racing

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.