- Double Black – Rob Pitts (SYC)
- Edake – Jeff Carter (MHYC)
- Exile – Rob and Tony Reynolds (MHYC)
- Forty – Stephen Barlow (RSYS)
- Kindergarten – Rod Jones (MHYC)
- Kokomo – Lang Walker (CYCA)
- Transfusion – Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (MHYC)
- Zen – Gordon Ketelbey (MHYC)
2015/16 FARR 40 AUSTRALIAN OPEN SERIES: NSW STATE TITLE MEDIA RELEASE
Published on in Uncategorized
MEDIA RELEASE – 18 JANUARY 2016
Event: 2015/16 Farr 40 Australian Open Series NSW State Title being held 23 & 24 January 2016 at the Middle Harbour Yacht Club, The Spit, Mosman
Farr 40 Australian Class gets down to business
The Farr 40 Australian Class is preparing for the final two point score regattas of the 2015/16 season. The NSW State Title (23 & 24 January 2016) and National Championships: John Calvert-Jones Trophy (29-31 January 2016) will be sailed on The Sound, Sydney Harbour and is once again being hosted by the Middle Harbour Yacht Club.
Australian Class President and Kindergarten Owner Rod Jones is excited about the upcoming regattas, which no doubt will be a thrilling conclusion to the 2015/16 series. “The Australian Farr 40 Class is about to embark on a seriously competitive journey. The upcoming series of regattas including the NSW State Title, the National Championship, the Sydney Open (Pre-Worlds Regatta) will lead into the ultimate test of One Design racing, the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship 2016. For Australian competitors the chance to engage with some of the best teams from the USA, and to manage their programs to compete, and compete well, is the culmination of many years planning. The fleet quality is impressive. Professional, experienced, hungry – seriously competitive. The winner of any of these championships will genuinely be able to lay claim to being amongst the best One Design sailors in the world. Without doubt.”
Eight of the top one design yachts in the country will be competing over two days and up to eight races, providing teams with plenty of practice in the lead up to the National Championships where they will be joined by two more boats, Estate Master fresh from the US circuit and Newcastle newcomer Joe de Kock on Good Form.
Transfusion Owner Guido Belgiorno-Nettis has been leading the 2015/16 season with three from three wins at the October, November and December regattas. Belgiorno-Nettis won the 2011 Rolex Worlds in Sydney and will be aiming to get on the podium in this next Farr 40 World Championship. “There would be nothing better than performing well on our own home waters. Notwithstanding a crew re-shuffle this season, I am very happy with the team we will compete with in the Worlds. Everyone is working well together and we keep improving our boat handling and have good speed. John Kostecki will join us as Tactician and it’s a great honour having him joining the Transfusion team again.”
Class stalwart Lang Walker is back from a two year hiatus and the experienced crew aboard Kokomo is second to none including newly appointed Tactician David Chapman – 2015 Farr 40 National Champion Tactician from Voodoo Chile.
Rob Pitts, Owner of Double Black based at the Sandringham Yacht Club is looking forward to competing in these final regattas in preparation for the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds. Whilst the Melbourne based Corinthian team have sailed together for many years, the crew are relatively new to one design racing. “We have been racing against another Farr 40 at SYC but we haven’t had the experience of competing against the rest of the fleet as this is our first regatta for the season. We will be working on starts, crew work and boat speed at the States and Nationals and hopefully it will all come together in time for the Worlds. We are also looking forward to getting to know the other teams and experiencing the camaraderie the Class is renowned for”.
The rivalry in the Corinthian division is fiercely competitive and this trophy will be battled out by the usual suspects and closely matched crews of Double Black, Edake, Exile and Zen.
Entries:
Dates:
NSW State Title – 23 & 24 January 2016 at MHYC
National Championship: John Calvert-Jones Trophy – 29-31 January 2016 at MHYC
Sydney Open (Pre-Worlds): 11-13 February 2016 at RSYS
Rolex Farr 40 World Championship: 16-19 February 2016 at the RSYS
By Jennie Hughes – Farr 40 Class Administrator
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