Sailing Magazine
17 January 2014
by Tim Addison
www.facebook.com/finnsailingza
Report to Pretoria Sailing Club members
What a turnout on Saturday! Fourteen Finns and assorted other boats had two excellent races on Saturday afternoon, with good courses set by Rob and Claire.
There was a smaller turnout on Sunday, but it was still great fun. Many thanks to Howard and Doreen for stepping in and providing a bridge.
David Badger had two superb starts on Saturday, and was in the leading group for most of the afternoon. Over the last few months David, Jeremy and Dennis have been proving that the Classics are a force to be reckoned with.
Paul Thompson has become a very competent Finn sailor since joining the PSC fleet a while ago. He finished the weekend with a first, two seconds and a very close third. Paul has been working through the various stages of the learning curve and is clearly beginning to master the Finn’s idiosyncrasies, and to read the wind-shifts at PSC. Other newcomers to Finn racing should see his progress as an example of what can be achieved within a season or so.
Dave Kitchen shook off a few cobwebs and showed his class. He won a race on Sunday, and was in the lead for extended periods in some of the other races.
Eric performed well as usual, and was always in contention.
We are hoping to see Paul den Boer, David Humphrey, Jan Jansen, Johan Aspeling, Ken Reynolds and Robin Greaves on the water soon. They have all been absent for various reasons.
We have a few newcomers in the fleet; Bryan McAlister, Graeme Plint, Abri Smit and Ken Buchinger have all acquired boats recently. If anyone needs coaching or advice, on or off the water, please let me know and I will arrange something.
New Generation Yachting (NGY) have refurbished three boats to date, and are busy with two more, one of which has been purchased by Ken Buchinger; the other one will be available for sale soon.
Most of the bow buoyancy bags that were ordered have been collected, and some of them have been installed. NGY are sorting out a problem related to the attachment of the pump when inflating the bags.
This weekend (18th and 19th) is Club Championships. Remember the handicap competition that runs over both days.
A thought for the week:
The good luck and the bad luck are equally distributed. When it is your turn for a good break, grab it with both hands, run with it as far as possible, and don’t give back an inch without a fight. When bad fortune comes your way, don’t panic, don’t take a flyer, continue to be sensible and alert – an opportunity to recover will come.
