Finn Northern Area Championships, West Riding Sailing Club, 13th and 14th September.

Nine visitors from as far afield as Scotland and the South Coast joined the six home boats for the Finn Northern Area Championships at West Riding Sailing Club over the weekend of the 13th and 14th September. It was great to see the West Riding lawn teeming with Finns in bright sunshine, with a brisk Westerly breeze.

Following a briefing, where Race Officer, Tim Keighley expressed bemusement at the fleets desire to pump their way around the lake, the sailors took on the twin challenges of not breaking their necks on the Teflon coated slip way and breaking through the weed bank to reach the racecourse The wind had built up and some tricky gusts were dropping over the dam wall, providing testing conditions, Tim set a figure of eight course using the club marks

John Greenwood took the lead off the start line with Alistair Banks and Tim Carver in close pursuit. Andy Couch had been the victim of some start-line shenanigans, placing him at the back of the fleet, but not for long. He quickly carved his way through the fleet to join battle with John. Alistair, feeling the ill effects of too much Solo sailing, faded towards the end of the race and dropped back from his lofty position. John and Andy exchanged positions throughout the race, with Andy rounding the final mark in first place. However, John managed to defy the laws of physics to find his way into the lead over the 20 yards to the finish. Tim followed them over in 3rd.

As the starting sequence began for the second race, a squall passed through with high winds and hail, persuading a few sailors that enough was enough. At the starting gun, Shaun Pickersgill shot off into the lead in the windiest conditions of the weekend. Shaun kept Andy and John at bay for the first lap before understandably buckling under the extreme pressure and letting them through. During the second lap, the squall passed, and the wind was abruptly turned off. Andy unfortunately was forced to retire sick at this point, leaving John to take the lead and remain there to the finish. Tim crossed in second, with Soeren Vonsild taking third.

The conditions remained light for the third race with the same top three prevailing. The wind built again for a testing fourth and final race of the day. Predictably, John took the lead and pulled away from the remainder of the fleet, who completed the first lap in tight formation. On the second beat, the writer managed to pull away from the fleet into a strong second place, which he lost on the final lap with Tim and Soeren coming through to take second and third.

Tired sailors then limped ashore to pack up and retire to the clubhouse for some very welcome curry and beer, courtesy of Sam and Josh in the galley. Despite his efforts, overnight leader John found enough strength to return home to Chester for some emergency plumbing!

Sunday morning dawned with a light Southerly breeze, forecast to increase through the day as a predicted storm rolled in. The race team set another figure-of-eight course and sent the boats out through the weed, which, I can confirm, was much more difficult to breach in light conditions.

John and Tim proved the class of the field, once again taking first and second, with David Kitchen revelling in the lighter conditions to take third. A slightly windier second race saw the same top two, with a well-rested Alistair taking third in a close battle with the resurgent Phil (Captain Morgan) Smith.

The third and final race of the day started in a strong breeze as the storm approached. John took his usual place at the front and extended his lead, having enough time to stop and wash his sail without being threatened from behind. Soeren held second place from Tim for most of the race before succumbing to Tim’s enthusiastic pumping.

With a perfect score of seven bullets, John Greenwood took the championship with Tim Carver runner-up and Soeren Vonsild in third. John thanked the club for running a very enjoyable regatta, a sentiment echoed by all the competitors.

Report by Guy Cokill

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