Royal Thames Staples Trophy — 04 September '10

04 September –05 September

A weekend of two-boat team racing for Farr 45s

Notice of Series and entry form for this and the other regattas in our 2010 Inshore Series for Farr 45s is here.

The entry form, downloadable as a Word document for ease of completion and return, is here.

This is the season programme:

 Race Schedule

          All events in the central Solent, first signal 1030 Saturday, 1000 Sunday.

           April 10^th - 12^th.  Fleet practice weekend. Practice starts and other evolutions on Saturday, 4 x informal windward/ leeward races on Sunday.

           May 22^nd - 23^rd. Royal Thames David Diehl Trophy. A weekend of up to 8 x windward/ leeward races.

           July 3^rd - 4^th. Royal Thames Imperial Trophy. A weekend of match racing (limit 10 boats)

           September 4^th- 5^th. Royal Thames Staples Trophy. A weekend of two-boat team racing (limit 5 teams of two boats).

           October 11^th (Monday) end of season dinner at 60 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LF.

 The Notice of Race and Sailing Instructions are here

The Random Pairings List is here

The plan to two-boat team race Farr 45s was always one that caused race officers, owners and sailors alike to purse their collective lips. Exciting, edgy and laced with the possibility of going wrong. Match racing is one thing; team racing another. In match racing - now a regular part of the Farr 45 Royal Thames programme - the object is to get in front of your opponent and stay there. In team racing the object is to get in front - and then get in the way. It was a game that all knew would need benign conditions if the risks of damage were to be kept under sensible control. Unhappily, the weather declined to co-operate and on Saturday 10 to 12 knots of breeze left everyone wondering if this would be safe.

Ever a group to push the envelope, the Farrs collectively decided to have a go and Werewold and Espresso Martini took on Exabyte Four and Rebel.  Fleet racing in these boats is always close, so team racing was bound to be even closer. Using a standard windward/ leeward course all four came to thwe finish almost abreast.  Espresso wound up to cross Exabyte's stern and close-out Rebel, giving the Blue team a win since always in the two-boat game the team with a boat in last place loses.

Unhappily, Espresso got just too close to Rebel, clipping the green boat's transom and - crucially - damaging the backstay chain plate. It was a double blow for Stewart Whitehead, Rebel's owner: cracking around the chainplate called for prudent examination ashore and Rebel was out of the game before it had barely started.

That was it as far as team racing was concerned. With the Farrs fully powered-up in 12 knots the consequences of even a light contact were going to be too serious to risk.

With four boats now left in the game, the eight fleet races that followed were more like four-boat match races than conventional competition so while there could be no team racing, no one was left short of excitement.

Results of the fleet racing are here: