Pwllheli, Wales
132 Finn Masters competed in testing conditions that were, in the main, light. Only Thursday provided stable winds of 10-15 knots for the 2 races that day. Seven races were scheduled with an additional fleet race for those not assigned to the Medal Race. Six races were completed and there was no racing on the last day so no Medal Race.
As expected, this was a challengng event to manage. The Class insisted on a single start with racing for all in one fleet. A 3-boat start line was used with the main committee boat in the middle. When used (every race) the black flag was also repeated on both pin boats as were the AP and recall flags. These signals had no authority on the pin-end boats. BFDs were also displayed on the pin boats.
The fleet had no intention of starting on a P and they confirmed this in the bar. As an I flag would have been ridiculous with a total line length of 800m, the decision was made to go outside of ISAF policy and use the black flag for the first attempt to start each race. Clearly it was important to AP if the line was unfair and this was adhereed to rigidly.
The fleet had a herd mentality in its bottom third, all wanting to start at the starboard end. An official Class report on the first day's racing stated that it paid to go right and, surprise surprise, the issue at the starboard end of the start line was exaggerated despite the top few starting on the port half of the line. A massive port bias of 10 degrees was necessary on the starboard half of the line and 5 degrees on the port half in order to achieve a good spread along the entire line. Once we came to terms with this the start line was relatively easy to manage.
Two requests for redress were submitted for BFDs but both were denied as a result of sterling work and good procedures on the port pin boat. Whilst the centre CB identified 2 boats for BFD in the last race the port pin spotted 5 of 6 seen to go over. At the redress hearing for one boat a witness was brought in who had the sail number GBR 548. He confirmed that he was ahead of the boat requesting redress and who was clearly identified. The pin line officer's record detailed GBR 845 and, after a search of the entry list for all possible combinations of 845 and its mirror image (Finn sails are close to transparent) it was clear that GBR 845 can only have been GBR 548.
The SolentXtra team members at this event were Dez Gulliford (Safety Leader), Richard House (Port Pin-end ARO), Peter Knight (Starboard Pin-end ARO), Robert Lamb (RO), Jo Lucas (Line Officer), Gareth Roberts (Event Director), Ros Scott (Recorder), Peter Stuckey (Pin-end Recorder), Richard Tate (Finish ARO) and Neil Williams (Senior Mark Layer).
As usual, Pwllheli SC made all those of us who were non-members very welcome!
Tip of the event:
When it rains the display of sail numbers on a white board (or black board for that matter) is very difficult with the text running on exposure to the wet. At the suggestion of one of the local team members, after writing the numbers onto the board, we wrapped the board in cling film and then brought it out into the wet. It worked perfectly.
Pre-Event
The Finn Masters World Championships is to be held at Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales. The practice race will be on Sunday 27th May with racing proper from Monday 28th to Friday 1st June.
Not only will this be the first time the event has been sailed in UK waters for 12 years, but it is also only the second time it has ever been held in the UK. To date some 147 pre-entries from 21 countries and five continents have been received, which if they all turn up would make this the largest Finn regatta ever held in the UK. The record is 138. Forty-four of the pre-entries are Masters (40-49), 54 are Grand Masters (50-59), 41 are Grand Grand Masters (60-69) and this year there are just six Legends (70+).
The SolentXtra team members at this event are Dez Gulliford (Safety Leader), Richard House (Port Pin-end ARO), Peter Knight (Starboard Pin-end ARO), Robert Lamb (RO), Jo Lucas (Line Officer), Gareth Roberts (Event Director), Ros Scott (Recorder), Peter Stuckey (Pin-end Recorder), Richard Tate (Finish ARO) and Neil Williams (Senior Mark Layer).
The Class wants racing as one group with a single start line. From a race management perspective this is madness as groups would give much better racing. But the customers are insistant so that is what we have to provide. This is clearly a major challenge. So the plan is to have a 3 boat start line with the main committee boat in the middle. The course will be windward/leewards. A total of 7 opening series races are scheduled with a medal race to finish.
Click here to go to the event microsite.
