Solo, a newsletter of the USAFA, July 2015

 (written by Charles Heimler USA 32 District Governor, Northern California. (charlesheimler@yahoo.com). 

Hello Finnsters:  Here is an impromptu newsletter to let you know about the Finn world in 2015, with news of the summer season of Finn sailing in the USA and Canada, leading up to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 2016--one year from now. 

Caleb Paine earned a berth in the Olympic fleet for the USA by placing well at the world championships last year.  He hopes to win the Olympic Selection Trials, which will be held in two parts in 2016--the first part is the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta in January and the Princess Sophia Trophy Regatta in Palma, Spain in March.  Entry in the Olympic Trials is open to any member of the USAFA without a fee. 

The best combined score of those two events will be used to select the USA Olympic Finn representative for Rio.

The North American Championship is in Kingston, Ontario, Canada in August. More information is on the website (cork.org). It should have a good turnout as there are several new faces sailing Finns in Canada, all with a shot of the Olympic berth for the country that has a successful tradition in the Olympic Finn. Canada must first qualify for a berth in the Games; Miami OCR will be the opportunity to do that as it is a Continental level regatta classified by ISAF. 

The iconic Toilet Bowl regatta at Cazanovia, New York, will occur the weekend before CORK. 

At the Finn Masters World Championship in May in Greece, the USA had its largest fleet ever--five sailors (Charles Heimler, Jim Hunter, Peter Frissell, Peter Connally, Henry Sprague) enjoyed the weeklong event on the Aegean. You can see the results and photos on the finnmasterworld website. The Greeks in Kavala treated the 204 assembled Finn masters like international sportsmen with wonderful hospitality.

Here is a report (from Jim Hunter)  of the Finn Masters North Americans that was held on Mobile Bay, Alabama, and hosted by Buccaneer Yacht Club, which has volunteered to host the 2016 USA Nationals regatta: 
	Buccaneer Yacht Club in Mobile, Alabama hosted the 2015 North American Masters April 17-19. The event saw twenty one competitors from all parts of the US as well as Canada and the UK. Many of the competitors came early to the championship as Buccaneer has become the part time home to much of the US Finn fleet and the northern competitors took the opportunity to come south to warmer temperatures.
	 Day one brought big breezes of near twenty knots with the O flag flying. The first downwind saw some spectacular crashes and one broken rig. The O flag conditions were just right for eventual regatta winner Darrell Peck who won all three races and also helped rescue capsized boats after finishing his race. Henry Sprague, Steve Landeau, Scott Griffiths and Louie Nady also had good results. After a hard day on the water the competitors enjoyed a delicious barbeque dinner and an early bedtime. 
	Day two saw challenging conditions for PRO Kenny Kleinschrodt with shifty winds and rain squalls. One race was completed, again with Darrell Peck the winner, and late in the day the competitors were sent in to a feast of local seafood, live music and a Buccaneer party. 
	Day three had fabulous racing in varied conditions from light shifty winds under overcast skies to a solid 20 knot seabreeze under bright sunny skies for the last race. After Darrell Peck solidified his position at the top with another bullet, long time class stalwart Chuck Rudinsky won race six with Legend Henry Sprague second. The last race was a battle royale between Michael Mark and Darrell Peck with both reveling in the O flag conditions. Mark won the race with Peck close on his heels and Sprague third. While Mark and Peck were working hard on the last downwind leg at the front of the fleet some larger puffs were causing havoc at the back of the fleet with several competitors getting to go for a swim in the warm waters of Mobile Bay. 
	At the trophy presentation there was no suspense as to the overall winner of the event Darrell Peck but the age division winners did have some surprises. The Masters Division (40-49) winner was Joe Chinburg who had driven to Mobile from Denver, Colorado. The Grand Masters Division (50-59) was won by Peck with Steve Landeau second. Chuck Rudinsy won the Grand Grand Masters (60-69) and in perhaps the toughest age group Henry Sprague won the Legends Division (70- ) over local legend Louie Nady. The perpetual trophy for the North American Masters is MIA so could not be awarded to Darrell Peck at the event.
	The host club did a fantastic job as always with running great races, providing housing for many of the competitors as well as having breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the entire regatta. The Finn fleet will certainly want to be back at Buccaneer Yacht Club soon. 

The Nationals will be  in September in San Diego.  SDYC is making the whole month of September available for Finn sailors with free storage and three regattas--Labor Day, the PCC's, and the Nationals.  The NOR is on the SDYC website and early registration is encouraged. 

Some technical news--

There has been quite a bit of activity in the boat building world of Finns. 
There are four robust boatbuilders with full order lists in Europe.  This is exciting news for the Finn world--it means that there is a strong market for new boats which will produce a good availability for boats in the secondhand market.  At the big events in Europe and the UK no one design is dominating, and the quality of the sailor still matters the most in the results.  But the appearance of many new boats that are sailing well has brought keen discussion about hull design.

The Devoti Fantastica has been redesigned, seemingly to feel stiffer;  it is also flatter in the hull for downwind sailing.  Tim Tavinor, who built Devotis in the UK, is now building Finns at Petticrew's Boats in the UK, whose speciality is Dragons.  It's basically an update of Ben's Ainslie's 2004 "Rita"; British Sailing's heir apparent Giles Scott recently sail his Petticrew to a win at Weymouth. Pata of Hungary also has a new design and is offering boats with masts at special prices for the USA.  His masts are used by the #1 and #2 world-ranked Finn sailors.  And Walter Riosa, who also worked on Devotis in the UK, is building the Hi-Tech in Italy.  His boats go well in flat water and lighter wind and have very high craftsmanship. 

In the mast world, all the different types of masts are used by the top sailors, and like the major sailmakers,  now WB, North, and Doyle NZL, seem to be a matter of personal choice. 

For the past year, carbon is no longer allowed in new boats, as the result of a clarification of the rule about boat construction. 

A note on rules-- 

Rule 42 (yellow flag calls) has improved at recent regattas and judges are  now briefing sailors more about what makes an infraction.  Measurement will include weighing of boats at the Nationals as USAFA Chief Measurer Bob Carlen will be at SDYC.  Sails will also be checked according to IFA rules.  Registration will check class memberships.

Buying and Selling a Finn--There are a lot of Finns out there and a lot of people interested in finding a boat.  As of now, finding a boat or a buyer, is a process requiring some sleuthing on the part of the client. It is best done through surfing the internet and turning up at regattas (much equipment is available sailor direct at these events). You can ply the internet for leads:  Start with finnclass.org and the Facebook pages--North American Finn Class and California Finn Association. Expect to pay $6,000 to $7,000 for a starter boat, $12,000 for a competitive boat, $16,000+ for a new boat. 

Membership in the USAFA is $100 per year.  Personal sail numbers are offered for four years for $50. 

USAFA (United States of American Finn Association) is an organization of owners and supporters of the Olympic Finn Dinghy, a single-handed centerboard sailboat used in the Olympic Games and International, Continental, Regional, and Club sailing events.  It is supported by dues and contributions mailed to Peter Connally,  USAFA, 1048 Irvine Ave. #227, Newport Beach, CA 92660.