Barking Mad tactician Terry Hutchinson was intently reviewing the scoreboard after racing on Wednesday when he was asked if the American entry was a contender or a pretender in the 19-boat Farr 40 class.

  “Probably somewhere in between the two at this point, but if we don’t get our act together and start sailing better we’ll be in the pretender category,” said Hutchinson, shaking his head about several missed opportunities that have Barking Mad in fifth place overall.

  Skipper Giovannia Maspero and the crew on Joe Fly increased their lead in the Farr 40 class to five points over fellow Italian entry Nerone (Massimo Mezzaroma) on the strength of a 5-2 line on Wednesday.

   “I think we are sailing fairly well. We have not won a race yet, which is a bit painful since we have been leading at times on the course,” Joe Fly tactician Francesco Bruni said. “We cannot complain when we have a five-point lead with four races to go. The owner is steering the boat very well around the course and we are very happy with our boat speed.”

  Plenty, owned by Alex Roepers of New York, posted its second victory of the series on Wednesday and moved from sixth to third in the overall standings.

  Hutchinson, the 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, was frustrated because Barking Mad had the lead midway through Race 5 and wound up finishing seventh. Skipper Jim Richardson (Newport, R.I.) and team are tied with the German entry Struntje Light (Wolfgang Schaefer) on points – just two out of third and 10 behind the leader. 

  “Joe Fly is sailing very well so they certainly look like the boat to beat, but there are still plenty of points on the table and things could change quite a bit between now and Friday afternoon,” Hutchinson said. “We just have to keep chipping away and hope we get some better karma.”

Key West - 21 January 2010 09:43