MIAMI BEACH - Bill Hardesty was amazed by what he saw during Thursday's action at the Miami Beach Invitational Regatta. Just after the fleet of Farr 40s rounded the first weather mark during Race 5, Hardesty looked around and it appeared all seven boats were dead even.
"All seven boats were lined up in a row. It literally looked like a seven-way tie," said Hardesty, tactician aboard Flash Gordon 6. "This fleet is amazingly tight. If you make even the slightest error, you're going to the back of the pack."
Wolfgang Schaefer, owner-driver of overall leader Struntje Light, discovered that reality in Race 5. Struntje Light was in second place coming into the leeward mark and thought the boat ahead was going to round the left gate. So Schaefer took his boat to the right gate, only to realize when it was too late that the competition changed its mind.
"We got kicked out and had to make a circle and of course after that we were in last place," Schaefer said.
Struntje Light wins two races to take early lead at Miami Beach Invitational
MIAMI BEACH - Farr 40 owners from around the world came to Miami for the sunny skies, warm weather and consistent breeze. South Beach delivered on all counts as 70-degree temperatures and 12-18 knot winds welcomed the fleet for the Miami Beach Invitational.
Principal race officer Peter "Luigi" Reggio used the north course that is located just off South Beach for Wednesday's action. In typical Farr 40 fashion, the mark roundings were tremendously tight as the seven boats completed a four-legged course that featured downwind finishes.
"It was typical South Beach conditions, just absolutely glamorous," said Geoff Stagg, Farr 40 class manager. "We got in three terrific races and there was not a single complaint from the sailors and owners. It really was a magnificent day of sailboat racing."
Farr 40 Class Takes Over the Sailing Spotlight off South Beach
Strong fleet of seven boats assembles for Miami Beach Invitational Regatta
MIAMI BEACH - The TP 52 fleet has packed up and shipped off to Europe. The Olympic class sailors of the Bacardi Cup have de-rigged and trailered their boats back home. Now the iconic Farr 40 class takes the sailing spotlight on the waters off South Beach.
A typically talent-laden fleet of seven boats has gathered in one of the world's greatest locales to contest the Miami Beach Invitational Regatta, being held March 13-16. This is the second stop on the United States circuit for Farr 40 class, coming two months after Quantum Key West 2013 kicked off the season.
"Miami is one of the few locations you can go and it never gets old," said Geoff Stagg, longtime class manager for the venerable Farr 40 one-design. "It's a spectacular backdrop for sailboat racing and it's absolutely impossible to beat the night life."
Peter "Luigi" Reggio, arguably the world's premier professional race officer, will orchestrate the action with assistance of experience race committee personnel from Coral Reef Yacht Club. Reggio, with numerous America's Cup and world championship events on his resume, plans to complete 10 races during the four-day regatta.
Quick responses, crew handling and keeping the mast pointing towards the sky in the gusty NNE winds on a wild and woolly Sydney Harbour were key ingredients on the final day of the John Calvert-Jones Trophy to decide the Australian Farr 40 champion for the 2012-13 season. After nine races, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’ Transfusion has been declared the winner of the John Calvert-Jones Trophy and named the Aberdeen Asset Management Australian Farr 40 Champion.
Transfusion won all three state titles and has now collected the clincher, the nine-race national one-design regatta sailed over just two days after horrendous conditions forced yesterday’s racing to be abandoned. This is Belgiorno-Nettis’ fourth national class title.
Second by one point was Lang Walker’s Kokomo (25 points) and third overall and first Corinthian Farr 40 was Andrew Hunn and Lloyd Clark’s Voodoo Chile (26 points) from Tasmania.