The fleet raced Metro heats 3 and 4 as windward/leeward races out of the Royal Perth Yacht Club. The forecast again proved an illusion, leaving skippers rethinking jib choices (and crew numbers). The earlier start time had us contending with the usual river fleets, which made for some interesting crosses, but thankfully everyone made it through the afternoon unscathed.
Eufarria showed us all how it’s done in the first race, finishing first and fastest by a full minute! Lionheart was second and Seahawk third.
Itinerant and Frenzy must have taken notes, as they galloped away in the second race. Frenzy came home second over the line and first on handicap, with Itinerant fastest and second and Elusive third. Well done!
A particularly wet and windy winter behind us, the Farr 9.2 fleet are all out and racing in the 2024/2025 summer season. We’re looking forward to a superb season of racing – read on for details.
Wrapping up the colder months, the fleet performed very well in the Royal Perth Yacht Club’s Wednesday Winter series – Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) won the division B consistency results, with Farr Fetched (Mario Tascone) in third. Farrlap’s performance over the series also won them the Farr 9.2 Winter Series trophy, for the leading 9.2 on across-the-line results. The RPYC Frostbites series was well attended by 9.2 fleet, with Eufarria (Peter Cook), Lionheart (Warren Westaway), The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr), Toravean (Jonathan Wallwork) and Seahawk (Pedro Araujo) out racing in the series.
Eufarria and The Black Smoke at RPYC Opening Day
In preparation for the upcoming season, the Farr 9.2 Association held their annual general meeting in early October, electing the committee for the year and setting the scene for upcoming sailing and social events. Having being elected last year, the executive committee all stood for re-nomination, and were voted in accordingly. The team for the 2024/2025 season will be:
President: Leon Koch
Vice President: Peter Cook
Treasurer / Secretary: Jeremy Kerr
Measurer: Victor Johnson
OCMs: Rick Barrett, Peter Garside, Murray Rowe, Mario Tascone
Heat one of the Farr 9.2 Metro Series, hosted by RPYC on the 19th of October, had the fleet dust off their spinnaker bags, call up their Saturday crews, and launch into class racing for the season. Despite the disconcertingly-light forecast, the winds on the day arrived steady enough for a very competitive race. Eufarria took an early lead at the start and made it first to the top mark, but some attentive wind-chasing strategy from Farrlap (Kevin Ferguson as guest skipper) brought them to the front, a position they managed to keep to the finish, despite all manner of position changes amongst the rest of the fleet. Farrlap’s across-the-line win corresponded to a second place on handicap, with Eufarria third. The Seahawk team stole the show for the day though, winning first on handicap – their first Farr 9.2 Metro Series win. Well done to Pedro and team.
Seahawk, winning first at heat 1 of the Farr 9.2 Metro Series
The upcoming heats of the Farr 9.2 Metro series will have the 9.2 fleet racing in a range of courses, home at RPYC as well as out at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and South of Perth Yacht club. Then, the RPYC keelboat state championships in March will bring the fleet out for a super-competitive weekend of racing. For sailing further afield, various fleet members are already preparing their campaigns for the Cockburn Sound Regatta and Geographe Bay Race Week. We’re looking forward to a great season of sailing!
If you’d like to get involved with the fleet, we’re always open to new crew and members – contact Jeremy Kerr on jk@ozlabs.org or 0417 095 745.
Heat 2 of the Metro series was held at the Royal Perth Yacht Club, racing for the Max Hayes Memorial Trophy. After missing the first heat, Elusive shook off some early cobwebs and stormed her way through the fleet, finishing first by 30 seconds, with Eufarria first on handicap.
It was great to see Frenzy and Elusive back racing with us! Well done to all.
