The Farr 1020 Fleet celebrated 40 years of sailing over the weekend of the 17-18 July in the waters off Northern Leading on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, hosted by the team at Buckland’s Beach Yacht Club.
The sailors were hoping for a consistent 15-20 knots but instead were dealt with and oscillating 5-8 knots creating challenging conditions not only for the sailors but for the race management team.
Racing on Saturday got away on time at 1030 hours. The racing was tight. It was clear from the pre-regatta banter that everyone was out to win, with all eyes on defending champions Hard Labour (Cameron Thorpe) and Shokran (Joe Brownlee) who were at each other before the regatta event commenced.
2023 Farr 1030 National Championships. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
Both teams had fully stacked crews and were edging each other on from the start, but it was Brownlee and his team that secured the opening race win, with Hard Labour in second, a result they would soon get used to.
The next three races rolled through with pace, with the race committee needing to only make slight changes between each start to ensure a fair course. Given the constantly shifting conditions, the committee did a sensational job with fair races almost to target time.
Shokran went on to win race two with Rainbow IV (Alan Smith) taking the win in race three. Then it was back to Shokran for race four with The V Team (Tony Evans) taking out race five. Meanwhile, Hard Labour finished bridesmaids all day.
2023 Farr 1030 National Championships. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
The BBYC Race Committee made the call to squeeze in a fifth race on the Saturday as the forecast for Sunday’s racing was looking a little dodgy. After five races on Day 1, Shokran was leading Hard Labour by just one point.
Sunday morning came with a fresh set of eyes over the race course. With the diminishing breeze and a series already in the bag with the five races completed the day prior, the race committee team planned their attack on setting a fair course and managed to complete two races giving the series all seven of the scheduled races.
With Shokran and Hard Labour separated by only one point going into the final races, the pressure was on. While these two boats had eyes on each other, The V Team boosted ahead to pull off their second gun of the regatta by claiming Race 6. Shokran was second with Hard Labour third, their worst result of the regatta.
2023 Farr 1030 National Championships. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
It was neck and neck coming into the final race and Hard Labour finally managed to secure a race win, however, there wasn’t enough separation between them and Shokran meaning they missed out on back-to-back titles with Joe Brownlee and his Shokran crew taking the title in its 40th year.
“The last time I raced in this championship back was in 2012 were we claimed the title so it’s fantastic to come back all these years later and secure another championship,” said Shokran owner/driver Joe Brownlee.
“Of course, it all comes down to crew work, and our team was fantastic. I have to make mention of Chris Skinner who controlled the boat and the team throughout the championship and make some exceptional calls giving us the advantage. Our whole crew did an outstanding job and I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved,” continued Brownlee.
2023 Farr 1030 National Championships. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
Cameron Thrope and his Hard Labour team were gearing up to defend their title, but alas it wasn’t to be even after they gave it everything they had.
“A massive congrats to Joe and all the Shokran crew. They sailed well and deserved the win. But don’t worry, Hard Labour will be back stronger than ever next year with our goal of claiming a 10th title win,” said Thorpe once the salt had settled after prize giving.
The V Team finished third overall after having an impressive regatta. Owner/driver Tony Evans was thankful to have a crew full of ILCA (Laser) sailors on board with their skills helping the team win five of the seven race starts and claim two bullets.
“We had the speed and the height comparable to Shokran and Hard Labour which we were really happy about. Our crew work has improved exponentially since last season including last-minute drops and indecisive changes in plans! I’m thrilled with how we raced and how we have improved over the past five seasons. A massive congrats go to Joe (Brownlee) and his Shokran team for taking the win. We can’t wait until next year!” said Evans.
There was also an international flare to this Farr 1020 National Championship with an Australian taking over the helm of Penury. Tony Sutton races a Farr 1020 called Moonmist in Batemans Bay in New South Wales and jumped at the opportunity to race in the New Zealand National Championships.
“We flew in Auckland late Friday and met Mike (Paauwe) who owns Penury as we were jumping on to crew for him, however, something came up for Mike and he had to step aside and offered me the helm!” said Sutton.
2023 Farr 1030 National Championships. Photo: Suellen Hurling / Live Sail Die
The thrown-together crew, with a mix of Aussies and Kiwis on board, had a great regatta taking the overall win on PHRF.
“We had a great time racing here and thanks so much to everyone for all the support they gave us! We can’t wait to come back and take on the Kiwis again,” said Sutton.
The Farr 1020 fleet now heads into winter racing which includes shorthanded events such as the SSANZ Triple Series.
“There is still plenty of racing to do over the winter before transferring the boats into cruising mode for the summer break,” said Evans.
For more information on the Farr 1020 fleet website.
The fleet would like to thank the race management volunteers as well as their sponsors Mount Gay Rum and Burnsco. Photography and article provided by Live Sail Die.