Amateur skippers, professional crew

What other one-design classes can learn from the Farr 40. By Roger McMillan.

There are plenty of sharks circling the Farr 40 class. As owners and crew prepare their boats for the 2011 World Championships in Sydney, the Soto 40, McConaghy 38 and Sydney GTS37, to name but three, are planning to become the “next Farr 40” as a competitive one-design with an owner-driver rule.

They will have a fight on their hands. Although the Farr 40 is now a 14-year-old design, the fervour of the owners and the sheer quality of the crews indicate that this is a class that won’t give up its crown without a fight.

When the Farr 40 Association was established in 1997, a lot of thought went into keeping the racing close and the costs down. There is a limit on the number of new sails allowed per season and no structural modifications are allowed to the boat. But the two best rules are that the owner must steer and only four professionals are allowed in the nine or ten person crew (weight limit 760kg).

Neville Crichton, better-known for his super-maxi successes, was also a successful campaigner of a Farr 40 and is quick to say that the owner/driver rule is the reason the class is so strong. He should know – he’s one of the few owners of big boats who also steers in major regattas and offshore races. Neville also said that four professionals is a good number, but comments that the amateurs on board the Farr 40s are nearly as good as the pros anyway.

This was echoed by Olympic gold medallist Malcolm Page who manages Estate Master for Martin and Lisa Hill. “On Farr 40s the amateurs all know what they’re doing,” Malcolm said. “ They may be chippies or accountants in their day job, but they’re pretty good sailors.”

Malcolm says that what he earns on the Farr 40 allows him to pursue the Olympic dream. “Victor (Kovalenko – 470 coach) and Matt (Belcher) are very understanding, they know I need the income from Estate Master to survive.” But he adds, “I really like the job of managing the boat – building the team, maintaining the boat.”

Super rock-stars

Estate Master will be hard to beat at the Worlds in February. The professionals on board will be Malcolm Page, Darren Jones, Tom Slingsby and Nathan Outteridge – an Olympic gold medal, 17 world championships and an America’s Cup campaign among the four of them.

But American Jim Richardson has assembled his own superstar team of Kiwis to campaign his dual world championship winner Barking Mad. Hamish Pepper, Skip Baxter, Morgan Trubovich and Zach Hurst collectively have 19 world championships, 11 America’s Cup campaigns and three Olympics on their comprehensive resumes

Jim agrees with Neville and Malcolm that the four professionals rule works. He says it brings out the best in both parties.

“Our pros have been mentoring our amateurs for years now. They pick up on little things they see and work with us on refining techniques. I think it’s a little like being able to go play golf with the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and the best professional golfers. At every regatta, we are competing with and against some of the very best professional sailors in the world. If you can imagine Tiger Woods telling you to ease up your grip pressure a little, or to hold your head still during your putting stroke, that’s what it is like for us. They give us tips and advice and we practice and improve.

“Simply put, our pros make us better. I know I am a much better helmsman now than when we won our first World Championship in 1998. A lot of our improvement comes from time spent together on the water. For me personally, improved communication has made a huge difference. There were times in the past that Terry (Hutchinson) would have wanted me to execute some manoeuver that I might not necessarily have understood. The opportunity would have passed by the time he could verbalize what he was looking for.

“We have worked on streamlining communications so that I know what he wants at the right moment. This improved communication has spread throughout the boat so there is very little talk and each crew member understands what we expect in their particular area. We are all on the same page from the front of the boat to the back,” Jim says.

Owner/drivers

But it is the rule that states that the owner of the boat must be an amateur, and must steer the boat, that Jim likes the most.

“I believe it is the heart and soul of our class and the overwhelming reason for its continued success and longevity,” he said. “Most of our owners are very successful and accomplished people in their chosen professions. They are very competitive individuals, who thrive on the challenge of putting teams together to compete at the highest level of the sport.

“Since we are the guys writing the cheques, we want to be at the center of the action. I once said if I was satisfied to watch I’d buy a racehorse and let someone else ride it around the track. But I and my fellow owners are attracted to the Farr 40 Class because we want the thrill and challenge that only comes through active participation. We are all adrenaline junkies to a certain extent.”

Wolfgang Schaefer, the European Farr 40 President and owner/driver of Struntje Light, echoes Jim’s sentiments. He contrasts the commitment of the Farr 40 owners with some of the owners of big boats who employ a paid skipper.

“I am a strong defender of the owner/driver rule as this rule keeps the owners interested and motivated which is crucial for the survival of any offshore class. I can remember very well Admiral’s Cup times when I was team chief of the German Team. It was always a big problem to keep the owners motivated from event to event.

“If you look around in the Farr 40 class you are impressed how deeply involved these owners are. They spend a lot of money, time and commitment to improve the performance of the team and especially personally. There has been established a new quality of relationship between the professionals and the amateur owner/driver. That is great and one secret of the success of this class,” says Wolfgang.

Sydney-based Irishman and current skipper of Loki, Gordon Maguire, will sail as mainsheet trimmer on Struntje Light, along with Jes Gram Hansen from Denmark as tactician and Karsten Schon from Auckland as jib trimmer.

“Ideally you can’t see any difference between amateurs and professionals looking from outside,” says Wolfgang. “The approach should be equal but the level of skill is of course different. To keep this in balance is another very important job for everyone in the team but especially for the owner. Interesting is that especially in the amateur group are national differences in so called team competence. I personally like to sail with Aussies for several reasons.”

So the owner/driver rule works and the “four rock-stars” rule offers employment for struggling Olympic sailors and helps the top amateur sailors improve to a professional level. But there’s one final rule worth a mention – you don’t actually have to pay professionals because the class also has a Corinthian division, where all sailors are amateurs.

Pre-Worlds program

Jim Richardson suggests around 25 boats could face the starter’s gun off Sydney Heads. “ We are really looking forward to coming to Sydney. We intend to compete in multiple regattas leading up to the Worlds at the end of February. First up we will be at the Sprint Series on December 4-5 and then the Rolex Trophy Series the following weekend. We will return in February for another Sprint Series on the 12th and 13th, the Australian National Championship on the 18th to 20th leading up the 2011 Rolex Farr 40 Worlds from the 23rd to the 26th.

“We should have a very high caliber competition by visiting teams from Europe and the US and an exceptional local Australian fleet. There is definitely a buzz among the teams looking to sail in the spectacular waters of Sydney Harbor and off the Sydney Heads. Most importantly, we are enjoying the thought of renewing acquaintances with so many dear friends and hoping to make some new ones too.”

That sounds like professional sailing in the Corinthian spirit…and the reason the Farr 40 class isn’t going away any time soon.