Sydney’s Light Airs Put Tacticians to the Test in Rolex Trophy

The first day of the Rolex Trophy One Design Series proved tough for tacticians, with light airs plaguing the Farr 40 fleet. Denis Thompson, Principle Race Officer, managed to conduct three races for Farr 40s and Sydney 38s on the race-track outside Sydney Heads.

With Easterly breezes of 8 – 11 knots, the Farr 40 fleet made solid use of their light air sails. “It was a difficult day out there today, very shifty in the first race with the breeze swinging around, but it settled down a little later in the day” said Adrian Stead, tactician aboard Lang Walker’s Kokomo. Stead brings a wealth of experience to the Kokomo crew, sailing regularly with the team in overseas Farr 40 events, and having flown from Southampton in the UK specifically to compete in this regatta.

A handful of International talent is scattered throughout the Farr 40 fleet, with Estate Master (Martin and Lisa Hill) also flying in a tactician from overseas. Cameron Appleton (NZ) will be calling tactics aboard Estate Master for the remainder of the regatta; stepping into the shoes of Grant Simmer (of Americas Cup fame) who called the shots today.

However despite the International competition, local knowledge aboard Guido Belgiorno-Nettis’ Transfusion reigned supreme today, with Transfusion being awarded Boat Of The Day. Two bullets in the second and third races propelled the current Farr 40 World Champion into first position overall, and showed they are the boat to beat for the series.

Estate Master sits in second place, with Kokomo third; tactician Stead commenting “We need to be a bit more ….precise tomorrow.” A further six races are scheduled over the weekend, with a similar weather forecast boding across the next two days.

In the Sydney 38 fleet, Mark Griffith’s Old School leads ahead of Zen and Calibre. Series results to date for the Farr 40 and Sydney 38 fleets are available here.