Doyle Sailmakers
2002 New Zealand Championships for the
Farr 6000 and Farr 7500 Classes
26th and 27th October

Held in Conjunction with the Meridian Energy Aviemore Classic, Lake Aviemore

I think everyone was impressed with the size of the turnout for the Farr 6000 fleet. 15 boats registered for the full competition and a further two competed in the ‘Aviemore Classic’ long race on Sunday. This would rank as the largest Farr 6000 fleet seen in many years. On a slightly disappointing note only two Farr 7500s were entered for their championship, nevertheless for Club Med and Velella the competition was just as serious and hard fought as in the Farr 6000 class.

The Great Measure up

All Farr 6000s entered in the championships were checked for compliance with the class rules and Keith Atkinson, our class measurer, measured all sails. There were few surprises with the sails with many of the Hood jibs a little undersize and older spinnakers having stretched with use. One replacement rudder did not meet the class minimum weight rule and one competitor had inadequate ground tackle.

Day 1

Saturdays racing consisted of four relatively short windward leeward and triangle courses in relatively shifty conditions from the west.

Blue Movie, Kostalott and Hot C Air quickly showed their form by finishing the first race in first second and third respectively. These were also to be their final positions at the end of the two-day event.

As the day wore on the wind tended to move form one valley to another with a gradual predominance to the north. For the final race the course was extended and in the lightening airs those the fleet became well separated as boats hunted for the wind shifts.

By the end of the day Blue Movie and Kostalott had gained a virtually unassailable points lead with the final days racing looking like it would be a fight over third place.

Some good performances from Sceptre, Tatopani, Mariska and Toss for Boss meant that at the end of day one the points for these boats and Hot C Air were remarkably close and any of them had the potential to take third overall.

The Aviemore Classic

Sunday dawned grey and cold with a Southerly change and wet and windy conditions predicted. This was not going to be a typical Aviemore classic and the usual lake sailing techniques and local knowledge would not be a great advantage.

The rain eased off shortly before the start but so did the wind leaving the large combined fleet of over 85 floundering around the start line.

In a race that is notorious for wind holes, remarkably the only one of the day was found by the race committee who elected to start the A division including our 17 Farr 6000s in zero wind. This combined with the number of large boats above the line and mingled with the smaller boats made the start a shambles.

With wind setting in again at the port end of the line soon after the start, those at that end were able to get a good break away but many of the boats trapped further down the line were a long time struggling to escape.

Hot C Air made a good break at the start and took off in the lead, a position well defended throughout the race. Blue Movie and Kostalott also started well and as the wind increased to over 30 knots the strain came on for many.

The Aviemore Classic is a long race, generally taking six hours or more to finish. Three Farr 6000s finishing in less than four hours gives some indication of the conditions. In the full 85 strong fleet there was a certain mount of attrition with two boats losing a man overboard, one dismasting, several bent spinnaker poles and lots of sails ripped. The potential for hypothermia and exhaustion were very real problems in the cold wet conditions.

Some of the most exciting recollections I have of the event were the final downwind spinnaker run as the wind built to full strength. In our local sea conditions we would not normally fly the kite in that wind strength but the (relatively) flatter lake conditions made it possible. Seeking to capture this for posterity (or at least for the website) I attempted to get the video camera out of the locker, which immediately prompted the boat to start wild death rolls. The camera went back into the locker and fate was tempted no more.

Alan Sutherland in Hot C Air held on to his early lead and finished first with Blue Movie closing behind in second. Toss for Boss after being well behind at the beginning finished third.

Final Results

In the final count Rob McGregor of Christchurch, in Blue Movie, a past master at Aviemore is our new Farr 6000 NZ Champion with Steve Garland, Kostlott also of Christchurch in second. Alan Sutherland, Hot C Air, of Port Chalmers is third. For the Farr 7500s, Jeff Champion, Velella, form Timaru becomes the first champion for the class for some years.

Acknowledgements

The Association would like to thank our hosts the Timaru Yacht and Power Boat Club for their fine efforts in running the event for us. We are also grateful to our principal sponsor, Doyle Sailmakers for the very generous prizes and also to the Cancer Society for their donation of sunscreen.

Our Sail measurer Keith Atkinson deserves a special thanks for his generous contribution of time and experience.

Lastly we appreciate the great effort Barry, Les and Lew Kenah, “Mariska” and Paul Brown, “Lady Stardust” made in coming such a long from Napier to make this a truly National event.

John Beveridge

 

Results

T567 No Name DSQ all races (non member). Club Med DSQ Race 2