Finn Inland Championships at Northampton Sailing Club

Finn Inlands at Northampton © Jonh Heyes

John Tremlett dominated the 2014 Finn Inland Championships at Northampton Sailing Club over the weekend of 18-19 October, which attracted an encouraging turnout of 25 entries, despite the hyped up forecast of approaching hurricanes.

The event also welcomed the 'Classics with Carbon' championship with several immaculate looking antiques joining in the racing. Classic boats sailing with modern rigs, proved themselves to be more competitive against the modern machines than many expected.

Tremlett proved almost unbeatable in the generally windy conditions taking four race wins and a second before leaving a hardy few to complete the final race in a gusty 30 knots. Saturday was the slightly lighter day with a very shifty and gusty 15-20 knots blowing the length of the reservoir for some testing windward-leeward loops.

Making his intentions clear in the opening race, Tremlett used his impressive speed out of the pin end of the start to tack and cross the fleet to build a sizeable lead. Simon Percival led the rest of the fleet in second with Robert Deaves passing a few boats on the final downwind to take third.

Allen Burrell, who went swimming in race one, was back near the front in the next race, but couldn't stop Tremlett taking another win. Percival crossed third. It was getting slightly windier for the final race of the day and was much closer at the front. After a lot of place changing with the wind coming down the reservoir in bands, Percival took the gun by less than a second from Tremlett and Burrell.

Overnight Tremlett led from Percival and Deaves. The usual excellent and voluminous Northampton Sailing Club dinner buffet was followed by copious quaffing of ale; to the extent that the bar was dry by 21:00, providing an opportunity for an early night under the stars for the exhausted sailors.

Sunday was even windier, with a solid 20-25 knots increasing to 30+ by the end of the day. It was a day of attrition and endurance with only five boats finishing the final race. Tremlett was again dominant, winning two races before heading in with victory sown up with a race to spare, though Percival was looking good in the second race. Adrian Brunton who led around the first mark with Martin Hughes in his wooden boat close astern, finally got everything sorted to place second in the first race of the day, piped by Tremlett ahead of Percival, before retiring to the comfort of the clubhouse.

Burrell was second in the next race with early leader Percival back in fourth. Michael de Courcy crossed in third. Burrell was then forced ashore for the final race after breaking his rudder pintle in the extreme conditions.

The final race was for hardened stalwarts only with third place overall still up for grabs. Seven boats started in 25-30 knots, and only three made it to the leeward mark unscathed, after early leader De Courcy scooped up a boat full of green water. Thankfully race officer Tom Stewart shortened the course as the fleet came downwind the second time. It was anyone's race in these conditions, but Percival gybed early in a lull to take the win, while the three following did granny turns. Will Patten was fastest round to cross second with De Courcy third.

After the sums were done, Tremlett had a four point winning margin from Percival, while Deaves led the rest of the fleet home in third, with Will Patten in forth. The top performing Classic with Carbon mast was that of Martin Hughes, in his 1957 Fairey, who finished fifth overall, proving both the longevity of the hulls and the uniformity of the Finn design over the decades. The Classic with Carbon fleet is a growing and important part of the British Finn class with a number of good helms seeking older wooden and GRP boats for restoration. The BFA is keen to encourage the growing 'Classics with carbon' fleet to join the modern boats at the National Championships to race for the Classics trophy, open to any pre-1985 boat. The fact that nearly 60-year-old wooden hulls updated with modern rigs finished fifth and 12th in the testing conditions is testament to the competitiveness of these boats, offering a low cost entry to top level Finn racing.

Northampton Sailing Club did the fleet proud, both ashore and afloat. Race officer Tom Stewart and his team did an excellent job of getting the fleet away first time every time, which is quite a task. The ladies in the galley ensured everyone was fed throughout the event, making it a thoroughly enjoyable event and one the Finn fleet will be happy to repeat in 2015.

Overall Results: