First Farr 400 One Design Class Regatta makes a splash at Quantum Key West

The regatta marks the first time that KWRW has had a large one design boat with its own class,
run just 10 months after launching.  5 teams raced with fast paced racing and close finishes. British Skipper Joe Woods and his team Red went on to win the class by 8 points and Meridian X highlighted the boats offshore capabilities by finishing 4th overall in the Storm
Trysail Clubs Fort Lauderdale to Key West feeder race.

Just ten months after launching, the Farr 400’s held their first one design class regatta, last week at Quantum Key West 2012.

Five teams made it to the starting line, including Sled Shelhorse’s Meridian X, racing after a great
result in the Storm Trysail Clubs Fort Lauderdale to Key West feeder race. Finishing 4th across the
line and 2nd on handicap time, the race was very demanding. The fleet sailed south against the
Gulf stream and upwind in over 30 knots, proving the Farr 400 is not only strong enough but also
very fast in a demanding race that saw only 20 finishers from a 39 boat fleet.

On the Farr 400 course, every helmsman and crew started out at the same level, benefitting
from the class’ one design configuration that ensured fantastic performances, level racing and
some exceptionally close race finishes.

Congratulations go out to British skipper Joe Woods and his team Red who had an exceptional
regatta and took home the win. Even though they won with an 8 point lead, their margin was much
slimmer than the numbers show with tight mark rounding’s all through the week and several race
wins only decided on the last leg of the race.

Spaceman Spiff also had a great week. Despite a steep learning curve in a new boat, their first
with a sprit and asymmetric spinnaker, the team developed their boat handling all week. Even
without injured crew member Ryan Ruhlman, they put together some good races and finished the
week off well with two third place finishes on the Friday.

Says Dee Smith, Class Development Manager: “As a class we learned a huge amount about the
boat. They all performed well and were very close and it was great to see how, by the end of the
week, all the boats had improved. This has been a great first class experience that we can learn
from to make improvements in time for the next class regatta in Charleston.”

Speaking of his overall success and of the boat, Joe Woods comments: “We had an excellent
week. The boat was so well balanced and fun to steer’’
Sled Shelhorse, also commented about the week: “I had forgotten how much fun one design
sailing is!”

Overall KWRW was a great success for the FARR 400 class, fulfilling the aims of bringing Grand
Prix style sailing to a one design fleet of boats that the owners really enjoyed sailing fast.

The next class meet will be held at Charleston Race Week, April 19-21st 2012.

Farr 400
1.
UAE 400 Red Farr 400 Joe Woods 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 1
14.0
2.
USA 403 Team Premier NorCal Farr 400 H. Blackett & S. Shapiro 3 2 3 2 3 1 3 1 2 2
22.0
3.
USA 404 Meridian X Farr 400 W.S. Shelhorse 2 3 4 5 2 4 1 2 5 4
32.0
4.
USA 407 BLADE Farr 400 Mick Shlens 4 5 2 3 5 3 4 4 4 5
39.0
5.
USA 406 Spaceman Spiff Farr 400 Rob Ruhlman 5 4 5 4 4 5 5 5 3 3
43.0