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Nick Craig puts down a marker for the Gold Cup by winning Bosham Finn Open 2024 in style

by Jeremy Drummond 31 Jul 2024 06:25 BST 27-28 July 2024

The sun shone and the wind blew making the home of UK Finn sailing, Bosham Sailing Club the perfect venue for a summer Open regatta over the weekend of July 27 and 28.

The fleet of 22 Finns from across the South of England were a majestic sight in the tricky tidal waters of Chichester harbour. Rowan Caplin, the Principal Race Officer and an experienced Finn sailor himself, masterfully set a variety of courses which gave the fleet legs on almost all points of sail.

It was always going to be a challenge to be ahead of Nick Craig (Burghfield Sailing Club) who was gaining time in the Finn after his recent OK Nationals success to prepare for the Finn Gold Cup in Denmark at the end of August.

The first beat to a temporary mark was invariably a test of where to cross the tide. In the first race it was to the right along the Pilsey Sands with Russ Ward (HISC) leading the way until his blades got caught in the shallows and he was passed by Nick and Matt Walker (HISC). The next race Nick showed his dominance and everyone his transom. Ben Davis (Emsworth Sailing Club) was second and local Bosham sailor Steve Board kept the chasing pack at bay to finish third.

The third race took the fleet out to the edge of the Winner bank and its associated random chop with Nick clear ahead. What should have been a beat became a reach and what should have been a reach became a beat. Tim Carver (Warsash SC) was second with Mike de Courcey winning the HISC battle to finish third.

Sun and wind continued on the Sunday and the race committee wisely postponed for 30 minutes to allow more water to flood into the harbour with high tide at the end of the day. Race 4 was a classic triangle/sausage. Tim Carver got to the windward mark first having shot off the start line until Nick's superior boat speed allowed him to pass. Tim held on for his second second place with Martin Hughes (Warsash SC) in his 1958 wooden Classic Finn with Aluminium mast and 1990s Dacron sail, getting an impressive third. In Race 5 it was Ben Davis's turn to lead the fleet to the windward mark and he got another second place. Simon Petit, who was consistently at the top of the fleet all weekend finished third.

The Race team then moved very quickly to get the last race off with a minute to spare before the time limit and set a windward/leeward course across the tide. Nick was clearly keen to get back for the salmon sandwiches and cake and left Russ Ward in second and Tim Carver in third trailing in his wake.

With all six races completed there was one discard. Nick Craig had completed a perfect score to win; Tim Carver was second and Simon Petti consistency paid off to finish third overall. Martin Hughes in fifth was the top Classic Finn. All regatta participants got prizes from our generous sponsors: HARKEN UK, FORCE 4 CHANDLERY, NORTH SAILS and VIN WINE MERCHANTS of Emsworth.

The regatta benefited from the continuing growth of Finn sailing in Chichester harbour. There are currently over 45 Finns sailing across 6 clubs in the harbour.

Overall Results:

PosHelmBoat NameSail NoR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
1stNick CraigHarken7901st1st1st1st1st1st5
2ndTim CarverTallulahGBR84th4th2nd2nd5th3rd15
3rdSimon PettitFinn dinghy ‑ no nameGBR 35th8th4th6th2nd5th22
4thMichael De CourcyGBR21216th7th3rd5th9th4th25
5thMartin HughesMartin HughesGBR1929th5th8th3rd4th6th26
6thRuss WardFinnGBR43rd9th11th4th15th2nd29
7thBen DavisBlue8712th2nd7th9th3rd9th30
8thShaun Hopkins772772 / 227th6th10th7th7th7th34
9thHoward SellarsFinnegma7778th17th6th11th8th8th41
10thMatthew Sim54854811th11th9th10th10th10th50
11thSteven Board710 / 56710 / 5616th3rd5th15th16th12th51
12thNick MasonBlue deck1613th10th19th13th6th14th56
13thOwen DaviesFinnal Fling72115th12th16th8th11th15th61
14thAndrew WylamBlack Pig2210th13th13th16th13th17th65
15thDick PrattAir PocketGBR54521st14th18th14th14th11th71
16thJeremy Drummond60660620th21st14th12th12th16th74
17thMatthew Walker1001002nd15th12thDNCDNCDNC77
18thStephen HartFinn63119th22nd20th17th17th13th86
19thRob FisherDevoti Classic61214th18th15thDNCDNCDNC95
20thJames Hart578 / 14578 / 1418th16th17thDNCDNCDNC99
21stMike StringerPetalitaGBR 79222nd20th22nd18th18thDNF100
22ndJames SymonsJersey girl1517th19th21stDNCDNCDNC105
23rdJonathan PykeWoo hooGBR 18DNCDNCDNCDNCDNCDNC120

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