The first day of the 2008 Farr 30 North American Championship is in the books and Deneen Demourkas’ Groovederci used its superb speed and consistency to open up a three point lead over Bodo and Nick von der Wense’s Turbo Duck.  John Podmajersky’s Illusion lays third, one point behind the von der Wenses.

The day did not look promising early this morning as Narragansett Bay was dead calm as the crews prepared the boats for racing.  PRO Peter “Luigi” Reggio, straight off the plane from the Olympics in China , decided to postpone on shore for about an hour and a half.  When the first signs of a decent breeze came up, the Race Committee wasted no time in getting everyone out to the racing area and setting a course, and the first warning went off at 1215.  At the start of race 1, Turbo Duck won the pin end and led the fleet out to the left side.  Groovederci got pinched off shortly after the start and was forced to tack and duck the fleet before heading out to the right.  Fortunately for Demourkas, a right shift came through and Groovederci was able to grab the lead and hold on to the finish.  Bob Zannetti’s Venturesome had one halyard break and then got the spare stuck in the forestay and was forced to retire from the first race.  Some good crew work got the problems repaired in time to start the second race.

Race 2 saw Groovederci, Turbo Duck and Illusion locked into a tight battle for the lead with all three boats arriving at the leeward mark overlapped.  Groovederci’s inside position at the mark gave Demourkas’ team the edge and they added another first to their scorecard to start the regatta.  During the second race the breeze built to a steady 8 to 10 knots out of the South and the Race Committee from the Storm Trysail Club decided to try to go ahead and get in four races today while they could.

The third race started off well as the fleet made its first lap around the track in good time.  John Podmajersky’s Illusion led from wire to wire as the wind diminished to around five knots on the run to the finish.  When all the boats had made it across the line, a report came down from the weather mark boat that the wind was building and shifting to the right, so the RC quickly shifted the course around before starting a fourth race.

The wind never fully returned to its earlier strength and the fourth race proved to be a light air contest.  Bodo and Nick von der Wense’s Turbo Duck proved up to the task and opened up a lead on the fleet they would hold through the finish.  Jeff Maludy’s Adrenalin looked poised to capture a second place finish, but the team from Toledo , OH misjudged the favored end of the finish line and allowed Groovederci to slip by right at the last second.

Tomorrow the wind is predicted to fill in earlier and the first warning is scheduled for 1100.  The regatta will conclude on Sunday and the winner will be awarded the Irish Cup and declared the 2008 Farr 30 North American Champion.  Special thanks to SLAM, Hall Spars, and Harken for their support of this event as well as The Storm Trysail Club for providing the race management and Sail Newport for serving as a home to the boats.

The regatta page of this website, with complete results and photos can be found here.