The Finn fleet gathered for the second of the BFA Spring Series events at Bough Beech Sailing Club on the 28th March

The forecast looked promising leading into the event, and on the day delivered, the WNW breeze between 15 and 25 knots kept most sailors on their toes with some rather large gusts in the afternoon. The Bough Beech Race Officer set a trapezoidal course on the south side of the lake, making the most of the conditions that were presented and laying the course where the breeze was most consistent. Four races were scheduled, two races am and two races pm.

Race 1

After a slight postponement waiting for the gusty wind to settle we started with a large left hand shift, Tim Carver (Warsash SC) made the most of the gain and lead the fleet from Daniel Dixon (Blackwater SC) and Richard Sharp (Emsworth Slipper), tight racing ensued with many changes amongst the top five, the breeze was gusty at times and started to pick up during the race, Tim was unlucky towards the end of the race to pick up a really poor shift which put him in second, Daniel took line honours with Tim in second and Richard in third.

Race 2

The breeze picked up for the second race, and the fleet started cleanly. Some close racing ensued, but gains could be made with the strong gusts opening up some gaps during the race. Matthew Webb (Blithfield Sailing Club) took first place, Richard in second, and Daniel in third. The fleet then returned to shore for some boat maintenance in some cases and something warm from the galley.

Race 3

The breeze remained consistent in direction in the afternoon, perhaps even more gusty than in the morning with some large clouds now looming and strong gusts passing through. The fleet again got away cleanly, Daniel got away from the pack and lead from start to finish, close racing between Richard, Tim and Matthew was enjoyed, with Richard making the most of the free pumping with great speed downwind. Final results for the race, Daniel in first, Richard second and Tim a close third.

Race 4

Most sailors joined for the final race, feeling somewhat tired by this point, again Daniel made a clean start and lead around the windward mark, Richard has a disastrous start but sailed strongly and made huge gains downwind to finish second, Tim’s consistency secured a third and Richard Evans (Blackwater SC) secured a really credible fourth.

Overall honours went to Daniel Dixon (Blackwater SC) who put together another consistent series, Richard Sharp (Emsworth Slipper) second showing great pace downwind and Tim Carver (Warsash SC) a close third. Many thanks to Bough Beech Sailing Club for hosting a great days sailing, the team ran a seamless day, Race Officer duties were fulfilled with great use of the lake and the breeze, the team in the galley made sure we were looked after and those that helped on shore made the day really enjoyable, certainly worth the travel time for many of the competitors. Next event for the Finns is the Northern Area Championships at West Riding Sailing Club on the 11th and 12th April.

Overall Winner of the Bough Beech Open, Dan Dixon

Race Report by : Matthew Webb

Full Results:

Overall

Sailed: 4, Discards: 1, To count: 3, Rating system: PY, Entries: 10, Scoring system: Appendix A