Finn Anniversary Regatta Day 2

9:10 PM Sat 15 Aug 2009 GMT

Finn Anniversary Regatta Day 2. Lighter winds were a welcome relief to some on day two of the Finn class's 60th Anniversary Regatta on Lake Ekoln, near Uppsala in Sweden. Three more races were completed after a short delay to allow the wind to fill in. The Dutch team continued to dominate, with Karel van Hellmond (NED) winning two races to maintain the overall lead, while Torsten Jarnstan (SWE) won the first race of the day.

The courses were set just off the clubhouse with the trapezoid course just about fitting between the two shorelines. This ultimately affected the racing with those favouring one side of the other generally finding the bigger shifts, though not always in the right direction. Playing it safe in the middle did not always work either, as there was generally more pressure in the corners.

Race four got underway in a very light wind with top Swede here Mikael Brandt (SWE) immediately tacking for the right hand shore to build a large lead round the first mark. He held and increased his lead on each leg and looked to be heading for a race win. Unfortunately he was so keen to finish he forgot about the final leeward mark and sailed straight to the finish. Torsten Jarnstan (SWE) was only too happy with this to take the race win followed by Jan Willen Kok (NED). When Brandt realised his mistake, he finally finished 10th, which at the end of the day turned out to be his discard.

The next two races were sailed in a slightly steadier breeze which increased during the afternoon to 8-10 knots. Overnight leader van Hellemond won both. In race six he built a massive lead and was never really threatened. Kok finished second with Thierry van Vierssen (NED) in third. In the seventh race he had to fight for it all the way and finished close ahead of team mates van Vierssen and Kok.

After seven races, van Hellemond has it all but sown up, with a 13 point margin over van Vierssen and Kok, with two races left to sail. Brandt is still the leading Swede, and is favourite to take the Swedish title, with a 12 point margin over Daniel Miles (SWE) and a 17 point lead over Sverker Hard (SWE).

The forecast for the final two races on Sunday is for much stronger winds, which should prove to be a challenging end to this 60th Anniversary Regatta.

Event website: www.finnsm2009.se
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Club website: www.ukf.se

by Robert Deaves, IFA

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