Registration is now open for the 2019 Finn Gulf Coast Championship! There are currently 14 boats registered and expecting over 20 entries. Event is scheduled to take place at Buccaneer Yacht Club 05 to 06 October, 2019. Registration fee is only $35!
For further information or questions call Jim Hunter 251-454-6858 or e-mail jhunter@ascension.org For possible housing contact Michael Mark mmark@mobis.com
2019 Finn Pacific Coast Championship is scheduled to start on the 14th of September. Light winds not exceeding 6-8knots are forecasted. There are currently 19 entries. Don’t forget that PCC is a World Sailing 50 point event (link). Registration site.
The 2019 Finn North American Championship event was held August 23-25 in San Diego, CA. The championship was hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club on the ocean venue off Mission Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Eight races were sailed over the three day regatta.
Thirty-three sailors from around the USA and Canada competed for the title of North American Champion as MBYC rolled out the red carpet. The conditions met the prediction of light pressure with winds not to exceed 10 knots for the most part.
The regatta started out on day one with light southerly breeze as the sailors made their way out to the ocean venue. Light winds at the opening day of the Finn North American Championship. Race wins went to Darrell Peck and David Alexander.
In the first race, with wind about 10 knots from the South, Darrell Peck and Rob Coutts went left and were first and second around the weather mark. David Alexander worked his way into second and Mike Dorgan had a great second beat finishing in third.
The second race saw wind about 8 to 10 knots at start dying off to around 6. David Alexander led the whole way around the course extending his lead the whole race. Quinton Gallon finished second and Darrel Peck third.
Third race on the first day had wind dying and shifting right. David Alexander led around the first mark with Peck in second, Mike Dorgan in third. Down the first run Peter Frissell worked his way into third. First half the second beat was a race to the left, but unfortunately David and Mike went slightly right. This put Peck in first (again) with Peter Frissell moving up thru the fleet. Darrell did an excellent job of protecting his position finishing in front of Peter by about 3 feet.
Day two of the event started light again, and turned into a bit of a drift fest. The race committee did a great job of being sensitive to the light breeze and managed to fit three more races in by shortening course when necessary.
The last day of racing saw typical glorious San Diego conditions with 8-12 knots of breeze. Two races completed the series of eight for the regatta. In the end, Darrel Peck (who has five Olympic campaigns under his belt, and now coaches) ran away with the championship, winning four races, and placing top four in the rest of the races.
Peck finished overall with 13 points, 10 points ahead of David Alexander, a local Mission Bay sailor. Rob Coutts, also from Mission Bay Yacht Club, rounded out the top three with 29 points.
Off the water, the Finn sailors enjoyed camaraderie with each other. Darrel Peck held an impromptu clinic as he wandered the boat yard and assisted other sailors with tuning and suggestions in his coaching style. Not only is the talent of the Finn sailors on the water, but they also showed their talent as the Finn Band entertained everyone at the regatta dinner overlooking Mission Bay.
The 2019 season for the North American Finns continues to rumble in Southern California as the San Diego Olympic Classes regatta will be held September 6-8 and the Finn Pacific Coast Championship September 14-15, both hosted by San Diego Yacht Club.
The next edition of the Finn North American Championship is in August 2020 in Kingston, ON
By Michael Dorgan. Repost from Scuttlebutt.
Kingston, Ont. – Kyle Martin showed some skills by winning ten out of ten races at CORK Olympic classes regatta. Winds, varying from 10 to 20 knots allowed for some great sailing conditions and tested competitors patience and athleticism. “I had some problems with my halyard, which came out of the lock and I would get it locked, then it would unlock again” stated Quinton Gallon, who placed second in the regatta. Unfortunate circumstances wouldn’t allow him to challenge Kyle’s dominance on the racecourse. Stephen Smeulders came in third without competing in the last two races. CORK proved again to be a great venue for sailing. 2020 Finn North American Championship is scheduled to take place at CORK in August next year. We invite everyone to join the fleet. There will be a lot of opportunities to practice beforehand at North Cape Yacht Club in July, Wild Harbor Yacht Club Buzzards Bay and Willow Bank Yacht Club in August.
By Rodion Mazin
Pictures courtesy of Elle Bruce and Robert Stevens
The 2019 Finn North American Championship starts on Friday, with 33 entries, this might be one of the biggest Finn regattas in North America in recent past. Light pressure with winds not to exceed 10 knots is forecasted. We hope that some stragglers like Quinton Gallon, who just placed second at the CORK Olympic classes regatta will be able to join the fleet.
It is with a very heavy heart that we must pass along the news of the passing of one of the legendary USA Finn sailors, Louis Nady.
Louis started sailing Finns in the 1960s, winning the Zellerbach at St. Francis in 1967. He was an alternate on the US Olympic Team in 1972 and raced against Paul Elvstrom, Jacques Rogge and other legends. More than one made the top ten at the Gold Cup.
At 77 years old he still sailed his Finn 3 times a week at Buccaneer Yacht Club.
” He was a true gentleman, on and off the water.” – Jim Revkin
” He will be missed by all who crossed his bow or him theirs.” – Chuck Rudinsky
“A great sailor and man. He will be missed.” – Phillip Ramming
“I considered him a great sportsman, and Corinthian sailor. He lived a great life, and positively influenced others.” – Peter Mcdonald
“I enjoyed racing against Louie for four decades. Such a great competitor and friend. I have many fond memories, but the most recent of these was chatting with Louie & Karen at the Master NAs at Buccaneer this April, where we talked about Finn sailing, of course, our experiences as chemical engineers, but most importantly and earnestly about the next generation: the joys of grandparenting! Miss you man. Cross ’em when you can. Lou, you are an inspiration to all of us. With fondness, love, respect, and admiration ” – Derek Mess
“While in college in the early 1970s Louie and I along with Ed Bennett and John Bertrand of Australia (the latter two went to the 72 Olympics in Kiel), Finn sailed constantly on the Berkeley Circle and off St Francis YC in San Francisco. Lou was always ready to help others in the Finn class. I often marveled at how in heavy air he would nail the pin end start, tack on to port and be launched. I saw him do it again at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco. He was also a great light air sailor. My first encounter with Lou was at the 1970 nationals as I was rounding the weather mark ahead in the first race and as he came up to the mark after me and said “Hey, why don’t you wait up” Typical Lou, always with a smile.” – Peter Connally
Trailering your boat through LA traffic, staying awake on the dusty hot I-99 through Bakersfield and Fresno. But you get to turn to starboard and elevate to a slice of heaven at Huntington Lake (elevation 6k’) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 7 Finns, 3 from SDYC, competed in 7 races over the last weekend in July. Gary Mitchell, John Reiter, Lee Hope, and families shared a cabin in the woods near the lake. It was party time for the fleet as most gathered at our pad for food and grog.
Typical lake sailing conditions, as the wind fluctuated from 7-15 knots both days. Many theories about which way to go, but the leaders typically won the drag race to the left side of the lake and never looked back. Beautiful low 80-degree weather, but cold water. Henry Sprague, 74 years old, dominated the fleet with all bullets except for the last race. Henry is coming off the Finn World Masters in Europe, with 250 competitors. Henry finished 12th overall at the Worlds and dominated the Grand Masters Fleet. He is the current reigning World Grand Masters Champion and always shows up to sail his Finn fast.
But Henry almost got chucked in this regatta by the regatta chair (me), as he forgot to bring money to the event. He somehow came up with the $40 entry fee, and paid off the park rangers for his camping fee, just before the trophy presentation.
2nd Overall went to Robert Kinney of NHYC, John Reiter of SDYC in third.
The SDYC July OD weekend was one of the most well attended in recent memory thanks to the promotional skills of SDYC fleet captain Mike Dorgan. Mike was again dominant in his finishes as he pretty much buried the competition, but carded an OCS in the 4th race. The One-Design weekends do not have a throw-out, so overall Lee Hope came out on top followed by Matt Dorgan in second and Dorgan third overall counting his OCS.
by Lee Hope
The Willow Bank Yacht Club Finn regatta has been run annually since 1968. The Toilet Bowl trophy and moniker were added in 1972 when the Toilet Bowl itself was recovered during the renovation of a local train station. The members of the WBYC Finn Fleet saw the bowl as fitting the low-brow sensibilities of the Finn Class at the time, and as a bonus, the trophy would torment the wives of every Finn sailor who took it home. After the trophy was banished to someone’s garden for a year and returned in poor condition, it was restored to its original splendor and put on permanent display in the WBYC dining room.
The regatta is one of the few remaining Finn regattas in the northeastern US. Attendees enjoy small-town setting, the low-key vibe of WBYC and the opportunity to meet old and new members of the Finn class. For more information, see the club website at https://willowbankyc.com
