The lead, after nine races, is shared by Alex Roepers with Plenty, and John Demourkas' Groovederci. They are five points clear of Wolfgang Schaefer's Struntje Light, who in turn is three points ahead of Kevin McNeil's Nightshift. The top five have displayed consistency, whereas all the others have had results they would like to forget, but this, as always, is a no-discard series.
Rolex Farr 40 World Championship
Day Two sponsored by North Sails
Another day of glorious racing for the 17 boats competing for the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship off Long Beach, California produced three different winners, and all three are now at the top of the leader board after six of the eleven races in this no-discard series.
The south-westerly sea breeze increased as the day progressed and veered throughout the period of racing. All starts were closely competed, but only two boats were called over all day, and those in the first race. That start was made to perfection by Wolfgang Schaefer with Struntje Light, but he admitted that he tacked on to port too soon and others reaped the benefit of the later shift and three boats beat him to the first mark after a 1.2 mile beat.
It had kept Race Officer Peter Reggio busy as the wind swung before adopting a south-westerly line, and he had a weather eye out for the increases in strength that kept the tacticians busy. Each of the day's races was postponed as shifts occurred shortly before each start. It resulted in what one tactician described as: "As good a day's racing as I have had all summer," and followed that with: "And hasn't the pressure increased for this championship."
Fortunes in grand prix sailing can ebb and flow faster than a spring tide, and the first race of day two of the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship was a perfect example. The class attracts some of the world’s most accomplished sailors to do battle on equal terms, although one team competing at this level for the first time are the university students on Cal Maritime who have never raced a Farr 40 together before. It was little surprise to see them battling at the back of such a high quality 17-boat fleet on day one. However, it appears they are fast learners, as they launched off the start line on day two in light south-westerly breezes, eventually finishing just five seconds behind John Demourkas’ Groovederci in the first race of the day.
Day One
There could not have been better conditions for the opening day of the Farr 40 Pre-Worlds Regatta. A steady westerly of 10-14 knots provided the fifteen competitors with sufficient indication of what to expect in the forthcoming World Championship.
Almost naturally, the first attempt to get the fleet away was spoiled by the impatience of the sailors, and a general recall was necessary. That, however, didn't stop the top Corinthian skipper, Rick Goebel, from jumping the gun the next time and his sixth place finish with Insanity was lost. That was only one of his disappointments of the day as Rick had been forced to leave a ring-side seat at the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix to attend this regatta.
Goebel's later performances in the races would, perhaps, afford some compensation as he, together with tactician Greg Tawaststjerna, posted a 57 second victory in the second race and a sixth place in the final race of the day, which gave him eighth overall - which would otherwise have been third if his first race position could have counted. He was, nevertheless, the top Corinthian skipper at the end of the first day.