The Farr 40 Midwinter Championship got off to a rip-roaring start as 16-18 knot westerly winds buffeted the 16-boat fleet, making boat-handling challenging for skippers and crews while providing exciting racing.
Skipper Kevin McNeil and his crew on Nightshift handled the heavy air off Cabrillo Beach the best on Wednesday, posting a pair of seconds and a fourth to take the early lead in the four-day regatta. Nightshift has a low score of eight points, two better than Alex Roepers and the Plenty team.
"It was a great day on the water. It was really blowing out there so it was a challenge," McNeil said. "It's all about preparation and crew work. We spent four days tuning up before the regatta and that made all the difference."
Annapolis (MD) skipper Kevin McNeil and his Fleet Transit team on Nightshift hold the overall lead after a wild first day of racing at the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship.
Veteran professional Andy Horton is calling tactics for McNeil, whose Fleet Transit team remains intact from last year when Nightshift lost the Rolex World Championship to Enfant Terrible by tiebreaker.
John Demourkas has fond memories of racing on the West Coast circuit during his early years as a Farr 40 owner. In those days, Demourkas was crewing for his wife Deneen, who drove Groovederci. After retiring from business, John Demourkas took over as skipper and has spent the last eight years competing on the International Circuit in far-flung locales.
So Demourkas is looking forward to returning to places like San Francisco, Long Beach, Marina Del Rey and his home port of Santa Barbara as the 2014 Farr 40 International Circuit is being held on the West Coast for the first time since 2004.
"We did the West Coast circuit for the first five or six years that we were in the class and really enjoyed it," Demourkas said. "It will be fun and interesting to do all those familiar venues again. Long Beach is a great place to sail while we are excited to host the fleet here in Santa Barbara. San Francisco is one of the greatest places in the world to sail. The West Coast fleet is reviving and I think all the owners out here are working together to make sure this is a spectacular season of racing."
The West Coast fleet has indeed stepped up and put its best foot forward as the opening event of the circuit, the Farr 40 Midwinter Championship, has attracted 17 entries with 11 coming from California. Jeff Janov and the Dark Star crew along with Zoltan Katinszky and the White Knight team are among several strong in-state entries eager to challenge the likes of Groovederci and other boats that have annually been competing on the International Circuit.
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2014 Farr 40 Midwinters (Circuit Event # 1) is held at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in California, March 26-29. Photos |
Two local boats, Voodoo Chile and Wired, made sure the remaining podium places went to the home side.
Results were upturned after today's two light air races on a calm Derwent River. The Lloyd Clark steered Voodoo Chile jumped from sixth yesterday to finish second overall and Guido Belgiorno-Nettis' Transfusion dived from first to equal fourth place alongside Jeff Carter's Edake.
For years an underweight keel has plagued the Hills when the breeze tipped over 18 knots. It was discovered by chance and this summer has been corrected by McConaghy Boats while a new paint job has lifted morale and broadcasted Estate Master's confident comeback to the Farr 40 circuit.
Estate Master hasn't won a Farr 40 regatta since before the 2011 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Sydney.
The 2014 Farr 40 US Circuit Championship Notice of Race is now available (PDF).
The 2014 Farr 40 Midwinters (Circuit Event # 1) Notice of Race is now available (PDF).