Day one of pre-worlds provides stiff competition for Aussie boats
Day one of the Farr 40 pre-worlds took place today on the stunning fresh waters of Lake Michigan in a blistering 29 degrees and blowing 18-25 knots from the south west, providing some exciting and competitive racing in the lead up to the Farr 40 World Championships.
The fourteen boat fleet including nine boats from the United States, Struntje Light from Germany, Asterisk from Turkey, Enfant Terrible from Italy and two Australian teams commenced pre-worlds racing today with two races, the third being cancelled due to strong winds.
Jeff Carter (Edake) and Gordon Ketelbey (Zen) are flying the Aussie flag here in Chicago hoping to take the Corinthian trophy back to Australia.
Team Edake
Jeff Carter (Skipper), Jud Smith (Tactician), Lachlan Carter (Mast), Tim Lake (Offside trimmer), Sean O’Rourke (Headsail Trimmer), Jaiden Stevens (Pit), Rosie Lee (Mid Mast), Alice Tarnawski (Strategy), Noel Holder (Main Trimmer), Harry West (Bow).
Team Zen
Gordon Ketelbey (Skipper), David Chapman (Tactician), Shane Guanaria (Main Trimmer), Tim Austin (Mast), Tom Barker (Headsail Trimmer), Clare Costanzo (Pit Assist), Wulf Wilkens (Bow), Edward Hawthorne (Float), Daniel Williams (Pit) and Edward Snowball (Offside Trimmer).
At the end of day one, Zen is in fourth place and Corinthian leader just one point behind current World Champion Alex Roepers and the Plenty crew. Stuntje Light is in first place, closely followed by Italian team Enfant Terrible in second place.
PRO John Busch from Long Beach, California was pleased with today’s racing. “We set a course of 1.2 nautical miles and the wind set in at 205 wind direction. We had a practice start for the first go and then rolled into race number 1. We saw anywhere from 8-25 knots in the first race. The breeze in the second race was from the same direction and we saw a breeze top out at 30 knots, averaging 18-22 knots. We finished that race and decided that the breeze had increased again, so we shut it down for the day. We completed two races today, so we have enough for a series. The weather was warm for Chicago, which was nice. I had my Hawaiian shirt on from Long Beach to bring the warm weather with me, which I did”.
The Pre-Worlds will conclude tomorrow (Thursday). Crews will enjoy a lay day on Friday before battling it out for the big one with the World Championships commencing on Saturday and concluding Tuesday, with up to three races scheduled each day.
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Results: yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eid=5989