Sputnik close 4th in Farr 40 Worlds
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron member Ivan Wheen has steered his Farr 40 Sputnik to a close fourth overall in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship which ended in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the weekend.
With a crew comprising several other well known Squadron members, Sputnik won one of the nine races sailed, finishing only four points behind US former World Champion Jim Richardson, who took third place with Barking Mad.
European and USA boats dominated the series, with Italy’s Vincenzo Onorato becoming only the second yachtsman to win two Farr Worlds (Jim Richardson being the other). Onorato skippered Mascalzone Latino to an easy victory, finishing with 47 points, 35 points clear of Swiss America’s Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli, sailing Alinghi, on 82 points.
Barking Mad finished on 87 points, Sputnik 91, with a scorecard of 5-30-2-5-6-10-1-19-13.
Ivan Wheen is a relative newcomer to the Farr 40s, having began racing in the class in 2005, and has had less international experience than most of his competitors. However, with Olympic gold medallist Tom King as tactician and an excellent crew, Sputnik sailed consistently through the nine race series that saw nine different race winners.
Sputnik in action during Farr 40 Worlds
photo: Carlo Borlenghi
Other members of the crew included RSYS sailing committee member Christian Brook and three times Hardy Cup winner Michael Dunstan, along with Nick Cleary, Dave Edwards, Simon Cunningham, Josh Grace, Adam Roberts Thompson and Abby Seager.
The other Australians had disappointing results, Hooligan (Marcus Blackmore) finishing 11th overall, Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) 12th and Kokomo (Lang Walker) 20th.
For the local Danish fleet, the final race of the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds was a fairy tale ending as HRH Crown Prince Frederik sailed his boat Nanoq to victory, finishing 8th overall in the series. – Regatta News/Peter Campbell
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