Farr 30 Pre-Worlds day 2 - Victory to Demourkas

8:09 AM Wed 7 Sep 2011 GMT

'Day 2 - Farr 30 Pre Worlds 2011' Meredith Block/Farr 30 Worlds Click Here to view large photo

Farr 30 Pre-Worlds, hosted by St Francis Yacht Club were held on San Francisco Bay during 5th and 6th September 2011.

John Demourkas went against an age-old superstition today as he locked down the Farr 30 Pre-Worlds fleet to take an eight-point victory in the four-race regatta. 'We had a long talk last night between the two boats about the supposed bad luck that a Pre-Worlds win brings to Worlds competitors' said Groovederci tactician Scott Nixon.

'Johnny just looked at the crew and said 'screw that - we're winning both of 'em'. Demourkas certainly fulfilled the first part of his prediction, with a 1,2 scoreline that brought his four-race total to seven, with second place through a full eight points back.

Day 2 (Scott Nixon, Jason Currie and Doug Nickel) - Farr 30 Pre Worlds 2011 - Meredith Block/Farr 30 Worlds Click Here to view large photo

Nixon said Groovederci's performance was no accident. 'We've done lots of tuning with the two boats now and sailing some good events over the past few months has really helped get the team performing well,' explained Nixon.

Jim Richardson's Barking Mad also brought their 'A' game to the course today after missing the first two races of the Pre-Worlds regatta. Richardson's Newport-based team scored a 2,1 in the two races, including a runaway victory in over 20 knots of wind on the final race.

After nearly beating Groovederci at last weekend's North American Championship here in San Francisco, pro rigger and local veteran racer Scott Easom had a disappointing fifth place finish for Pre-Worlds. 'Last week we raced up along the city front, where local knowledge was a big factor,' Easom said. 'We're definitely at the steep edge of the learning curve right now, and with that local knowledge nullified out on the Berkeley Circle, we're fighting hard to get on the pace.'

Easom, a perennial Moore 24 champ here in San Francisco, traded his Moore for a Farr 30 barely a month ago, and he's up to the challenge the new boat brings. 'Regardless of how we do this week, we'll be much better Farr 30 sailors by the end of it,' he said. ' It's a special boat that rewards teamwork like few others...it certainly won't be boring!'

Competition for the Farr 30 World Championship starts Thursday and runs through Sunday as part of the Rolex Big Boat Series.