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
The 2002 NZ Champs will be remembered
for several things, the number of competitors, the consistency
of the top performers and most definitely the weather.
Yes that is fresh snow on the hills in the photos.
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.
[ Click
Here ] for NZ Champs results table
[ Click Here
] for Aviemore Classic results on NZTYA Rating table
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
Photos John Beveridge
Full size high resolution scans and a screensaver of
some of these images are available from the Downloads
page
[ Click Here
] for the Downloads page
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