Author: Jeremy Kerr

In the previous edition of the Farr 9.2 report, we had just completed heats four and five of the Farr 9.2 Metro Series, and were preparing for the State Championships in March. Since then, the metro series has continued into heats six and seven, and some very close racing in the State Championships made for a great weekend. Read on for details.

Going into heat six, the standings for the Swan River Metro series had Itinerant (Mark Hansen) in first position, with Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) and Seahawk (Pat Jones) only a handful of points behind. Being just over half-way through the series, the trophy is far from decided at this stage. Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) hosted the fleet for heat six, with a refreshing return to typical summer sea-breeze conditions after a week of hot and still afternoons. Farr Far Away (James Baker), sailing a brand-new number one jib, broke out first for an early lead, but it was Elusive who caught up soon after and managed to hold their first place across the finish.

Consistency results for heat six had Frenzy (Murray Rowe) first, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) second and The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) third. All of the placing teams managed to rush back from the finish line to their pens, and then over to RFBYC, making for a great representation of the fleet at presentation of results.

With their win in heat six, Elusive is now only four points behind Itinerant in the championship standings, and is building up inertia with two firsts in a row.

On to heat seven in late February, hosted by South of Perth Yacht club (SoPYC) as part of their Saturday afternoon racing series. Team Itinerant was unable to compete, instead on the hardstand for some much-needed repairs in preparation for the upcoming state championships. This leaves the door wide open for a change in series leader, especially with Elusive on their current winning streak. The day’s conditions were another classic sea breeze, giving the fleet plenty of opportunity for strategic sailing on the upwind reaches. All three of Farr Far Away, Elusive, and Lionheart (Warren Westaway) exchanged lead over the course of the day, with Elusive managing to hold it into Como and across the finish line, with Lionheart only eight seconds behind. Consistency results had Lionheart first, Frenzy second and Farr Far Away third. Being fastest across the line, Elusive extend their streak of consecutive wins to three, and they now overtake Itinerant into first place in the series.

The final two heats of the Swan River Metro Series will be held in late March and mid-April, and are sure to feature some very competitive racing for the series trophy. We’ll keep you updated on results!

Leaving the familiar surroundings of Melville Waters for a few days, the Farr 9.2 fleet ducked under the Fremantle bridges to head out to the annual State Championships, this year at RPYC Annex. Recent history had the racing held in Cockburn Sound, hosted by The Cruising Yacht Club (TCYC). This year we had diverged from tradition and joined the S80 and S97 fleets for a combined state championships event, with eight races over three days in Owen Anchorage.

Even through there was a last-minute (COVID-induced) reduction in social plans over the states weekend, we felt very welcomed by the S80 and S97 teams in joining their regular event, which by now has become a very slick operation, very much made possible by the generous contributions of a team of volunteers. We would like to extend our thanks for all for making this such a successful states weekend for us 9.2 newcomers.

After three days of extremely competitive windward/leeward racing, the championship points were equal between first and second place, with the winner being decided on countback. Podium results were:

Farr 9.2 State Championships – championship:

1. Itinerant (Mark Hansen)
2. Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen)
3. The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr)

Farr 9.2 State Championships – consistency:

1. Farrlap (Andrew Hossen)
2. Frenzy (Murray Rowe)
3. Lionheart (Warren Westaway)

In other news, the Farr 9.2 Farrago has recently found a new owner in Gerald Bergsma. After a long stint at RFBYC, Gerald has sailed Farrago closer to home at Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club, and is planning to get out racing in club events, in addition to a few upgrades for the cruising too. While Farrago isn’t likely to joining us for many river races, we’re looking forward to have another 9.2 out for some ocean sailing. Welcome to the fleet, Gerald!

Welcome to our first Farr 9.2 fleet report for 2022! We’re now just over half-way through the season, as well as the Farr 9.2 Metro Series, with five of the nine heats sailed so far.

Our last report covered heat one, where Itinerant (Mark Hansen) finished first across the line, and establishing a lead in the series. Heat two had the fleet sailing in the Max Hayes memorial trophy race, again at Royal Perth Yacht Club. Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) and Itinerant both headed out early to lead the fleet, exchanging places during the race. Elusive managed to keep their lead over the line, finishing a handful of seconds in front. Handicap results for heat two had The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) first, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) second and Lionheart (Warren Westaway) third.

In November, heat four of the series took the 9.2s over to South of Perth Yacht Club as part of their Saturday racing series. Conditions made for some tricky sailing, with a north easterly breeze that refused to settle to anything consistent to set sails against. After rounding the day buoy and setting spinnakers, each of the boats had a turn out front, to be soon overtaken by another boat that had found a lucky, but fleeting, puff of their own. Itinerant made an early call to head far out east, into what seemed to be a dire lack of wind out near Nedlands – but either by genius tactics or bare luck, they were rewarded with what seemed to be the only consistent winds on the river, steaming into the leeward mark ahead of the rest of the fleet. Keeping the lead through the rest of the race, they finished first across the line by a decent margin. Local SoPYC knowledge from team Igawa (David Atkinson) seemed to have helped too, bringing them across the finish line second. Handicap results had Farr Fetched (Bruce Meakins) first, Frenzy (Murray Rowe) second and Igawa third.

Newly introduced in the 2021/2022 series, heats four and five were a set of windward/leeward races hosted by RPYC, later on a Saturday afternoon, in conjunction with the Etchell, BW8, S80 and S97 fleets. The racing was hotly contested, in fresh summer south-westerly winds. In the first race of the day, heat four, Itinerant finished first across the line, as well as first on handicap, with Seahawk (Pat Jones) second and Lionheart third. Observant racers may have seen Elusive sailing downwind with an unusual sail plan – instead of a spinnaker, they’d decided to hoist a crew member to the top of the mast, presumable for mid-race repairs during heat four. Obviously effective, they finished at the front of the fleet in heat five, as well as second on handicap. Close behind on the line, Farr Far Away (James Baker) was second on handicap, and Seahawk third.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to the race management and support crew for hosting the windward/leeward racing events – it must have been a long day on the water, having run both the regular Saturday fleet races plus these extra heats.

Just after Christmas, four of the Farr 9.2 fleet sailed south to join in the Cockburn Sound Regatta – we had Farrouk (Des Riley, HYC), Dragonheart (Tarla Elward and Kevin Schroeder), and The Black Smoke sailing in the jib and main 2 fleet, plus Igawa refusing to give their spinnaker a holiday, sailing in division two. The delivery race from Fremantle to Cockburn sound was a consistent beam reach to the last few TCYC club marks, up until the afternoon heat set in and the wind dropped right out, resulting in a slow drift across the finish line. Like previous years, sailing conditions were ideal over the five days of racing, but unusually hot temperatures had most of the crews in for a post-race swim once back at their moorings. In overall results, Dragonheart took first place in the JaM 2 division – very well done for their first regatta as new owners!

As for future events: our racing calendar continues into 2022, with heat 6 in January at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, and heat seven back at South of Perth Yacht Club in February. We’ll then be heading out to Owen Anchorage for our State Championships event in March. Keep updated on this site for full results and updates as we go.

Another season is upon us! Our latest Farr 9.2 report includes results of the last season, events over winter, and our new plans for 2021-2022 events.

Over the winter, the 9.2s have been keeping active in Wednesday afternoon racing, with almost all of the fleet sailing regularly, within division B. Itinerant (Mark Hansen) has taken first place in mini series one, and at the time of writing, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) is only a handful of points away from the lead for mini series two. While the frostbites races have been a little quieter, well done to Itinerant and Farr Far Away (James Baker) for braving the weather and getting out there, with spinnakers flying, in the winter cold.

Despite a couple of pandemic-related delays, the fleet managed to get together for our salubrious prize night event, this year held at the RPYC Fremantle Annex. Our esteemed trophy winners on the night were:

Farr 9.2 State Championships 2021 – championship:

1st: Itinerant (Mark Hansen)

2nd: Farrlap (Andrew Hossen)

3rd: Lionheart (Warren Westaway)

Farr 9.2 State Championships 2021 – consistency:

1st: The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr)

2nd: Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen)

3rd: Seahawk (Pat Jones)

Farr 9.2 Swan River Metro Series – championship:

1st: Seahawk (Pat Jones)

2nd: Itinerant (Mark Hansen)

3rd: Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen)

Farr 9.2 Swan River Metro Series – consistency:

1st: Farrlap (Andrew Hossen)

2nd: The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr)

3rd: Lionheart (Warren Westaway)

Farr 9.2 Lady Skipper Trophy – championship:

1st: The Black Smoke (Jen Leen)

2nd: Farr Fetched (Sarah Liddiard)

3rd: Itinerant (Fiona Laing)

Congratulations to all skippers and crew throughout the fleet, for a great season of competitive racing.

For the next season’s racing calendar, we have planned an exciting fleet-racing series over the summer, consisting of nine races at various clubs around the river – Royal Perth Yacht Club, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, and South of Perth Yacht Club. We’ve introduced a set of windward-leeward races too, to test out the teams in different race formats. This schedule gives us a variety of courses, and an opportunity to join in with other clubs’ results presentations (and sample their post-race chips!). Our State Championships event this year is scheduled for the March long weekend, along with the S80 and S97 fleets at Owen Anchorage, with post-race social events at the RPYC Annex. Planning is still in progress, but it’s looking to be a great regatta.

In boat-related news, we’ve heard that Dragonheart has recently changed hands – previous owner John Da Silva has sold to new joint owners Tarla Elward and Kevin Schroeder. They tell us that they’ll be setting up a cruisy configuration, for regular summer twilights and trips out to Rottnest. Sounds ideal!

The Farr 9.2 fleet are always keen to welcome newcomers – both for competitive fleet racing and not-so-serious social events. If you’d like to join one of our boats, a few teams are looking for new crew; email the Association on secretary@farr92.asn.au to get in touch.

Happy new year all! Since our last update in October, we’ve had a lot of competitive racing on the river, plus a couple of 9.2s escaping for a bit of holiday racing. Our prior report covered the completion of heat one of the Swan River Metro Series, with The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) holding an initial lead in the championship results. Previous years’ series have shown that an early lead doesn’t guarantee anything, and this series has been no exception!

Heat two of the series had the fleet sailing at South of Perth Yacht Club (SoPYC), in their division two Saturday race. The weather brought us a classic Perth summer sea breeze, of 15-20 knots from the south-west. Seahawk (Pat Jones) had a cracking start, with Itinerant (Mark Hansen) chasing at speed. Not too far back, the rest of the fleet jostled for position throughout the race, chasing the slightly oscillating breeze in the upwind reaches.

The two leading boats—Seahawk and Itinerant—kept together throughout the race, Seahawk up front, taking line honours by a mere boat-length ahead after 2¾ hours of racing! Handicap results had Itinerant first, Seahawk second, and Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) third. Their win in heat two brings Seahawk into the lead of the progressive results.

Two weeks later, heat three of the metro series brought us back to SoPYC, running the same course as the previous race, but with a little more west in the breeze this time. Making the spinnaker runs a little less square, this kept the teams on their toes for the kite runs, with big gains to be had by keeping the kites up, and well-trimmed, in these shy angles. Doing so magnificently, Farrlap stole the initial lead from Itinerant, crossing first across the line at SoPYC’s Coffee Point finish. Handicap results for heat three had Farrlap first, Itinerant second, and Lionheart (Warren Westaway) third.

With their run of podium results across all of the series so far, Itinerant now takes the championship lead from Seahawk. Three different leaders from three races so far!

Back at Royal Perth Yacht Club, heat four again saw the fleet sailing with a slightly-more-westerly-than-usual breeze, but with larger variations in wind speed over the afternoon. A few of the fleet took advantage of the shifted wind angle to coordinate some spectacular bear-away kite raises at the top mark, gaining a significant advantage by taking off quickly downwind. Sailing well all afternoon, Seahawk crossed the line ahead of the fleet to secure their second fastest of the season. Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) found their stride again, winning first on handicap, with Seahawk second and Farrlap third.

After these four heats so far, Itinerant still leads the championship series results, but only by a single point over Seahawk. The next race of the series, heat five back at RPYC, is sure to be a nail-biter! We publish progressive results on our website at https://farr92.asn.au, if you’d like to follow along from home.

Meanwhile, the majority of the Farr 9.2s are still sailing regularly in the Hyatt Regency Wednesday racing series, and have featured well in the results so far – on completion of the first mini-series, Itinerant took first place and Farrlap second. Well done to both.

With the club racing events quietening down over the Christmas/New Year’s break, two of the 9.2 fleet sailed out past the bridges and south to The Cruising Yacht Club on Rockingham Beach, for the 2020 Cockburn Sound Regatta. Igawa (David Atkinson, SoPYC) sailed in division two, and The Black Smoke took a more relaxed approach in the jib and main category. Unlike previous years, the usual south-westerly only appeared infrequently, so the fleets had greater variation in courses over the four days of racing. Overall results had Igawa and The Black Smoke both finish third in their respective divisions.

With the 2020-2021 sailing season underway, the Farr 9.2 fleet is in full swing, with plenty of competitive racing across the thirteen boats. It has been a great start to the season so far, with the pre-season cocktail party, the first Farr 9.2 Metro Series heat for the 2020-2021, and lots of club racing too.

To launch the season’s sailing events, the Farr 9.2 association held the traditional pre-season cocktail party, this year hosted by Angela and Mario Tascone at their lovely home. With tasty South American bites by El Argentino catering, and some impromptu musical accompaniment from the talented Wilna Cornelisse (from not-quite-a-9.2 Reflections), the teams had a great night to celebrate the upcoming season, and a return to the summer competition.

As has become custom at the pre-season party, Helen and James Baker kindly presented trophies for our informal winter series competition, awarded to the teams with the most across-the-line wins within the 9.2 fleet over the Wednesday winter races. Itinerant (Mark Hansen) took a solid first-place, with 11 wins, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) second and Lionheart (Warren Westaway) third.

RPYC opening day has always been a big event on the 9.2 calendar, not just being the return to Saturday racing at the club, but also comprising the first heat of the all-important 2020/2021 Farr 9.2 Metro Series. As if by schedule, the weather gave us a classic summer south-westerly breeze, aligning the starting leg to a reach downriver. Each with the title-deeds to their sheepstations in hand, the fleet of eight keen 9.2s made their way across the start line to Bricklanding A and B marks. Unfortunately, the team on Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) may have been a little too keen to start the series, crossing the line early for an eventual OCS on results.

Even though the course had been shortened to accommodate opening day events, the race gave the fleet two reaches and two spinnaker runs, including a moderately shy run from Inner Dolphin Spit to the finish line. With the shorter course, the race saw a lot of close-quarters sailing, and plenty of opportunities for tactical racing. Starting with a small lead at the first mark, The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) took line honours, with Seahawk (Pat Jones) chasing close behind. Handicap results had The Black Smoke first, Seahawk second, and Frenzy (Murray Rowe) third.

Following on from opening day, the Farr 9.2 fleet have been sailing well in the Saturday Division 2 Combined series, with new entrants Dragonheart (John Da Silva), collecting a first in race one (Dragonheart’s first in Divison 2), and Frenzy first in race two. Well done to both.

Wednesday racing has also seen the 9.2s well-represented on the podium, also with new contender Toravean (Michael Hulbert & Ken Stokes) picking up their first first flag, after a great sail in a fresh breeze in race two.

Heats two and three of the Farr 9.2 Metro Series will take the fleet over to South of Perth Yacht club for two Saturdays in November, then returning to RPYC in early December. For the full schedule and results, check out the other posts on this website.