Transfusion Take Early Rolex Farr 40 Worlds Lead

After the first day of sailing at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Chicago, USA Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (AUS) has guided Transfusion to the top of the leader board following a consistent day on the water.

As he was leaving the dock, defending champion Belgiorno-Nettis of Sydney, Australia, was feeling prepared and quite ready to go racing aboard Transfusion. Noting that there were seven top boats who could easily take the prize, Belgiorno-Nettis predicted an interesting week of sailing. His win of the first race of the series, followed by a fourth-place finish propelled Transfusion to the top of the overall standings, leaving no doubt he is looking to repeat as world champion. Along with Transfusion, three other boats were all very impressive in their consistency: Enfant Terrible with finishes of 3-3; Flash Gordon 6 with 2-6; and Charisma with a 4-5.

“We salvaged two very fair races out of a day that quite easily looked like it could have had none. All in all, it was a good day to get behind us,” said Farr 40 class manager Geoff Stagg of the mixture of clouds and sun which killed the breeze and temporarily postponed the start of racing. “We’re hoping for three races tomorrow as good breeze is coming in…we’ll have plenty of action tomorrow.”

As one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world, established in 1869, Chicago Yacht Club is the embodiment of tradition as demonstrated by the red carpet welcome the competitors at the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship have received. 

The club’s Monroe Harbor Station, where the regatta is headquartered from September 17-20, is ideally situated just a short distance from the Magnificent Mile, the main link between Chicago’s business district and its exclusive Gold Coast neighborhood, making it the perfect venue in which to bond business relationships through sporting competition.

Eric Mergenthaler (Mexico City, Mexico), chief executive with Active International Mexico, is no stranger to competing at the elite level having represented Mexico in the Finn class at three consecutive Olympic Games (’84, ’88, ’92). Three years of involvement in the Farr 40 class have led him to compete in the world championship for the first time this week. “The experience in Chicago has been fantastic,” he said before the start of the first race aboard Flojito y Cooperando. “The venue, the atmosphere, the organization has been really good. Our goal is to finish in the top 50% of the fleet. It is an extremely competitive fleet, so if we finish 10 or above that would be a very good result for us.”

Racing resumes Tuesday, September 18, at 11:00 local time and continues through Thursday, September 20, 2012, when the winner of the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship will be crowned.

Further information on the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds can be found at www.farr40worlds.com and www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=651.??