2007 Results and Reports

After finishing fourth at the 2007 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Copenhagen in August, Ivan Wheen’s Sputnik returned to local class racing to win the Savills SORC regatta this weekend.  Nine Farr 40’s lined up to take part in the Savills SORC Regatta hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club.  Racing was held on the Macquarie Circle off Sydney Heads with the weekend dishing up a bit of everything weather wise.

“It’s fantastic to be back on the boat and sailing with the local fleet.  We were glad to improve on yesterday’s performance and it was perfect sailing conditions today.  We’re looking forward to having the full team back for Rolex Trophy in a couple of weeks”, said Sputnik tactician Tom King.

Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan who led the pointscore after the first day of racing had Mark Richards, who is normally at the helm of the maxi Wild Oats XI, calling tactics.  Also returning to the helm of a Farr 40 was Neville Crichton who was steering Kokomo for Lang Walker.  Crichton last raced a Farr 40 at the 2005 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship where he finished second.

Amongst the fleet were a number of international sailors in Sydney for the upcoming summer racing season.  Racing with Michael Blumentals’s Quantum Leap was British Olympian and Extreme 40 sailor Hugh Styles along with Belgian Tornado sailor Seb Godefroid.

The Savills regatta is the fourth event in the 2007-08 Australian Farr 40 Circuit and after this event Martin Hill leads the pointscore with Guido Belgiorno Nettis in second and Matt Allen in third.  Allen and the Ichi Ban team are currently preparing for competition, in both match and fleet racing in Miami, for the Farr 40 10th Anniversary regatta.

The Farr 40 class would like to thank the MHYC for hosting this event.  The next event on the Australian Farr 40 schedule is the Rolex Trophy One Design Series, hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia on December 7-9.

For more information please go to www.farr40.org or  contact Sam Crichton ph # +61 0407 63 64 16 or email \n // -->samcrichton@smartchat.net.auThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

October 28 2007

Matt Allen and his team on Ichi Ban have now won the first two regattas for the 2007-08 Australian Farr 40 season.  Over the last three days eight teams have been racing on the waters known as the Palm Beach circle located off Sydney’s famous Palm Beach and Barrenjoey Headland.

It has been a testing seven race series with the top breeze of 10 knots making for three very long days on the water.  The breeze was mostly from the nor east and was very shifty as tacticians tried to predict what was going to happen and where was the best place on the race course.

Race six of the series and regatta leader Ichi Ban was initially in the front but Guido Belgiorno Nettis’s Transfusion sailed through them to take the lead for the next three legs.  It was only at the finish that Ichi Ban was able to gybe and hold Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master out at the finish line to cross one second ahead and take their fourth win of the series.  Transfusion crossed the line another second back in third place.  The next finish was equally as close with Lang Walker’s Kokomo sneaking their bow across the line just in front of  Brett Neill’s White Cloud and Michael Blumentals’s Quantum Leap.

“It was a tight finish for us and behind us for this race.  The three days have been really challenging with the conditions making it hard work out there.  We had a couple of really good starts which helped our races.  The team did a great job on a long weekend on the water”, said Allen.

As the breeze built the race committee prepared for race seven.  As the fleet lined up for the final minute of the start sequence the breeze dropped out to less than one knot and the race committee decided to abandon the race and bring the fleet back for another attempt at race seven.

After waiting for the breeze to build and settle the fleet got away again in a six knot nor’easter.  Estate Master manoeuvred into first place with White Cloud close behind as the race committee decided to shorten the course and finish the race at the top mark.  Yet another close finish was about to happen with the first two boats, Estate Master and White Cloud, again separated by one second as they crossed the line.  “We had a tough day on the water but are really pleased to finish the regatta with a win and to be second overall”, commented Martin Hill.

The Farr 40 class would like to thank Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club for hosting this regatta.  The next regatta on the Australian Farr 40 schedule will be the CYCA Farr 40 regatta being held November 3-4.

Final Results:

For more information on this event please contact Sam Crichton ph # +61 0407 63 64 16 or email samcrichton@smartchat.net.au This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

After two days of racing off the Sydney Heads, Kokomo has won the Farr 40 CYCA Regatta.  Seven boats raced a six race series with Kokomo emerging as the eventual winner of the third regatta in the Australian Farr 40 2007-08 circuit.

Racing on Saturday was a wet affair as the fleet sailed in a southerly breeze that reached 18 knots.  The typical lumpy seaway off Sydney Heads made for a hard day of sailing with the race committee running four races.  Kokomo, which was steered by long time crew member Mark Walsh, won the first race of the series.

Both Kokomo and Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban had two wins for the series, with Ichi Ban taking the wins in races two and six and Kokomo in races one and four.   “There were plenty of opportunities to make gains and losses out there for the past two days.  It was great to have Beasho weave his magic and to have Mark helm for us this weekend,” commented Kokomo mainsheet trimmer Richard Allanson.

Race three of the series went to Brett Neill’s White Cloud from New Zealand.  Neill and his team travel across the Tasman to join the Australian fleet for each regatta on the Australian schedule.

Day two and the threatening dark skies cleared into a ideal spring day with the building westerly breeze flattening the seas from Saturday.  The breeze reached 23 knots as the fleet sailed the last two races for the regatta.

Kokomo again took the Boat of the Day award with two second places while Ichi Ban improved on their day one finishing places and as a result moved up the leader board to finish third overall.  “I now appreciate how hard it is for these guys(Farr 40 owners) the get these boats around the track.  It’s hard work and takes a lot of concentration”, remarked Walsh after racing.

Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master, which made its Farr 40 debut 12 months ago, took the gun for race five of the series and finished in second place overall.  “It’s 12 months since we joined the class and we are really happy with where we are, knocking on the door and we’ve managed to finish in the top three for the first three events this season”, said Hill.

The Farr 40 class would like to thank the CYCA for hosting this event.  The next event on the Australian Farr 40 schedule is the Savills SORC Regatta, hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club on November 24-25.

Final Results:

Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban won the Corinthian Doors Peppers Anchorage Farr 40 regatta after the final day of racing today.  Two races were held off Port Stephens in a 10 knot sou’easter with a two metre swell.

Heading into the final day the top five places were separated by six points so everyone knew every result would count and make or break their final place.  Race eight of the series and Michael Milne’s Blacksnake team was firing on all cylinders and moved to the front of the fleet on the first downwind leg and extended on each leg to take a convincing win.

Overnight leader Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban slipped from third to fifth and Ray Roberts’s Quantum Racing, who were in second to Ichi Ban by two points, managed to do the reverse of Allen and finish in second.

Everyone wanted the boat end of the start line for the final race of the series with most boats favouring the right side of the course.  Unfortunately three boats were locked out and couldn’t make the start line and had to manoeuvre themselves around the back of the committee boat to cross the start three minutes after the rest of the fleet.

Ichi Ban had a clean start and shot to the lead of the fleet and stayed there for the entire race to take their third race win of the series and the regatta.  Quantum Racing, Don Telford’s Rushcutter and Ivan Wheen’s Sputnik all mirrored Ichi Ban’s mark roundings and maintained their positions for the duration of the race to finish second, third and fourth respectively.     

The Farr 40 class would like to thank the event sponsors who have been involved as sponsors of this event for  seven years of competition – Corinthian Doors, Peppers Anchorage and Club Marine Insurance.

The next regatta on the Australian Farr 40 calendar is the Rhodes Waterside F40 Regatta October 27-29 at Royal Price Alfred Yacht Club, Pittwater.

Final Results: