Transfusion (AUS) and Nerone (ITA) had a slight speed advantage throughout the regatta and sailed very well, finishing 1st and 2nd respectively.

This was a great learning experience for the team, especially with respect to sails, setup and tactical options around marks. Full results and reports at the Farr 40 site.

The boat was lying in a handy 4th position coming into the first top mark of the day, but was then infringed by two boats (both subsequently disqualified) and this put her in bad air and she quickly fell to 7th. There was no more mojo in the other races and the team added a 9th and 10th.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for classic Sydney seabreeze conditions.

Full results and report at Farr40.asn.au.

Helicopter getting the low shot of the Farr 40 fleet

Rusty Ely adjusts the forestay between races

Watch the racing live (1200 Sydney time tomorrow) via Virtual Spectator on this page.

Estate Master and Wired | Photo Rolex Kurt Arrigo

Estate Master rounds Shark Island | Photo Rolex / Kurt Arrigo

The final day was held just off Sydney Heads in very light winds which Tactician Tom Slingsby and Strategist Nathan Outteridge read very well for most of the day. Trimmers Malcolm Page and Twirler Jones and helm Martin Hill also did a great job of getting the most out of the boat. As usual, the rest of the crew, Lisa Hill, Abby Ehler, Dean Curtis, Rusty Ely and Ayden Menzies did superbly in their roles.

Dean Curtis adjusts the rigging on Estate Master between races

With the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds starting on Wednesday, final preparations including sail measurement happen today. At the moment, the winds look to be light to moderate for the Worlds which will suit the EM team just fine.

Estate Master (sail number 615, at right) gets set up for a start

(Reprint with credit: Michael Blackburn | Estate Master)

Fleet rounding the top mark, Race 4.

The Estate Master Sailing Team had a good start to their final lead up to the Farr 40 Worlds by winning the Middle Harbour Sprints Regatta this weekend.

The first day’s racing was inside Sydney Heads, making for exciting and challenging racing among the regular harbour traffic and difficult wind shifts. Team EM excelled with a 2-1-2 scoreline.

The second day was no easier – offshore in 3 metre waves and 20-25 knots – and saw a number of retirements from the final race including all the favourites – Barking Mad, Transfusion and EM with broken gear. Luckily, EM scored a well-fought 2nd in the first race of the day and could afford to add a did not finish to their tally. Full results are here.

The Sprints begun two weeks of highly-charged Farr 40 racing, with the Nationals running Friday 18th Feb – Sun 20th and the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds are on Wed 23rd to Sat 26th. Both are hosted by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and there’ll be racing both inside and outside the harbour.

EM training before the regatta in sunnier conditions!

The regatta didn’t quite go to plan – a few errors on the first day and an injured crewmember at the end of the second last race – it was easy to slip over in very bumpy conditions off Sydney’s Manly Beach.

The full regatta report is over at Farr 40 Australia.

The team are determined for a better showing next weekend at the MHYC Sprint Series as well as the weekend after at the Rolex Regatta. The latter will attract some overseas boats keen to try out local waters ahead of next year’s World Titles.

“We were over the start early twice in the regatta – that was unusual – but the bigger problem was that we were just a little slow in a couple of races on the Sunday. We tweaked a few things and found better speed for the last race so know better what we have to do next time” said skipper Martin Hill.

The Estate Master crew are looking forward to taking on a full international fleet at the Farr 40 Worlds next February to be held off Sydney heads.

The full Pittwater Regatta story is over at the Farr 40 Australian site (results).

The next regatta on the 2010-2011 Australian Farr 40 circuit is the Middle Harbour SSORC regatta November 27-28.

Skipper Martin Hill was happy for the solid start to the season and pleased with communication with new Tactician Tom Slingsby.

“Unfortunately we infringed against Transfusion at the start of the final race, but once we did our turns we really got it together and just chipped away and gained through to the end of the race”, said skipper Hill. “I’d like to thank my team for this weekend and my fellow owners for providing some fantastic racing for the start of a very exciting season for the Australian Farr 40 class. We are all looking forward to the upcoming 2011 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds in Sydney and will be using every class event for time on water in preparation.”

The next Farr 40 regatta is at Pittwater, October 30 & 31.