Blogs

 NOTHING BETTER THAN THIS

June 27, 2009

You cannot ask for much more. Tremendous racing conditions with a building Mistral and a lumpy sea, made worse by the constant attention of the spectator fleet. Porto Cervo laid it on thick and the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2009 delivered. None more so than the new World Champions Barking Mad (USA) and runners up, Nerone (ITA).

Two races were sailed in winds from the northwest that gusted to the mid-twenties and stretched the already t... Read More

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Off into a Sea of Fog!

We woke this morning to a sea of fog that everyone thought was sure to lift by start time at 2pm. The boats seemed strangely quiet as they sat berthed in the Auckland Viaduct completing final preparations. By Eleven O'clock when the first boats set off conditions had not improved. The masts could barely be seen as the fleet slipped q... Read More

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OPPOSITES ATTRACT

June 26, 2009

It is a surreal experience sat at the windward mark on a media boat, waiting for the fleet to arrive, all the while listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers on the radio. Total relaxation. A complete world away from the intense battles and mind games being played out on the racecourse at Rolex Farr 40 Worlds and the frenzy of activity about to be unleashed. The penultimate day was no less enthralling than the first two. Barking Mad (USA) heads the... Read More

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Yeeha - Let's Go!

Looks like it's all go for the start of the 2009 Auckland to Noumea yacht Race. The fleet was nestled quietly in the Auckland Viaduct in a flat sea with very little wind and a light drizzle. The calm before the storm? Perhaps - it certainly looked that way earlier in the week with predictions of 40 to 50 knot winds. The weather pattern causing... Read More

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IF...

June 25, 2009

Two races, two winners, no change at the top. The wobbles have begun though and the moves are being made in both directions. Rudyard Kipling could have written his famous poem about day two at the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds 2009. Three boats held their nerve the best. Jim Richardson and Barking Mad (USA), Giovanni Maspero and Joe Fly (ITA), Massimo Mezzaroma and Nerone (ITA) kept the damage to the minimum and lead the fleet going into day three.

Today was al... Read More

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