Day: September 26, 2018

San Diego (September 19, 2018) San Diego Yacht Club hosted the first of the Finn Trifecta regattas – the Finn Pacific Coast Championships (PCC) this past weekend, September 15-16, 2018. Thirty Finns raced on North Coronado Roads tucked under Point Loma, battling for the championship title.

The weekend’s conditions were what SDYC’s Commodore and Regatta Chair Michael Dorgan calls ‘champagne sailing’ with clear, sunny skies, mid-range temperatures and 8-10 knots of breeze to carry the sailors around the course. The races on Saturday and Sunday were consistent in that the top six finishers sailed neck and neck in all the races. Due to the course location, the winds were consistently favored right, but with enough shifts to encourage fairness for clean racing.

Coming in first overall was Robert Kinney’s AK47, followed by Rob Coutts’ Priscilla in second and Paul Didham’s Hoop Dreams in third.

Long time Finn sailor Rob Coutts started off the regatta with a first place on Saturday, and despite another bullet and a few seconds, he missed the win by one point overall. Paul Didham’s ability to finish third overall using a borrowed boat showed his true talent, sailing consistently all weekend. Commodore Michael Dorgan spent some time before the races giving Paul some hardy advice and tips for the course. “I guess I gave him too much info as he was showing me up on Saturday!” the Commodore joked.

“I’d be lying if I did not say I was pretty jazzed [to win]. I tried to keep my nose clean at the start and not do too much dumb stuff on the course. My advice to others comes from advice I was given: Shut up and put the bow down!” Kinney commented.

After racing concluded Saturday evening, sailors joined around the SDYC pool and Pavilion and enjoyed a Finn sailor’s meal: pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni and cheese and a delicious Kolsch Pilsner donated by regatta sponsor, Ketch Grill and Taps.

The Finn PCCs is sailed annually up and down the Pacific Coast, but after a four year hiatus, Commodore Michael Dorgan revived the event incorporating it into a One Design Weekend at SDYC. What started as a regatta with 10 Finns quickly grew into one of the largest Finn regattas.

Coming up this weekend, you can find the Finn Master’s North Americans back on Coronado Roads. SDYC can expect to see a handful more Finn’s and sailors out on the water, including Darrell Peck, an top Finn sailor with more than 30 years’ experience and Olympic campaigns, World Championships and coaching expertise. Peck will challenge World Champion Henry Sprague and Rob Coutts, both winners of their age categories at the Finn Masters World Champions, as well as PCC Winner Robert Kinney and many other hopeful Finn Champions.

As Commodore, Michael Dorgan stated a goal to host Finn regattas and he secured the Finn Trifecta: PCCs, Master’s North Americans and the Olympic Classes Regatta. “By having and holding two large regattas in a row, it allows sailors from out of town to leave their boats here and spend some time with us in San Diego. It also helps build the local Finn fleet, brings newer boats to the area and provides plenty of recognition, exposure and publicity to the fleet.”

Results

San Diego (September 23, 2018) It’s been a Finn filled weekend at the San Diego Yacht Club with two back to back Finn regattas: the Finn Pacific Coast Championships (Sept. 15-16) and the Finn Masters North American Championships (Sept. 21-23). This weekend, the Finn Masters North American Championship hosted 29 Master Finn sailors (age 40 and over) eager to compete on the beautiful Coronado Roads situated just south of Point Loma which juts out into the blue Pacific Ocean.

What else can you expect from a September day in San Diego but mild temps and clear, sunny skies? This weekend was that! With a cool breeze ranging from 8-12kts, sailors from all over the country raved of the amazing conditions in SDYC’s tucked away home of Point Loma, California.

The top Master was Darrell Peck/Child’s Play, grinding through four of the eight races in first place. His worst race and discard was a seventh. Behind Peck were two amazing sailors, SDYC’s Commodore Michael Dorgan/Finnster in second and second overall from last week’s Pacific Coast Championship was Rob Coutts/Priscilla in third.

Peck came out from Oregon for the weekend after participating in a handful of Finn regattas in August, making for good practice. “I felt like I had great speed and great confidence. I borrowed a newer mast and sail for this event, so it was a great combination and I only had two bad luck races that I was able to come back from.”

While he might have made his success look effortless to his peers, Peck did experience some equipment problems on the course when his tiller universal was damaged in Sunday’s races. Thankfully, the Race Committee tossed Darrell some duct tape, he mended his broken piece and stayed competitive.

The real excitement grew in the battle for second with Dorgan and Coutts. The two were tied at the end of Saturday (day two out of three). Despite Coutts bullet in the final race, Dorgan’s consistent 3-2 for the day put him two points ahead of Coutts for the regatta. “I had to have a great start and sail fast upwind to compete against Rob’s speed downwind. I tried to sail a conservative race and stay next to him the whole time. In addition to a great race neck and neck with Rob, it was an honor to finish next to Darrell Peck,” explained Commodore Dorgan.

A unique twist to this particular Finn Masters North American Regatta was that Commodore Dorgan decided to invite ‘junior’ (age 40 and under) Finn sailors to participate. “It was absolutely fantastic to have the juniors on the course. The more youth you can have involved in the fleet, the more it is going to help it grow. The US Finn Class mentions in their mission to promote Finn sailing to the youth, so we did exactly that by having them sail with us today. Plus, they help us older guys pull the boats up the ramp!”

Each day of racing ended with evenings filled with delicious food, great music and good camaraderie. On Friday, the sailors enjoyed music by SDYC Junior Director John Fretwell’s band Stylus Overhang. Saturday, they relaxed with good beer by one of the sponsors, Ketch Grill and Tap, around a bonfire, and Sunday, concluded with a wonderful awards ceremony.

Commodore Dorgan ended the weekend with a comment on the fleet and the Masters. “It’s gives me great satisfaction to see all these guys sailing and having fun and using their boats. The most important thing for a Master is to be active, sailing, competing, and to be out in the fresh air enjoying God’s gift: the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Next for the Finn fleet is the San Diego Olympic Classes Regatta (SDOCR) on October 6-7, 2018. This will be the third and final regatta of the Finn Trifecta happening this fall at San Diego Yacht Club.

Finn Masters North American Championship Results

For more information or media inquiries, please contact Casey Allocco.
Casey Allocco
Communications Coordinator
o: 619-758-6316
e: casey@sdyc.org

About SDYC
The San Diego Yacht Club encourages and fosters an environment that helps and continues to produce the best in the world of boating-related activities. Founded in 1886, SDYC has become a world renown sailing community recognized for its success in bay sailing, ocean racing, cruising, angling, and its world class youth sailing program. SDYC is consistently ranked among the top 5 yacht clubs in the U.S. and is recognized by the Club Leadership Forum as one of the finest facilities of its kind in the world.

Photos

Results