Owners meet to discuss 2005 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship announcement

• NEWS
• 13 Dec, 2003 06:14:00 PM

Owners meet to discuss 2005 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship announcement

Race 1 and 2 of Rolex Trophy Series proves frustrating for the Farr 40 fleet with Race 3 finally abandoned.

Nursing sunburn from a scorching day on the water in the Rolex Trophy Series, key Farr 40 skippers headed straight into the meeting room this afternoon to start work on the 2005 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship to be held in Sydney.

The Farr 40 Executive Committee and Rolex Geneva have just announced that the dates and venue have been finalised and that the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, home of the Rolex Trophy Series and Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, will run the regatta from 2 March 2 to 5 March, 2005.

President of the International Farr 40 class, Jim Richardson, who is skippering his Farr 40 Barking Mad in the Rolex Trophy Series this afternoon said: "We are looking forward to another spectacular event in Sydney".

“The beauty of the Farr 40’s is that they are fun to sail, and are relatively simple in their set up.  Because all the boats are the same you can’t buy a speed advantage,” he went on to say.

 “The owner can steer the boat and be an integral part of the team, yet because the class is so competitive and the boats are so much fun to sail, the professionals love to crew them.  It’s a bit like being able to play golf on the same team as people like Tiger Woods.

“It’s intensely competitive, but I tell the professionals when they come to Farr 40’s from ocean racing that the most important thing they have to keep in mind is to make sure your owner is having a good time,” he added.

Racing in 2005 will take place outside Sydney Heads or in Sydney Harbour, depending on the conditions.  Competitors can expect excellent late-summer racing conditions in one of the world's most beautiful and exciting cities.

The Australian Farr 40 fleet is planning their 2004/05 season now to include events that visiting yachts can participate in prior to the Worlds.  The national fleet is 20 boats strong, and a large turnout from Europe and North America is expected.  Boats will be able to ship directly to Sydney upon the conclusion of the 2004 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds and the 2004 Rolex Big Boat Series in San Francisco.

Title sponsor Rolex Geneva moves into their fifth year of support for the Farr 40 Worlds.  "It has been a highly successful partnership between Rolex, the world's pre-eminent watch maker, and the Farr 40 class", said Jim Richardson.

In today’s Rolex Trophy Series, high profile Sydney property developer Lang Walker won the Farr 40 one design division in the first race but was out-sailed in the second race by another prominent Sydney and New Zealand businessman, Neville Crichton.

In Race 1, sailed in a light north east breeze and flat seas off Sydney Heads, Walker’s Kokomo out-paced Robert Skinner’s Weapon with Steve O’Rourke third with Panther.

The flukey conditions delayed the start of this race by two hours, forcing the seven boats racing in the Farr 40 fleet to drift around offshore in the searing heat.

The breeze failed to fill in for Race 2 and Race 3 was eventually abandoned, the fleet returning to the shade of the CYCA.

In Race 2 results, Dick Voorderhake’s Rapscallion finished just 32 seconds behind Crichton’s Team Shockwave with Kokomo in third place.

The decision on whether to race inshore or offshore tomorrow will be made in the morning by the Race Committee.

Farr 40 OD Provisional pointscore after Day 1:
1st -  Kokomo, 4 points
2nd – Team Shockwave,  5 points
3rd – Rapscallion, 7 points