This is the first of our Farr 9.2 reports for the website – originally published in the RPYC magazine, we’re now including them here too.
With the 2019/2020 racing season now well underway, we’re also at the half-way point of the Farr 9.2 metro series, with four of eight races completed. As it stands now, the series results are far from certain, with different a championship winner in each race. After heat one, Lionheart (Warren Westaway) finished first and fastest, so leading both championship and consistency results for the series.
From there, heat two took the fleet to South of Perth Yacht Club to join their Saturday races. The regular summer sea breeze was absent, replaced by a shifting northerly, the start team adjusting the line to suit the conditions. With their home-club advantage on the course, SoPYC boat Igawa (David Atkinson) found the favourable winds and crossed the finish line first, with Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) very close behind. Handicap results had The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) at first, Lionheart second, and Igawa third.
After heat two, the championship series lead was in the hands of Itinerant (Mark Hansen), sailing consistently well over the two races so far.
Heat three also had the fleet sailing out of SoPYC, with the rest of the teams now a little more accustomed to the courses, and familiar south-westerly winds returning. After establishing a lead in the first downwind run, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) found their pace and pulled away from the fleet to finish first by almost two minutes in front of chasing boat Elusive. Handicap results had The Black Smoke first, Farrlap adding a second flag to their collection for the day, and Elusive third. Lindsay Preece from Ironbark Photos caught some great shots of the race, a few of which we’ve included here.
With their line honours result in heat three, Farrlap now takes the championship series lead, but only by a single point ahead of Itinerant, and Elusive only a further point behind.
Heat four returns the fleet to RPYC, on a hot Saturday, with a south westerly establishing before the start to bring some relief from the heat. The Black Smoke built a small lead early in the race, carrying it over the finish line, only a handful of seconds in front of pursuing Farrlap. Despite breaking the start and going back around, Elusive recovered brilliantly to finish fourth, one second behind Itinerant. Handicap results had The Black Smoke first, Frenzy (Murray Rowe) second, and Farrlap third.
The over-the-line results from heat four meant that Farrlap consolidates their lead – but only by one additional point – over Itinerant, and Elusive close in third by another two points. At this stage, the series is still very much in contention! We’re all getting set for a competitive heat five, to be held early in the new year.
As a bit of a holiday from the Swan River racing, a couple of the 9.2s had migrated south for the Christmas/New Year’s break, participating in the Cockburn Sound Regatta, hosted by The Cruising Yacht Club. Igawa had their full wardrobe of sails out to compete in division two, taking fifth place in a very diverse fleet. The Black Smoke took it a little easier by keeping it to jib and main only, taking third place in JAM fleet 3.
The Farr 9.2 fleet are always keen to welcome newcomers – both for serious sailing and not-so-serious social events. If you’d like to join one of our boats, a few teams are looking for new crew – either for occasional fill-in spots or regular race commitments. Email the Association on secretary@farr92.asn.au to get in touch.