2025 has been another awesome year for the UK Finn fleet. There is a huge amount of interest in the class and we have welcomed lots of new converts (and returnees) to the class this year.
We started the season with some fantastic warm-up events in the Spring. Those in the south were generally dominated by Nick Craig, but, by virtue of attending all the events, Richard Sharp was the overall winner of the series.
In the north, John Greenwood dominated the northern series spring events.
The turnouts in these spring events were very encouraging, and we had the pleasure of welcoming back Jim Hunt for 2 of the southern events.
The Europeans in Naples followed these events. Lawrence Crispin and Nick posted some very good results amongst a tough fleet.
Beautiful Largs hosted the Scottish Nationals. John Greenwood won from David Kitchen.
The fleet moved on to a brilliant UK Masters Nationals at Thorpe Bay. The wind blew, and the sun shone. Lawrence Crispin and Nick C dominated the weekend, with Nick coming out on top.
The Southerns in Christchurch soon followed. John Greenwood led after Day 1, but, after a very wild Day 2, Nick won from Lawrence.
A good contingent of Brits then travelled to Medemblik in Holland for the World Masters. 300 boats lit up the Ijsselmeer. Some legends of the class attended what proved a wonderful week of sailing. Nick managed the top 10 in a very, very competitive fleet. This was a memorable event.
The Vaikobi UK Nationals was a classic at Weymouth in July. We were treated to some very special sailing both on the 2012 Olympic waters and, when it got a bit too lively, within Portland Harbour. We were very fortunate to welcome some very good European visitors. Lawrence was on a mission and clearly won the event. His early-season training had paid dividends.
Bosham then held their hugely popular Finn Festival. This was won by Mike De Courcy from John Mackie.
A great fleet of Finns sailed at Chichester Harbour Race Week in August. David Hitchcock won this very competitive event.
In early September Nick and John Pyke attended the Gold Cup in Cascais. The conditions were epic and the sailing standard was incredibly high. The guys managed some great results.
The Northerns were then held at West Riding. John Greenwood came out on top from Tim Carver.
The final event of the season was the Inlands, held at Rutland. Nick won these championships from Allen Burrell.
The 2025 North Sails Silver Finn Trophy was won overall by John Greenwood.
2026 promises to be another brilliant season.
Things start in Brisbane for those lucky enough to travel in February for the Gold Cup and World Masters. This will be a lovely break from the British winter.
The full schedule of events is now published on the BFA website here, and highlights will include the Masters Nationals at HISC in April, the Nationals in Brixham in July and the Inlands at Rutland in the autumn. These 3 events will be used as a qualification for the 2027 Gold Cup, to be held in La Rochelle.
As an incentive to attend events in 2026, the BFA are pleased to announce that anyone attending their first BFA event in 2026 will not have to pay entry fees (nationals excluded) and will be allocated a buddy/mentor for that event.
If you have bought a Finn (or are thinking about buying one) but have not attended many open events please come along – at all of our events, there will always be a friendly face to welcome you and lots and lots of helpful advice to get you up to speed as fast as possible.
The fleet offers events for everyone, from world-level to club sailor. To be able to sail internationally against some absolute sailing legends is something truly unique.
We have our loan boat Finnspiration available, based at HISC but available to anyone in the UK. Lots of clubs are also able to arrange trial sails. So, if you are thinking about joining this fantastic fleet, just ask.
We are especially keen to encourage young sailors to join the fleet and plans are afoot to help provide some boats and training. So, if you have outgrown your ILCA etc and would like to have the opportunity to compete at some of the best venues across the UK and Europe against some of the best sailors, just contact us.
A message from your new Membership Secretary, Tom Gissane: Personal Sail Number (PSN) Update
Many of you will have noticed a number of emails over the autumn as we’ve been working through a validation of the PSN database. This work is mainly to ensure we can continue to offer unallocated sail numbers as our domestic fleet continues to grow. As things stand, there are currently seven numbers available in the 1–100 range, with several more expected to become available soon.
During this review, we found that some members were not always aware of their PSN subscription expiry dates, or of the requirements needed to retain a PSN. To make things simpler and more consistent for everyone, the BFA will now align PSN expiry dates with the calendar year.
All existing PSN subscriptions will expire on 31 December of their current expiry year. For example, if your PSN was previously due to expire on 4 July 2026, it will now expire on 31 December 2026. This brings PSN renewals in line with your annual BFA membership.
For new PSN subscriptions, the expiry date will be 31 December in the third year following the start date — providing three full years, plus the remainder of the year in which the subscription begins.
We hope this change makes PSN management much more straightforward and reduces admin for members by having just one renewal point each year.
Finally, a friendly reminder of the conditions for holding a PSN: you must remain a fully paid-up BFA member for the duration of your PSN subscription. If your annual membership is not renewed by 31 March, your PSN will automatically be forfeited and may be reallocated. Please also note that PSNs cannot be transferred to a new owner without prior agreement from the BFA, even if you plan to surrender the number.
A reminder that membership renewals are due from 1st January and in order to reduce the workload for your membership secretary, we request you sign up for the Go Cardless direct debit payment option. You will always be advised when a payment is about to be taken and members can cancel at any time. It saves the Class a lot of time and expense and saves you having to remember to make a payment. You will need to have joined or renewed your BFA membership before competing in any BFA events…
I look forward to seeing you on the water in 2026.
Richard Sharp
BFA Chair
