Racing Classics🥈& Watching SailGp

Farhad Rismanchian

What an absolute ripper of a Saturday—racing classics in the spinnaker division, running seriously shorthanded, and still bagging second place without even hoisting a kite. Wind was sitting around 12-16 knots with the odd gust up to 20, making for some tricky conditions, especially with the harbour absolutely chockers. Between the boats racing, superyachts dropping anchor wherever they pleased, and spectator boats zigzagging like headless chooks, it felt more like skiing a slalom course than sailing a race. But then, just as things were getting full-on, everything shifted. The harbour went eerily calm for a moment, and then—whoosh—those majestic SailGP boats blasted past, heading to their exclusive race area. The sound they make is unreal—like a jet engine, but without the high pitch, almost like they’re running in stealth mode. At one point, we had a few of these F50s flying around us, and mate, it felt like getting a bunch of F-22s escort while cruising in your own private plane, and welcoming you by some fancy manoeuvres around you. Absolute goosebump moment! We wrapped up the race second, kite-free in a spinnaker division—bloody solid effort, given the conditions. Then it was straight into race-watching mode. We followed the action all around Shark Island, starting from the east side near the start line, then tracking them down to the turning Gate 2, and finally settling near the finish line on the south side of the island. Best spot? Hands down, the downwind turning gate in the south—pure chaos and precision all at once. And mate, you should’ve seen the Flying Roos today! Absolute weapons on the water—fast, flawless, and completely dominating. Two wins and the rest all top 3 finishes. No doubt about it, they were the undisputed champs of the day.

Boat & Crew

Zara 1612 (Crew)

Cheoy Lee, 47 Ketch

Farhad Rismanchian

Owner