Finn NAs

“I really like the Finn because it’s such a powerful boat,” says Darrell Peck. He’s been aspiring to Finn sailing since he was about 11 years old, when he was sailing Lasers. “Lasers are too small for me. We have a nickname for the Lasers - we call them ironing boards.”

Click here to go to the Finn NAs video.

Peck, from Gresham, OR (in the Portland area), won the Olympic Class Finn North Americans over the weekend, followed by Andy Casey of Fountain Valley (SoCal) in second, and Bryan Boyd of Annapolis, MD, in third. Peck had optimized his boat for light wind in this regatta, so the two races he won were light air races on Friday and Saturday. Coyote Point Yacht Club on the San Francisco Peninsula provided the venue.

Former Laser sailor Andy Casey came in second. ©2007 Tzvia Guernsey www.dawntoduskimages.com

“I was a Laser sailor for about 12 years, but then I got a little big,” said Andy Casey, who’s been sailing a Finn for about three years. Sunday’s “conditions were fantastic,” said Casey, “with winds up to about 16 knots.” He plans to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Newport Beach October 2-14. “Absolutely going to do Newport. Should have about 45 boats. It’ll be a blast - or a knife fight,” jokes Andy. Fleet Measurer Bob Carlen says that the competitors really try to help each other develop their sailing skills. Andrew Kern commented, “The Finn is a really heavy boat. We can’t lift it ourselves, so everybody has to help each other.”

One of four Canadians to compete in the NAs, Adam Nicholson traveled here from the Toronto area. ©2007 Tzvia Guernsey www.dawntoduskimages.com

Darrell Peck is third in US Sailing’s official rankings. Zach Railey of St. Francis YC, who is ranked first, didn’t compete in this regatta. The Finn sailors we talked to consider Brit Ben Ainslie a favorite to win the Summer Olympics in Qingdao, China, next year.

Robert Mendenhall, another racer up from SoCal. ©2007 Tzvia Guernsey www.dawntoduskimages.com

Be sure to check out our video. You can see complete results and learn more about the Finns at www.nafinnclass.org.

If you ever wanted to see the bottom of a Finn, here’s your chance. ©2007 norcalsailing.com

Totally Dinghy Regatta

Further up the Bay, Richmond Yacht Club, not surprisingly, was going Totally Dinghy. (With 140 little boats, with competitors large and small, with two racing areas, you’d go a little dingy too!) The rain managed to pass by before racers had to rig their boats. They were treated to “gusts of up to four knots” on Saturday, with more normal breezes and some afternoon sunshine on Sunday. Our sources at RYC report that in El Toro Seniors, Vickie Gilmour, normally at the top of the bottom third, has been showing great speed lately. Indeed, she finished third out of 13, breaking a points tie with Chris Straub and following Gordie Nash in first and John Amen in second. All four are from RYC, the birthplace of the El Toro.

Unmistakably yellow Gordie Nash heads a herd of El Toros (and Bytes). ©2007 Richmond Yacht Club

The little guys and girls in Optis, despite massive assistance from the race committee, had about half a dozen general recalls. Jack Barton of SFYC won that division. No upset in the Byte fleet, which were holding their PCCs - they were topped by perennial champ Dan Ouellet of Encinal YC. The Lightning PCCs were won by a SoCal boat sailed by Dan Gravatt of Mission Bay YC, another club known for its numerous, healthy small boat fleets. Many, many other classes raced as well - you can see all the results at www.richmondyc.org.

The docks at RYC were littered with the survivors of Saturday’s four-knot gusts. ©2007 norcalsailing.com

On October 7, RYC will have the Toros back for the El Toro Stampede. Next weekend, we plan to cover the Leukemia Cup, hosted by San Francisco YC on Saturday, September 29. Another benefit, the VNA (Visiting Nurses Association) Regatta, will be sailed in Monterey (see www.mpyc.org). Also coming up next weekend, the YRA-WBRA wraps up their season with two races on Saturday on the Cityfront. The YRA-HDA Richmond-Long has been moved to Sunday. See www.yra.org for info on all YRA events. See you out there!