The final three

Sam Crichton looks at the last events of the Australian Farr 40 circuit

The final three regattas for the Farr 40 2005-2006 season in Australia are set to take place during February and March.

Starting off with the Farr 40 Sprint Series being conducted by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron February 18th and 19th, the regatta format is a sprint series where up to five races are sailed each day on a short one mile windward leeward course. Racing is planned for offshore from Sydney’s Heads on the first day and in Sydney Harbour on the second day. The close one design racing will provide a spectacle for spectators on the harbour.

Following the Sprint Series the Inner Circle Rum Farr 40 regatta will be raced February 25th and 26th as a warm up regatta to the final regatta of the season. Inner Circle Rum has been involved with the Farr 40 class for a number of years and again returns to support the class. Being hosted by Royal Price Alfred Yacht Club at Pittwater, class members will use this regatta for training and it is also a part of the Australian Farr 40 Circuit point score.

Racing on the Palm Beach Circle off Barrenjoey Head at Pittwater, the Farr 40 fleet will wrap up the 2005-06 season with the Hamilton Island Farr 40 Australian Championship 2006. Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club will host this event as it has done on many previous occasions. Sponsorship of this event by Hamilton Island carries on the long association between the Oatley family and the Farr 40 class.

Defending title holder Richard Perini and his crew on Evolution will be hoping for a repeat performance and will then look towards the defence of their World Champions title in Newport Rhode Island in September. "We are looking forward to these upcoming events and hopefully a few wins in amongst them. We will be using these events as training for our title defence in the USA later this year," commented Perini.

The winner of the Australian Farr 40 Circuit will also be decided with previous winner Richard Perini currently leading the point score closely followed by Lang Walker and Ray Roberts rounds out the top three.