PSC Charity Regatta and Finn Highveld Champs

by Tim Addison

On the 25th and 26th of January Pretoria Sailing Club held its flagship event, the multi-class Charity regatta. This regatta is in aid of the National Sea Rescue Institute, and has been on the calendar since 1964. In past years there have been more than 100 boats on the water, but on this occasion there were about 70.

The regatta also hosted the Finn Highveld Championships, and attracted an entry of 21 Finns. This was an excellent turnout which also ensured that the Lubro trophy (for the overall winner of the Charity regatta) would be retained by the class. The Finns have been the dominant class for the last four years.

There was a light westerly wind at the scheduled starting time, but unfortunately the forecasters were correct and it dropped to nothing after two legs of the first race. A little later, while everyone was ashore and cooling down, the wind reappeared and filled in from the north-east. All the boats were hastily re-launched, urged on by an enthusiastic bridge crew (John Samuel and his ever-helpful family).

Two good races were completed during the afternoon. The wind was mostly light to medium, but everyone kept a wary eye on several dark thunderstorms that were circulating in the area. Towards the end of the second race, one of the storms arrived on the eastern shore, and a 15-20 knot blast (with rain) took all the Finns on a fantastic planing reach to the finish line – an exciting and very wet end to an otherwise tranquil afternoon. These races set the pattern for the regatta, with very close competition throughout the fleet, and especially among the first ten boats. By the end of the day, Tim Addison was in first place, followed closely by Andreas Bohnsack, Rob de Vlieg, David Humphrey and Chris Moreton.

Rob de Vlieg was, amazingly, sailing a Finn for the first time in his long and illustrious career. We hope he enjoyed it, and that he will join us again in the future…

Sunday was overcast and there was a wonderful (and rare) easterly wind blowing. It was mostly in the 7-10 knot range, but heavier gusts appeared every time one of dark grey clouds moved across the dam. The conditions were perfect for Highveld Finn racing, providing an opportunity for sailors in all weight ranges to compete on equal terms. Three back-to-back Olympic races were completed, each of which included three long beats up the full length of the dam. Finns are quite hard work in these conditions, and fitness became a factor well before the end of the session. Dave Kitchen looked very determined and sailed superbly to take two firsts and a second; Tim Addison took the other first place, and a second, and then recorded an OCS in the last race (a very bad habit); Rob de Vlieg and Chris Moreton continued to sail consistently, and were always in contention; it was also great to see David Humphrey, Paul Thompson, Rob Scott and Malcolm Moreton performing well.

In the final analysis, Tim Addison was in first place, followed by Dave Kitchen and Chris Moreton. The handicap system, which is now very effective, placed David Humphrey first, Malcolm Moreton second and Chris Moreton third, although PSC Finn etiquette saw the third prize actually going to Paul Thompson, because scratch prize winners are not eligible for handicap prizes. The full results are included below (note that some of the DNC’s should be DNF’s).

Finn Class Highveld Championships and PSC Charity Regatta – 2014
1	Tim	Addison	1	1	2	1	OCS
2	Dave	Kitchen	4	10	1	2	1
3	Chris	Moreton	10	2	4	4	2
4	Rob	de Vlieg	3	5	7	3	3
5	David	Humphrey	6	3	5	6	OCS
6	Paul	Thompson	7	7	3	7	5
7	Rob	Scott	5	8	8	8	9
8	Malcolm	Moreton	8	9	6	13	10
9	Ralph	Hodgen	14	6	11	12	6
10	Jeremy	Coutts	11	11	10	9	7
11	Ken	Reynolds	9	DNC	DNC	5	4
12	Dennis	Andrews	12	13	9	11	8
13	Andreas	Bohnsack	2	4	DNC	DNC	DNC
14	Andreas	Luft	17	DNC	12	14	13
15	David	Badger	16	DNC	DNC	10	12
16	Jan	Jansen	15	14	DNC	DNC	11
17	Paul	den Boer	13	12	DNC	DNC	DNC
18	Abri	Smit	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	14
19	Axel	v Gruenewaldt	18	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC
20	Francois	Karstel	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC
21	Ian	Brown	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC

Other news snippets:
It was good to have Ralph sailing with us again. He is busy setting up a new home in Port Elizabeth, but managed to arrange one of his trips to coincide with the regatta.

Franci Girdlestone now has a boat to sail at PSC, largely thanks to Ralph who is still the best Finn broker around.

As a result of a joint project with New Generation Yachting, there are now three entry-level refurbished Finns on the water, with a fourth about to be delivered. We are looking forward to showing Abri, Bryan, Graeme and Ken how much fun it is to race Finns.

Our database shows that there are currently 31 Finns at PSC in racing condition, including six new boats, eight upgraded (carbon-masted) boats and seventeen Classics of various ages.

Normal club racing resumes on Saturday afternoon (1st of February). See you there.