War Games keeps Farr 40 flag flying at Crown Series Bellerive Regatta

by Peter Campbell on 14 Feb 2015 War Games may the last Farr 40 still racing regularly on the Derwent, but prominent owner Wayne Banks-Smith is obviously keeping her competitive, today scoring a double win in Racing Group one on a wet and largely windless second day of the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta on Hobart’s River Derwent.

After two races, one on Friday evening, one today, War Games and Tony Lyall’s TP52 Cougar II are equal on five points under PHS corrected times, each scoring a win and a fourth place.

War Games also won the IRC category of yesterday’s race, but overall Cougar II leads by one point going into today’s third day of the regatta.

The two racing divisions sailed only one race with competition delayed for at least two hours for all classes, keelboats and off-the-beach boats, when a light southerly moved up the river, enabling Bellerive Yacht Club race officers to conduct two or three races for other classes.

The forecast is for less rain and lots more wind, a 10-20 knot nor’easter that should enable race officers to complete the Banjos Shoreline-sponsored regatta with up to three more races for each group.

Competition is close in the Racing one group with War Games and Cougar II on five points in the PHS category after Friday’s twilight race and yesterday’s one long race, followed by X&Y (Toby Richardson) and TasPaints (Ian Stewart) both on seven points, and Host Plus Executive (Jeff Cordell) and Invincible (Harold Clark) with nine points each.

Cougar II heads the IRC leader board with three points from War Games on four points and Host Plus Executive on six points. Host Plus, with two second places, is leading under AMS scoring, just two points clear of Mumm 36 rival TasPaints.

In Racing two, yesterday’s race saw a win for Alibi II, Rod Williams’ Sayer 25, which leads the pointcore, four points clear of Just in Time (Mick Sheehan) and Footloose (Stewart Geeves).

The SB20s are using the Banjos Shoreline Crown Series Bellerive Regatta as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the class state and national championship early next month, with Nick Rogers steering Karabos to victory in all three races.

The former world champion in the International Dragon class is eight points clear of his next rival, current state champion Scott Brain, sailing Ronald Young Builders who had placings of two-three-six, while third overall is Wicked (Andrew Blakney) who scored seven-four-four.

Just two points astern were Nautilus Marine (Hughie Lewis) with nine-eight-two score and Balios (Matthew Pilkington) with a four-six-nine score in the 14 boat fleet.

Winners today in the Performance Cruising spinnaker and non-spinnaker groups included Hydrotherapy (Jim Thorpe), Prior (Rod Viney), Forplay (Tristan Gourlay), Temeraire IV (Richard Ware) and Dynamo (Stephen Davidson), The Protagonist (Stuart Denny), Smooth Cha Cha (Piers and Sarah Findlay), Odyssey 2001 (Steve Logan) and Breakaway (Victoria Logan).

Off-the-beach class winners yesterday included Coldplay (Chris Ransom and Oscar O’Donoghue) and Meltemi (Toby Burnell) in International Cadets, Moshi (Matt Bugg) and Supermodel (Ron Bugg) in the 2.4mR class, Tom Thumb (Loki Bird) and RHB (Rupert Hamilton) in Optimists, The Apprentice (Bruce Rose) two wins in Paper Tigers, Barney (Jock Calvert) in Sailboards, Under Pressure (Hannah Maree) and Hold the Bus (George Scott) in Sabots, Firecracker (Tom Males) and Red (Sam King) in Lasers and in the Mixed Class, the Sharpies One Hump or Two (Drew Latham) and Bomfires (Nick Fleming) and in the Mixed Catamaran class two wins to Magic Marine (Richard Eveleigh).