 1-5 in the results.

The 2003 Rolex Farr One Design Invitational takes place on 19-22 November where one-design sailors will converge on Miami’s South Beach for the inaugural event, which serves as the Mumm 30 and Farr 40 North American championships. Entries from seven countries – Brazil, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US – are entered in the 11-race, fleet racing series.

Results

Day 1

Jim Richardson, Barking Mad, Boston, Mass./Newport, R.I., 5-1

Massimo Mezzaroma & Antonio Sodo Migliori, Nerone, Rome, Italy, 5-1

Peter Stoneberg, Shadow Rock, Orinda, Calif., 3-3

Peter de Ridder, Mean Machine, Monaco, 2-4

Erik Maris, Twins2, France, 2-4

Steve Phillips, Le Renard, Annapolis, Md., 1-5