Farr 40 Worlds at Paradise Island, Bahamas Overall

by Barby MacGowan 17 Nov 2002 06:54 GMT

Photos © Daniel Forster Groovederci at the windward mark in race 8 Le Renard on it's way to victory

Maryland Sailor Steve Phillips Steers Le Renard to Victory

Steve Phillips of Arnold, Md., has steered Le Renard to win the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, which concluded today at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas. Over four days of competition in poster-perfect sailing conditions, Phillips turned in single-digit finishes in all but one of ten races, which proved the key to his success.

"It was our strategy to stay in the top ten in every race," said Phillips, "because the teams here are tremendous an it's very competitive. We took a 17th in the first race, but after that we sailed consistently and we stayed out of trouble."

Phillips, the current Farr 40 East Coast champion, credited his tactician Mark Reynolds, a three-time Olympic medallist from San Diego, with keeping everyone on track to victory. "I'd hate to play poker with the guy, he stays so cool," said Phillips. "He doesn't let us get in difficult situations."

Phillips finished with 61 points overall and a 22-point lead over second-place finisher Groovederci, skippered by the regatta's only woman skipper Deneen Demourkas of Montecito, Calif. Groovederci and would-be third-place finisher Crocodile Rock, skippered by Scott Harris of Santa Barbara, Calif., were over early in today's second race, and in their battle back to earn respectable positions encountered problems at a congested mark. Both boats were protested by Italy's Nerone, with Crocodile Rock losing the battle in the jury room to fall from third to fifth. As a result, Samba Pa Ti, skippered by John Kilroy of Los Angeles, Calif., moved up to third, with Nerone, skippered by Antonio Migliori (Rome) gaining a position as well and finishing fourth.

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat Name	Owner	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	Pts
1	LE RENARD	Steve Phillips	17	2	1	7	9	3	4	9	1	8	61
2	CROCODILE ROCK	Alex Geremia / Scott Harris	11	9	11	10	1	12	6	2	3	18	83
3	GROOVEDERCI	John / Deneen Demourkas	8	19 p20	16	2	3	13	2	1	7	12	83
4	SAMBA PA TI	John Kilroy	12	5	7	8	12	6	7	16	6	4	83
5	NERONE	Massimo Mezzaroma / Antonio Sodo Migliori	6	1	15	3	20	5	3	8	13	14	88
6	PEGASUS	Philippe Kahn	19	8	19	6	5	4	12	6	10	3	92
7	BARKING MAD	Jim Richardson	13	3	2	13	14	15	14	11	4	6	95
8	DEFIANT	Terry McLaughlin	1	4	26 dsq	9	26 dsq	7	19	3	8	1	104
9	BAMBAKOU	John Coumantaros	10	17	5	15	10	17	1	10	18	2	105
10	JOSS	Owen Kratz	9	20	14	12	4	1	9	5	19	13	106
11	BOTTADICULO	Giovanni Arrivabene / Raffaele Mincione	2	10	6	4	26 dnf	19	17	4	2	17	107
12	BREEZE	Vincenzo Onorato	5	11	22	1	19	16	13	15	11	5	118
13	KATANGA	Robin Paterson	22	23	3	11	6	10	15	19	9	7	125
14	NORWEGIAN STEAM	Eivind Astrup	3	22	18	14	11	11	11	13	5	24	132
15	ASSEGAI	Leo Christianakis / Chris Hunt	7	16	21	5	7	20	5	18	23	16	138
16	VIRAGO	Stuart Townsend	4	13	20	24	15	2	10	21	20	15	144
17	EMOTIONAL HOOLIGAN	Marcus Blackmore	14	19	8	16	22	18	20	14	12	11	154
18	KOKOMO	Lang Walker	18	15	13	22	13	22	23	7	14	9	156
19	GONE TOO FARR	Dave Carrel	15	12	17	18	17	14	16	17	16	23	165
20	SOLUTION	John Thomson	16	18	23	19	18	9	22	12	15	19	171
21	HONOUR	Alek Krstajic	24	24	10	20	16	21	8	24	17	10	174
22	SLED	Takashi Okura	23	21	9	25	8	8	24	22	22	22	184
23	MORNING GLORY	Hasso Plattner	26 dsq	6	4	17	2	26 dnc	26 dnc	26 dnc	26 dnc	26 dnc	185
24	NITEMARE	Tom Neill	21	7	12	23	21	23	21	23	21	20	192
25	FLASH GORDON 4	Helmut Jahn	20	25	24	21	23	24	18	20	24	21	220