Farr 40's to have pre-Worlds Match up at Sydney Short Ocean titles

by Solveig Walkling on 26 Nov 2010 Stellar Farr 40s' crews will get first taste for February's Worlds in Sydney in testing conditions at Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship.

The Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship's (SSORC) Farr 40s One Design yachts will make for a riveting match outside Sydney Heads this weekend when some of Australia's most experienced crews go bow on in the upcoming Rolex World championships' waters.

Their crews will include the first Australian Rolex World Sailor of the Year, the patron of the Australian Sailing Team, the Australian Institute of Sports Yachtsman of the Year, ex Volvo Around the World competitors, winning crew from the last Sydney Worlds in 2005 and other highly experienced yachtsmen and women.

Estate Master only narrowly leads rival Farr 40 Kokomo in the ratings after the recent Port Stephens race. The two rivals have been training hard, with Kokomo also fine tuning their new boat this week. Kokomo's boat captain John Flannery said Tom Slingsby who will be tactician on Estate Master for the SSORC and just became the first Australian to be named World Sailor of the Year 'is on fire at the moment'.

Flannery added one of the drawcards of one design sailing, the close competition as all boats are essentially the same, also always meant there was something you could improve on - like even better boat handling and crew work under pressure.

And so Kokomo's crew who placed second in the European Championships this year have been preparing with even more time on the water to get on top of their competition and are looking forward to a 'good battle and a beautiful weekend of sailing in the lead up to the Rolex'.

And it'll make for riveting watching, as the One Design boats get put to the test in this week’s prevailing good seabreeze, a North to Nor’easter set to stay steady around 14 -18 knots or more and waves of three metres. Owner of Estate Master and Patron of the Australian Sailing Team Martin Hill said: 'We couldn’t hope for better conditions. We were out [the other] night and tacking between those waves [pushed up by the continuous wind] is quite demanding. I’d love to see it with five days of swell. That’ll be testing.'

The SSORC will provide them with the perfect training conditions to match up, as both boats will be sailing with almost full February Rolex Farr 40 Worlds crew (bar one), sporting some of Australia’s most experienced sailors, including Colin Beashel (Kokomo) and Malcolm Page (Estate Master).

Estate Master's crew are also keeping their heads down despite convincing performances. 'It’s been a four year program,' said Hill. 'In the first Worlds we came in the top half, then in top ten and the last Worlds, we got fourth. But the only thing you can do is to train and do your job well.'

'We’re quite keen to get as many [training sessions against our competition] as possible. The SSORC is obviously the same location and this is the first time we’ll have the chance to sail against White Cloud and Kokomo in the area.'

And once the sailing is done, both crews will be joining the onshore festivities, including a live performance by the Wolverines. 'It’s a great race and the party is always good on the beach after too,' said Flannery. 'MHYC always organises an excellent event.'

And Hill won’t just be looking forward to the nice atmosphere at MHYC and the beach party but will also be remembering another meaningful - and perhaps even more important event - his daughter’s wedding on the first day of the SSORC two years ago.