| PORTO CERVO, ITALY-(10-6-2003) The 2003 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship will be sailed onthe waters off Porto Cervo, Sardinia over four days 2nd 5th July. Hostedby the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the event will be sailed on some of themost testing waters in the world, where crews can expect both light andstrong 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 Australiasailing the most internationally representative large keelboat class in theworld today, will race for an ISAF endorsed World Championship title. 36boats, the largest ever assembly of the class in Europe, will race a tenrace series where all races count. The winner, as ever, will be the mostconsistent performer after a gruelling set of sprint races. The Farr 40 Class is a special class because of its owner-driver rules thatalso require amateur status for all but four of the crew. This One Designclass, first launched in the late1990s, is a modern boat requiring all thetechniques of state of the art racing without the worry of constantdevelopment and obsolescence. With over 130 boats built to date strict ruleslimit everything on the boat to a modern one design standard making surethat 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 putthrough rigorous safety controls and test measurements. The number and sizeof 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 rulescompliance throughout the event. Many of the fleet’s owners are past players of other professional programmesthat have found Farr 40 One Design racing, where they helm the boatsthemselves, much more satisfying than leaving the fun in the hands of ahired hero. Many younger owners are finding that their sailing skills canstill be put to the test at the highest levels without them having todedicate their whole lives to a top notch programme. Most of the fleet dohowever retain the services of the top professionals in the field to fillthe roles of tacticians and sail trimmers. The Rolex Farr 40 Worlds, held alternately on either side of the Atlanticeach year, will be the culmination of a busy programme of racing in Europeanwaters this year. The defending World Champion along with the 2001World Champion will bepresent both trying to make it two wins in this, one of the trickiest eventsto win. The 2001 Champion Ernesto Bertarelli, fresh from winning the America’s Cup, will be joined by some elements of his Alinghi Team crew, backsailing together again for the first time since their all-dominant Cupperformance in Auckland. Ten short races are scheduled for the four-day regatta. The 8-mile two-lapwindward-leeward race course will include a spreader mark at the top of thecourse and a leeward gate at the bottom to keep the action close. Each racewill normally take one hour. The evenings will also be full with a busysocial programme for owners, crews and guests in this exciting Sardinianport. Television will be covering the event for a 25-minute special fordistribution later in the year on many international and local televisionchannels.
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