Knysna sailor David Shilton bags gold

Gallery

KNYSNA NEWS - Sailors of the Knysna Yacht Club (KYC) shone at the Finn National Championship held in Mossel Bay over the Easter weekend.

The event was held in conjunction with the Western Cape Dinghy Championship which saw multiple fleets and racecourses spread across the bay for the four-day event.

A Finn is a single-handed dinghy classified in the 'fast fleet' and requires a combination of physical strength and sailing skill to manoeuvre.

This Finn class event required sailors to exercise a range of skills due to the vastly changing sea state and wind conditions.

The first day saw light wind and choppy sea conditions for the first two races, followed by a stronger breeze in the third race.

Sailors welcomed more consistent wind on the second day and three races were completed.

PHOTO GALLERY: Knysna Yacht Club shine at the Finn National Championship

Unfortunately the third and final days delivered either too much or too little wind for racing. A respectable six races constituted the National Championships, including one discard score.

Knysna Yacht Club sailor and secretary of In-Shore Sailing, David Shilton, first sailed a Finn in his teens and has been sailing competitively in the Finn class for about 15 years.

Being no stranger to top competition and as four-time national Finn champion, Shilton showed his talent and experience by coming out tops in this competition. Second place went to another KYC sailor with an impressive sailing resume, 25-year-old Yogi Divaris, who took the silver medal and was awarded the Finn Apprentice Youth Trophy.

Dudley Isaac in sixth place was awarded the great grandmaster's prize.

The KYC team boasted six entries and took five of the top 10 positions.

The Finn class is growing in Knysna with fleets of up to 10 boats out on Wednesdays and Saturdays in sailing season.

Michael Hill in his Finn at the recent Easter regatta.