The sought-after: Farr 30, everyone wants it but few sell it
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There are some now-dated boats that continue to have a sizable fan base on the used market. One of these is undoubtedly the Farr 30, a boat that has literally had a new youth in recent seasons: from stick racing to offshore racing, the Farr 30 is a hull that, with the right optimizations, can be absolutely versatile and still a winner, as evidenced by the results it continues to garner on the race courses. The latest exploit is surely that of Sebastian Ripard and Dan Calascione’s Calypso at the last Rolex Middle Sea Race, second overall ORC and winner in ORC 6 and IRC 5.
The Farr 30 is a boat in high demand on the used market, but there is very little supply because those who own it are starting to hold on to it. So much so that the quotations of the few used models have skyrocketed: we are talking about a minimum of 30-35 thousand euros, but it goes as high as 43-45 or more depending on how the boat is optimized and equipped. Our contributor and correspondent Marco Cohen had interviewed one of the two owners of Calypso, to find out more about this boat and the feat of this crew at the last Rolex Middle Sea Race.
The interview with the Farr 30 Calypso
Among the absolute stars of the last Middle Sea Race was Sebastian Ripard and Dan Calascione’s small Farr 30 Calypso, second overall ORC and winner in ORC 6 and IRC 5. How do you win a 600-mile race aboard a small 9.43-meter, 1995 design? How does one prepare for it? How do you live aboard? We asked Sebastian himself.
Who had the crazy idea of doing an offshore regatta with such a barge?
“I think there is a basic misconception: that small boats are less safe than big boats. I think there are many advantages to sailing on a small, man-sized boat. In this Middle we were hit by a 60-knot swell along with the rest of the fleet. Well, at that moment I was happy to have to haul down and bring back aboard a tiny 40-square-meter Code Zero instead of a monster of 200/400. Oltretutto, su una barca come il Farr 30, veloce e planante, se ti metti di poppa la pressione sull’albero e il timone diminuisce notevolmente. Certo, quando arrivano le onde, una barca piccola e col bordo libero cosiÌ€ basso come la nostra ti offre meno protezione dal mare mosso. For this is important is that both day and night the crew is always strapped in and wearing vests.”
What modifications have you made to modernize the boat and make it safer?
“We started with a new bowsprit of almost two meters to fly large asymmetrics: to make it more ‘hospitable’ for a 600-mile race, we started with the comfort of the berths and a necessary waterproofing work, changing, for example, the position of the jib rails from where a lot of water was coming in and sealing all other hypothetical waterways.”
What is life like below deck on a 9-meter boat in an offshore regatta?
“it’s pretty easy to survive: you have about two square meters to do everything. Cooking, changing, going to the bathroom…. When your turn comes and you go under with the boat lurching, everything bumping around you, bowing because the height is that of a 1960s coupe car, I thought, ‘oh my god, who made me do it.’ But then one step at a time you succeed. You sit on the floor. You point your feet on the leeward hull, stand on the center line (the boat is not very wide!), boil some water, fill the thermos, prepare some freeze-dried food. Then while you’re at it, while the water is boiling, you take out some water (about a bucket each turn-we didn’t do a good job of waterproofing the boat!) to keep everything, including yourself, from getting completely soaked!” (M.C.)
Farr 30 data sheet
- Shipyard: Carroll Marine / Ovnington
- Year of launching: 1995
- Length: 9.42 meters
- Width: 3.08 meters
- Designer: Bruce Farr
Used market quotations
- MIN quotation: 30k €
- MAX quotation: 50k €
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2 thoughts on “The sought-after: Farr 30, everyone wants it but few sell it”
In the last five years my crew and I decided to take on a bucket list of distance events with my Farr30. With just the addition of a Jibtop and spinnaker staysail to the OD inventory of three jibs and three pole flown symmetrical spinnakers we have won the Lake Ontario 300, Bayview Mac, Chicago Mac with a second in Lake Erie’s Mills Race behind a TP52. The boat is basically stock with much TLC and refinement to make it fast, versatile and liveable for the crew. Everything from a great B&G electronics package to lee cloths and a Jetboil with a few well placed padeyes and improved systems have allowed us to exploit all the goodness Bruce Farr has given us. Not a better boat in the thirty foot range to this day. Period.
In the last five years my crew and I decided to take on a bucket list of distance events with my Farr30. With just the addition of a Jibtop and spinnaker staysail to the OD inventory of three jibs and three pole flown symmetrical spinnakers we have won the Lake Ontario 300, Bayview Mac, Chicago Mac with a second in Lake Erie’s Mills Race behind a TP52. The boat is basically stock with much TLC and refinement to make it fast, versatile and liveable for the crew. Everything from a great B&G electronics package to lee cloths and a Jetboil with a few well placed padeyes and improved systems have allowed us to exploit all the goodness Bruce Farr has given us. Not a better boat in the thirty foot range to this day. Period.