UK circuit for light displacement 40 something footers is being contemplated for 2014 From The Daily Sail, 13 Dec 2014, by James Boyd -- There is today a multitude of 40ish foot long fast inshore race boats that designers and builders are touting – the Ker 40, Soto 40, Carkeek 40 (now in its Mk2 form), the Botin 40, the GP42, the Hakes 42, Farr 400, McConaghy 38, etc. With this in mind Rob Greenhalgh has joined the dots and is in the process of setting up the FAST40+ to provide an opportunity for such boats to race in the UK, and, in due course, overseas: “All we’re interested in is going sailing, getting some good racing in and trying to encourage fast sailing. Read more..

Following the long tradition set by the Storm Trysail Club for having an end-of-season big boat regatta in Annapolis, organizers from the High Performance Rule (HPR) and the Annapolis Match Racing Center (AMRC) are pleased to announce the 2013 High Performance Regatta is now open to entries. Racing will start with a short distance race on Friday, November 1st, followed by two days of course racing held over Saturday and Sunday, November 2nd – 3rd, with as many as four races/day if conditions permit. Read more..

Interest is building for the 2013 HPR National Championship being held as part of the 2013 Rolex Big Boat Series, hosted by St Francis YC. Four days of inshore racing will be held over September 26-29th in San Francisco Bay, one of the world’s great sailing venues. Winner of the HPR Class will not only win the National title, but a Rolex timepiece as part of the main event. Read more..

Isao Mita’s 2011 Judel/Vrolijk-designed TP 52 Beecom has won the first-ever class formed to score Transpac entries under the High Performance Rating system (HPR). Nine boats from Divisions 1 and 2 agreed to have HPR certificates issued and scored for this race. Read more..

In a week typified by the wide range of conditions found at this classic sailing venue, Andy Beeler and his Navy Offshore Sailing Team’s TP52 Corsair (ex-Interlodge) won the HPR Class at the 25th biennial Block Island Race Week. The team amassed an impressive score line of 2-1-1-1-1-1-3 to defeat runner-up Spookie owned by Steve and Heidi Benjamin by 6 points, who in turn bested sistership Decision owned by Stephen Murray by another 5 points in the no-discard 7-race series. Read more..

After some last-minute measurement changes to some entries, and a search for measurement data for boats eligible for HPR but not measured yet, the HPR Class has issued certificates and ratings for use in the New York YC Annual Regatta, held this weekend in Newport, RI. A summary of these ratings is listed here, and click on boat names to download certificates: Grundoom                   0.949 Spookie                       1. Read more..

Like her sistership Decision did last year, Steve and Heidi Benjamin's Carkeek 40 Spookie has turned heads in her inaugural offshore race in the Northeast, being the best-performing HPR boat in last weekend's 186-mile Block Island Race. At 19 hours, 18 minutes and 17 seconds, her elapsed time was less than 1. Read more..

With gale warnings and 6-8-foot seas in the course area, race managers today cancelled the continuation of racing at Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, giving Steve and Heidi Benjamin's Carkeek 40 SPOOKIE the win in the HPR Class. Runner-up in his first HPR class event was Jim Grundy and his team on the Farr 400 Grundoom. Read more..

HPR racing in Day Two of Charleston Race Week was close - but a little too close - between Pat Eudy's BIG BOOTY and Stephen Murray's DECISION. Damage sustained by both boats in the incident have had them retire from the event, with SPOOKIE left to race GRUNDOOM for the remainder of the series. Read more..

Lumpy, gray conditions started Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week today, where four HPR teams are competing for three days of inshore racing. In conditions that started with 12-14 knots but then built to over 18, Steve and Heidi Benjamin's Carkeek 40 SPOOKIE won the first two races, but an OCS and shortened course on the third race gave Stephen Murray Jr's DECISION the win and the runner-up position by 1 point. Read more..

In what helmsman and co-owner Steve Benjamin called a "fantastic day of sailing," his Carkeek 40 Spookie has won the inaugural HPR40 Midwinter Championship here in Miami by a mere 1 point margin over Dee Smith's Farr 400 Team Premier. George Collins and Ian Gordon's Farr 400 Chessie Racing was in third, and Stephen Murray's Carkeek 40 Decision finished fourth. Read more..

George Collins and Ian Gordon's Farr 400 Chessie Racing leads the HPR40 Midwinter Championship after another three races were put on the scoreboard today in Miami. Ideal 9-12 knot northerly breeze allowed race managers to set the course right off South Beach, making for a spectacular backdrop. Read more..

Light and fickle north winds today were just strong enough to get a race started and last for one lap around the course before race managers abandoned racing for the day. Nonetheless, the HPR class teams were able to race in the tricky 4-7 knot conditions, but just could not complete the course within the prescribed time limit. Read more..

In a fantastic first day of competition, Steve and Heidi Benjamin's Carkeek 40 Spookie have taken the early lead in the 2013 HPR40 Midwinter Championship, held in conjunction in Miami with the Gaastra 52 SuperSeries World Championship. Their scores of 1-3 in today's two races only give them a tie-break advantage to George Collins and Ian Gordon's Farr 400 Chessie Racing. Read more..

With new measurement and crew weight data submitted, the HPR fleet in the Midwinters Regatta in Miami this week are now available: Boat name HPR rating time/hour time/30 min time/15 min time/5 min Chessie Racing 0.948 03:58 01:59 01:00 00:20 Team Premier 0. Read more..

The latest version of the Rule Calculator is HPR V4f1 (a small correction of V4f), and is posted now online by clicking here: HPR Calculator V4f1.xls. Read more..

By a mere 1-point margin in 10 races sailed in five days, Stephen Murray’s Carkeek 40 Decision won the HPR Class at Quantum Key West over Spookie, Steve and Heidi Benjamin’s sistership Carkeek 40. These two dominated the results in this class, although great boat-for-boat racing was had among the 5 Farr 400’s entered, led in the end of George Collins’s team on Chessie Racing, who was also third overall. Read more..

Nine entries are hitting the starting lines tomorrow for the first day of racing at Quantum Key West 2013. This will be the best-attended HPR event to date after HPR made its exhibition debut here last year, and the first using the latest v4 Rule calculator. Read more..