Adelaide turned on the weather for the Australasian Masters Games, which combined with the South Australian Finn state titles (I think the first ever).
The practice race, held on the Sunday, saw a perfect 15-20 knot breeze from the south west. Not all boats sailed, with Anthony Wood still driving from Perth at the time the starting gun fired, but those that did including James Patterson, Bob Buchanan (in his new Devoti), Dirk Seret enjoyed good racing. I omitted to refer to my effort that day, which included a broken tiller extension on the first lap and sailing the rest of the course with a 5 inch broken extension and nearly making it to the end before a stupid mistake resulted in me turning over at the shallow end of the course and breaking the tip off my mast. Not a good start!!
With Anthony arriving late morning and James kindly loaning me his spare mast, all 5 Finns were on the water for the first true day of racing. Again the wind gods look favourably on us providing another perfect but tough south westerly 15 - 20 knot breeze and at times gusting into the mid 20s. Having rounded the top mark first with Bob close on my heals and Anthony only a short distance behind, I unfortunately led them both to where the gybe mark had been during the practice race the previous day instead of where it was. Sorry lads!! After realising the error of our ways Anthony, Bob and I were almost forced back onto a beat to make the right mark. In the meantime James and Dirk sailed a perfect line to the mark rounding well ahead of the rest. From there it was easily sailing for the front runners with James bringing home the goods over Dirk with a second and Bob, Anthony and I making up the balance. In race 2 James sailed a perfect race from start to finish leading all of the way and coming in first with Bob second and a pretty good tussle for third with Anthony getting over Dirk and me but with only a minute separating the three of us after 55 minutes of racing. The highlight of the racing that day for all being the fantastic downhill rides with a strong following swell.
Day 2 of racing saw a completely different wind pattern; off shore breeze from the north with 20 - 30 degree shifts and varying in strength from 5 - 15 knots. In race 1 of the day (race 3 overall) and in very trying conditions Bob sailed a perfect race hitting each shift with precision and reaping the rewards. Close on his heals for most of the race James also sailed a great race to finish only 20 seconds behind. Dirk sailed well only to be caught out in a left hander while on the right side of the course while I did the same on the left with a massive shift to the right. Gambling however paid off for Ant who took the same route as me on the next lap but got into a favourable wind and shot up from last to fourth with some very good sailing. Dirk who seems to be rocket in all downwind conditions again showed Anthony and I how to do it and sailed into third with Anthony and I making up fourth and fifth respectively. The close tussle between Bob and James continued in race 2 of the day with James this time getting the goods over Bob, but again only 20 seconds separating them. With Bob and James having safely secured the top two spots the race for third was definitely hot with Dirk, Anthony and I fighting hard all the way to the finish with only 29 seconds separating the three of us over the line.
Day 3 of racing again brought a 15-20 south westerly and another great day on the water. With a strong 2 metre tide running and subtle shifts to the right it again paid to have our wits about you. The fight between Bob and James continued at the front of the pack with James once gain showing great skills in the strong breeze and sea to come out on top. I came in third with Anthony and then Dirk making up 4th and 5th place respectively. Race 2 of this day proved interesting with James being caught over the line and losing a minute while he sailed back to the line before joining the game. What followed from him then however was something to be seen as he slowly but surely clawed himself back into the race such that by the final upwind work he managed to out tack Anthony for second and finish behind Bob by only 16 seconds and in front of Anthony by 12. Dirk and I however were having our own fight with Dirk finally getting the goods on me and crossing the line 3 seconds ahead.
Day 4 dawned to the remains of the frontal system with winds of up to 25 knots. Racing was delayed hoping for the wind to moderate, but the day was finally abandoned at mid day leaving time for Bob and Anthony to pack up for the trip home.
With races 6 and 7 abandoned the tussle we had all been waiting for between Bob and James regretfully did not eventuate. However the end result was ultimately well justified with James taking the state title 4 points ahead of Bob, Dirk and Anthony tied for third and me bringing up the rear. The racing was however fantastic and the event well hosted. Like I have come to expect, the Finn guys are a great bunch and Bob and Anthony fitted into the South Australian scene like they were locals. A great effort by those two also with Bob driving from Sydney to Melbourne to collect his boat before coming down to Adelaide and then back to Sydney and Anthony making the lazy 2800 km trip across the Nullarbor only to pack up 4 days later for the drive home. James, Dirk and I only hope that these guys had as good a time as we had hosting them in Adelaide.
While there was no one to take photos on the water we did manage to get together for a group shot after the regatta and these are attached.
Cheers
Mark Roberts
Aus 234