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We have plenty of Farr 9.2 news from the final parts of the summer season, news from our recent prize night, and some plans for sailing over winter. Read on for details!

Continuing on with the Farr 9.2 Metro Series, heat six saw a new format to the racing this year, with a marathon race that took the fleet down Blackwall reach, past East Fremantle Yacht Club and back home to a Crawley finish. This was also a significant race for the fleet, with recent new owners Juan Roman and Pedro Araujo bringing Seahawk back into the series. Getting an early lead on their way south, Farrlap (Andrew Hossen) finished both first and fastest, with Lionheart (Warren Westaway) a close second, and Eufarria (Peter Cook) third. Well done to the winners and welcome to racing, Juan and Pedro!

The next heat of the Metro Series brought the fleet over to Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC), as guests in their Saturday race series. A light and variable afternoon breeze made for a tricky start, but Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen) picked the shifts well for an early lead, with the rest of the fleet swapping places behind. A late sea breeze kicked in, but Elusive maintained their lead over the line, and third on handicap, The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr) first and Lionheart second. We had a great representation of the fleet at RFBYC’s results presentation, and even managed to extract some post-race local knowledge from members, which should turn out handy for future finishes in Freshwater Bay!

Next on the racing calendar, on a sunny long-weekend in March, seven of the 9.2 fleet made their way out of the confines of the Swan for their State Championships event, hosted as part of RPYC’s WA Keelboat State Championships out of the Fremantle Annex. With an expert race management team and a brilliant set of volunteers – both on water and off – the racing was first-class, and the crews were kept sustained through a decent post-race sausage sizzle.

The regatta had us out for eight races over two-and-a-half days, under all sorts of winds. In particular, Saturday brought some strong easterlies, building over the day. A few of the fleet decided to keep their spinnakers packed, dry, and intact in the gustier winds, a few of the others risked it with varying levels of success, including one unintended journey beyond the bottom gate and off towards Carnac Island. Fortunately, we did see team Itinerant (Mark Hansen) back at the bar after racing, so we can assume that they did eventually manage to douse the kite.

Despite their sojourn westwards, Itinerant – as defending championship winner – sailed well over the regatta, with three firsts over the weekend. However, Eufarria – new entrants this year – stole the show with four, taking out the overall championship trophy. The remaining race win went to The Black Smoke, ending up third in championship regatta results. Consistency results for the State Championships had Farrlap in first, Lionheart second, and Frenzy (Murray Rowe) third. Well done to all teams for a fantastic weekend of racing, and for our contemporaries in the S80 and S97 fleets for a great combined event. Of course, the stars of the show were the staff and dedicated volunteers for such a smoothly run weekend of racing. Thank you all!

The later parts of the season’s race calendar certainly keep our fleet on their toes – after a (generous!) two weeks’ rest, the fleet were back racing at RPYC Crawley for heat eight of the Metro Series, then the heat nine three weeks following. As is tradition, heat nine had the fleet racing for the prestigious Alan Coutts Memorial trophy, commemorating Alan as an prominent supporter, enthusiastic promoter, and valued friend of the 9.2 class. Chasing the trophy for a number of years now, Elusive’s stars fell into alignment to finish fastest, and second on handicap. Further handicap results had Farrlap making their way into first, and Eufarria at third. With the fleet back in their pens after heat nine, the Metro Series was complete for the season, with final results formally announced at the upcoming prize night.

In boat movement news, Kevin Shroeder and Tarla Elward have sold Dragonheart to new owners Chris and Amanda Maines, based at EFYC. They plan to start off with a little cruising, and perhaps join in some racing events in the near future. Welcome to the fleet!

To wrap up the summer season, the Farr 9.2 Association Prize night is our annual ceremony for distributing the trophies (and, or course, prizes!) to their rightful owners. After a great event last year, this year was also held at the Dutch Trading Company in Victoria Park, over tasty cocktail-style dinner, and tasty beverages of all kinds. Some particular highlights for the results were:

Farr 9.2 State Championships, championship:

• 1^st: Eufarria (Peter Cook)
• 2^nd: Itinerant (Mark Hansen)
• 3^rd: The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr)

Farr 9.2 State Championships, consistency:

• 1^st: Farrlap (Andrew Hossen)
• 2^nd: Lionheart (Warren Westaway)
• 3^rd: Frenzy (Murray Rowe)

Farr 9.2 Metro Series, championship:

• 1^st: Elusive (Richard Brisbane-Cohen)
• 2^nd: Itinerant (Mark Hansen)
• 3^rd: Lionheart (Warren Westaway)

Farr 9.2 Metro Series, consistency:

• 1^st: Farrlap (Andrew Hossen)
• 2^nd: Eufarria (Peter Cook)
• 3^rd: The Black Smoke (Jeremy Kerr)

Farr 9.2 Crew Skipper trophy:

• Kevin Ferguson – Farrlap

Farr 9.2 Ladies Skipper trophy:

• Tiffani Tong – Farrlap

Well done to the winners for a great season.

Prizes for the season were generously provided by our prize night sponsors: UK Sailmakers, Doyle Sails, Yacht Grot, Bay Marine Maintenance and Yahava Coffee. We are very grateful for their support, and encourage our members to check out their offerings.

Of course, even with the summer season over, sailing will continue just as enthusiastically over winter, with regular Wednesday afternoon sailing, and a few of the fleet sailing in the Winter Frostbites series. We’re also helping out the S80 fleet in their Sailor Development Program, hosting some spinnaker training sessions on a Farr 9.2. Contact Jeremy Kerr (0417 095 745) if you’re interested in participating in any of the above.