IN a Harbor Farr Farr Away

A pale moon in the west oversaw the start of the first race of the 2005 American Express Farr 40 North American Championship.  12 boats from as far away as Australia sailed four races on a day that offered picture perfect weather conditions.

The first of the four races began in 6 to 8 knots of wind.  All the races of the day were windward-leeward, twice around.  At the start Tom Neill representing Mackinac Island Yacht Club took the leeward position with Nitemare.  Kokomo, skippered by Lang Walker of Cruising Yacht Club of Australia was immediately to windward of him.  At the weather mark, Nitemare was clearly ahead of the pack with a 30 second lead on the second place yacht, Virago sailed by Stuart Townsend of Chicago Yacht Club.  Nitemare continued to lead all the way around finishing 40 seconds ahead of second place Heartbreaker sailed by Robert Hughes of Macatawa Bay Yacht Club.  Finishing third in the first race was Stuart Townsend’s Virago.

The second race saw another clean start.  The wind was oscillating between 195 to 200 degrees and reasonable steady at 8-10 knots.  First around the weather mark was Heartbreaker followed by Helmut Jahn’s Flash Gordon with Brian Jackman’s Pendragon in third.

Inferno with Aaron Houston at the helm overtook Flash Gordon by the time all arrived at the leeward mark.  Heartbreaker held on to win with Flash Gordon retaking second by the finish.  Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad and Lang Walker in Kokomo got the better of Inferno by the finish.

In the third race the breeze stiffened a bit to 10-12 knots.  Kokomo got a clear center of the line start.  As the fleet approached the weather mark, Virago came in on port tack with Barking Mad on her heels.  Heartbreaker and Kokomo were barreling in on starboard.  In an extremely close rounding Virago eked out a several foot lead on Heartbreaker.  Barking Mad had to duck Kokomo and ended up in fourth as they headed for the leeward mark.

Flash Gordon appeared to have a jib halyard issue and several boats snuck ahead.  Tom Neill in Nitemare and Brian Jackman in Pendragon went left and caught a 20-degree right shift.  When they jibed they were one and two.  Coming to the weather mark for the second time Nitemare was still ahead.  Pendragon approached on port and lee bowed Heartbreaker.  A protest was lodged alleging that Pendragon tacked too close necessitating a course alteration by Heartbreaker.  The protest was later dropped

The finish of the third race saw Nitemare take a first, its second on the day.  Heartbreaker finished second with Pendragon in third pending protest.  

8 knots of wind held for the fourth race.  Inferno rounded the weather mark in first followed by Heartbreaker, Kokomo, Barking Mad and Flash Gordon. Flash Gordon picked off two boats off the wind and rounded the leeward mark in third behind the first place Inferno and Kokomo in second.

By the time the fleet reached the weather mark, Flash Gordon had taken the lead with Inferno bumped back into the second place slot.  Heartbreaker, Barking Mad and Kokomo filled out the top five.

Flash Gordon held the lead to win the fourth race.  Inferno finished in second followed by Heartbreaker, Barking Mad and Kokomo.

Heartbreaker’s finishes, consistently in the top three, puts them clearly in the lead with 8 points.  Asked if he’s change for tomorrow Bob Hughes’s only comment was: It’s better to be lucky than good.  A full 8 points behind Hughes with 16 is Flash Gordon with finishes of 5, 2, 8, 1.  Third place belongs to Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad with finishes of 7, 3, 4, 4 for a point total of 18.  Rounding out the top five are Lang Walker’s Kokomo of Cruising Yacht Club, Australia with 20 points. When asked how he found the sailing here Lang said: The shifts are a bit tricky but we’re catching on.  Tom Neill of Mackinac Island Yacht Club in Nitemare had 21 points at the end of the day, tying him on points with Stuart Townsend’s Virago.  Pat Considine, tactician on Nitemare commented that a little consistency would be nice.

Tomorrow’s weather is looking less than desirable with the winds going from south to northeast over the course of the day and the seas kicking up as the winds shift onshore.  Two races are scheduled but today’s four races has created some ease in the schedule.

Chicago Yacht Club is hosting this event for the Farr 40 class.  Its Belmont Harbor facility provides an excellent venue.  Sponsors for the event include American Express, Pilsner Urquell, RealTick, Harken, West marine, Hyatt, Doyle, LaSalle, and Stolichnaya Vodka.

22 Sep, '05