The 2010 Miami Grand Prix will always remain memorable for the owners and crew members of Teasing Machine and Flash Gordon. That’s because both boats registered signature victories at the annual four-day regatta, organized by Premiere Racing. Owner Helmut Jahn and the boys on Flash Gordon also made a bit of a breakthrough by capturing the Farr 40 class by a mere point over the Italian entry Nerone. It marked the first victory in an international regatta for the Chicago-based syndicate, which previously won the Farr 40 North American Championship that had no foreign entries. “This is by far the biggest win we’ve had in this class,” Jahn said. “It is a very important step in the right direction for our program.” Several members of the Flash Gordon team, notably jib-spinnaker trimmer Dave Gerber and coach Ed Adams, have been with Jahn for nearly two decades. San Diego-based professional Bill Hardesty came aboard as tactician two years ago and has helped elevate the crew performance, evidenced by the fact Flash’s only two Farr 40 victories have come in the past six months. “We have learned to not worry about the big picture and to focus on the next task. You focus on getting a good start, then a good mark rounding and a good spinnaker set and so on,” Hardesty said. Hardesty had stated on Saturday night that the first race on Sunday would be critical. Flash Gordon got off the line in good shape, hit the first shift, rounded the top mark in first place and covered the fleet nicely en route to getting the gun in Race 9. “All week the left side had been better early in the day. We wanted to get a clean lane and go left, and thankfully we were able to execute the plan,” he said. Evan Jahn steered the boat during starts and upwind before turning the wheel over to his father for the downwind legs. Helmut Jahn passed two boats on the first run of Race 10 and that would prove crucial considering Nerone notched a bullet to pull within a point. “Things just came together nicely. We had a bad result in the third race (ninth), but we fought back and continued to climb in the standings – from fifth to third to second to first,” Jahn said. It was close but no cigar for skipper Massimo Mezzaroma, tactician Vasco Vascotto and the rest of the crew on Nerone, which won four races and finished second in two others. “It’s tough because we sailed so well in so many races. The second day was a big disaster and really set us back,” said Nerone crew member Massimo Bortoletto, referring to results of 10th and seventh on Friday. “We fought until the very end and finished strong. We were happy because we had good speed and crew work.” Nerone did capture the Florida Grand Prix title, which is awarded based on the combined results from Premiere Racing’s two winter regattas. The Italian boat placed third at Key West 2010 and totaled 81 points – 13 better than Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, Newport, R.I.). Final Results after ten races - March 7, 2010 Farr 40 (10 Boats) 1. Flash Gordon, Helmut Jahn, Chicago, IL, USA, 4-1-9-2-4-4-1-6-1-6=37 2. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma, Punta Ala, ITA, 1-6-1-7-10-2-7-1-2-1=38 3. Goombay Smash, William Douglass, Newport, RI, USA, 6-3-4-1-9-1-3-3-5-6=41
Miami - 08 March 2010 09:52
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