Barking Mad wins Sandhamn Open, Farrbar II defends Swedish Nationals

A great weekend is over. The Swedish Farr 30 Nationals, during Sandhamn Open, gathered 13 entries, including our US guests Barking Mad with Jim Richardson and crew as well as last years Swedish and European champions, Farrbar II with Martin Strandberg at the helm.

Day 1 started with rain showers and wind around 16-20 knots while the fleet was still ashore. A low pressure passed over the race area during the night and moved NE. The forecast said dying, backing wind during the day. The forecast was right and we only got two races on Saturday because of this.

When we got out to the race area, the rain had stopped and the breeze was down to 12-14 knots.

In race 1, Barking Mad, Orca, The End and Forum ILS got good starts. Barking Mad off the line with best pace, showing their quality straight away by leading the race from the first crossing to the finish. Orca held 2nd place for a long time but in "the end" they got passed by The End - seems a proper name!

In race 2, there was a general recall in the first attempt and the race committee then hoisted the black flag for the 2nd start. Orca was early and couldn't bail out in time but was BFD, race over for them! Farrbar II and Barking Mad were even at the top mark but an incident at the mark had Barking Mad doing a penalty turn, opening up a slot for The End to pass Barking Mad. First bullet to Farrbar II, The End 2nd and Barking Mad 3rd, Forum ILS 4th.

After these two races, the Race Committee had problems changing the course while the wind backed and died. After over one hour under AP with the wind backed 100 degrees during the day, they finally gave up and cancelled the rest of the races for the day. In Sandhamn we had a very nice evening with a barbeque at the shoreline and some good stories to share.

Sunday saw 4 races. The sun was shining, the breeze was back on S-SW 10-12 knots and building to 18 knots during the day. Sun, wind and waves - picturesque sailing.

In race 3, The End scored their first bullet, sailing a very consistent race. Barking Mad made few mistakes and was 2nd to finish. Letto di Pletto played the shifts very well on the 2nd downwind and finished 3rd.

In race 4, Orca led the fleet for a long time but better downwind performance on Farrbar II paid off towards the very end of the 2nd downwind and Farrbar II scored their second bullet, Orca 2nd and Barking Mad 3rd to finish.

In race 5, Solsidan found good speed and played the upwind shifts well, earning them the 2nd place after Barking Mad's second bullet. Orca 3rd.

In race 6, the last race of the Swedish nationals, Farrbar II scored their 3rd bullet while consistent Barking Mad was 2nd and Letto di Pletto scored 3rd. Orca had an incident with Letto di Pletto at the first top mark, touched the mark and after their penalty turn they were last, working their way up to a 7th. The End finished 4th and Cheyenne had their best score of this weekend, finishing 5th in the last race.

It is clear that the fleet is tighter and better this year, many boats have worked on their speed and can win races while mistakes are costly. Consistency pays off, nicely demonstrated by Barking Mad that won the event with points to spare even though two other boats had more bullets.

SWE 381 Farrbar II was the best Swedish boat and defended the Swedish Farr 30 Class Championship. Congratulations!

Final result: 1. Barking Mad, 9p 2. Farrbar II, 11p 3. The End, 13p 4. Orca, 20p 5. Letto di Pletto, 23p 6. Solsidan, 27p 7. Forum ILS, 28p 8. S/Y Maskinen, 40p 9. Cheyenne, 44p 10. Mrs Freckles, 47p 11. Succé Sailracing, 51p 12. Civitanova, 52p 13. Sissabella, 56p

Detailed results (see attached file, or farr30.org website).

I want to thank the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and everybody in the race organization for a job well done! This was the second Farr 30 Swedish National Championship and the fleet continues to grow. The boat is simply irresistible and suits the Scandinavian sailing arena perfectly.

We now look forward to the BMW Farr 30 World Championship in Båstad. Seeing the organizers and the class association working with this, I am confident it will be a superb week for all participants with tight racing and good social events. 20 entries are now confirmed, we're still waiting for a few more. It is not too late to enter, if you have a Farr 30, this will be an event to remember! Enter before June 15 for normal fee, after that the late entry fee applies.

TOP