The annual Farr 40 Sprint Series regatta being hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia this weekend, February 16 and 17, will be used as a warm up event for the upcoming 2008 Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian Championship.
Ten teams from New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand will race on a windward leeward sprint of one nautical mile in length with the race course outside Sydney Heads on Saturday and inside the iconic Sydney Harbour on Sunday. It will be intense racing with four races scheduled for each day.
After five regattas in the 2007-08 Australian circuit completed, the current leader is Martin Hill on 17 points with Guido Belgiorno Nettis second on 21 points and 2006-07 circuit winner and 2007 Australian Farr 40 champion Lang Walker third on 22 points.
Joining the Australian Farr 40 fleet for the first time will be two new owners and teams, Queenslander Russell McCart’s Night Nurse and from Sydney, Graeme Wood’s Wot Now.
“We’re excited and delighted to be joining the fleet in Sydney and looking forward to a couple of weekends of good racing on the Harbour.
“Hopefully it will be better weather than what we’ve had up here lately. We have a couple of Farr 40s up in Queensland now and hopefully will have some class racing in Brisbane soon,” said McCart from Brisbane today.
Three of the teams racing this weekend, Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan, Lang Walker’s Kokomo and Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master, will take advantage of the second last 2007-08 Australian Farr 40 circuit event to focus on crew work as they prepare to represent Australia in Miami in April at the 2008 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship. – Sam Crichton
2008 Farr 40 Sprint Series Entry List
Estate Master, Lisa and Martin Hill, MHYC
Hooligan, Marcus Blackmore, RPAYC
Kokomo, Lang Walker, CYCA
Night Nurse, Russell McCart, RQYS
Orion, Michael Blumentals, CYCA
Revolution Edake, Jeff Carter, MHYC
Sputnik, Ivan Wheen, RSYS
Transfusion, Guido Belgiorno Nettis, MHYC
White Cloud, Brett Neill, RNZYS
Wot Now, Graeme Wood, CYCA
