Above: yes, he’s the one standing up. That said, coming fresh into a new class with no preconceptions Rod Davis had identified his preferred way of sailing downhill while he was learning how to move the boat around and then backed himself. Anyone who knows the class will concede that to finish fourth ‘straight out of the box’ against a good fleet of Kiwi Finnsters is a proper result. Left: the old boy’s in pretty good shape too (all suspicions aside)
the regatta, is momentum. Because the Finn is so much heavier than an OK it coasts further, and takes an additional two seconds to accelerate. This coasting makes tacking nice, but needs to be factored in when starting.
Too often I overshot my nice starting position at 10 seconds to go, with the boat going an extra length, ending too close to the line, thus having to sit the time out before accelerating for the start. Talk about dogs and tricks… each time I would say out loud, ‘Right, next start let’s (the royal “let’s”… as in me) not make that mistake again.’ But, sure enough, OK techniques would jump to the forefront in the heat of battle. Six times in nine races!
Other lessons: don’t sit as far forward in a Finn as you do in an OK. Physically, downwind, the Finn is a workout. Brutal is what you could call it. But really fun that way, because you see the direct effect of rocking and pumping. It’s not a matter of being as good at it as, say, Dan Slater. Watch, learn and be the best you can be, that’s the target.
My tacking in 17kt sucked. Truth is, it does in the OK too. Some- thing I have to fix.
The NZ Masters had 21 boats, a benefit of post-Covid liberation. That meant there was plenty of action starting and at mark round- ings. From the leaders to the back of the fleet, each third of the fleet had great battles with the sailors around them. Awesome stuff. By the last day I was feeling pretty good about how it was all going. Getting to grips with tricks to sailing Finns, the shifts and puffs were enough to keep things mixed up, even sorted out getting to the startline too early. Then the bubble spectacularly burst with the bang of the mast hitting the water. It was the last downwind, and only one more race, so I wasn’t holding back with pumping and plenty of aggression.
Even now I am not sure it was the combination that undid me. Board a little too high, did not see the big lifting puff, mistimed the rock and pump, or just too slow to react? All of the above? But when you look up you like to see the mast head not the end of the boom. Classic death roll.
Winter time down here in Kiwi land, so I can tell you the water is cold! The Finn is not easy to right and they float higher than an OK so, once you right it, getting into the boat is not a piece of cake. But that’s what throwouts are for.
In the end it was an awesome regatta and so much fun and experience, because of the boat but just as importantly the people. The sailors made sure it was fun for everyone, no matter where you finished.
Luckily the regatta pretty much fell into place for me, ending up fourth overall. Very happy with that, and happy the ego did not get too bruised. Hmmm, what about Moth sailing – what could possibly go wrong there? About everything!
SEAHORSE 33
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