Storm Trysail Club to Host Inaugural Farr 40 Chesapeake Fleet Regatta
Annapolis sailboat racer Rod Jabin started something when he and a crew of Chesapeake Bay sailors on Ramrod were top U.S. finishers at the prestigious Rolex Farr 40 World Championship in Miami last year.
photo: Walter Cooper/ Rolex
A half-dozen other Annapolis-based racers have since jumped into the hotly competitive class, and together formed the new Chesapeake Bay Farr 40 Fleet. This weekend, May 16-17, eight boats will be on the starting line as the Storm Trysail Club’s Chesapeake Station runs the first Chesapeake Farr 40 Class Regatta out of Annapolis.
“Ramrod is definitely the boat to beat,” said Kevin McNeil, who bought his Farr 40 Night Shift last year. “We’ll all be watching Rod to see how it’s done.”
In addition to Ramrod and Night Shift, the fleet includes Preben Ostberg’s Tsunami and Eric Wulf’s Endorfin; Sundance, owned by Gary Beer and skippered by son Matt with Annapolis professional John Bertrand calling tactics; Larry Bulman and Jeff Scholz’s Yellowjacket; Mark Cloutier's Abracadabra, a Bermuda-owned boat based in Annapolis, and the Naval Academy’s Sea Wolf.
Four races are scheduled Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. at the mouth of the Severn River, with three on Sunday. Prizegiving follows at Bert Jabin’s Marina on Back Creek, where all eight boats are docked.
McNeil said the local Farr 40s will compete in four or five regattas this summer, including the recent Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta where Ramrod took first overall in class; the Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex, in June; and the Storm Trysail Club’s IRC East Coast Championship, in October, where a season’s end Chesapeake champion will be crowned.
Dick Neville heads the Race Committee for this weekend, along with Tim Kerns, Wayne Bretsch, Sandy Morse, Maurice Lethbridge and Jeff Goldring.
For more information about the Chesapeake Farr 40 Class Regatta, contact Dick Neville at (410) 353-0477 or www.stormtrysail.org.
About Storm Trysail Club Reflecting in its name the sail to which sailors must shorten when facing adverse conditions, the Storm Trysail Club is one of the world’s most respected sailing clubs, with its membership comprised strictly of skilled blue water and ocean racing sailors. www.stormtrysail.org.
