Waiuku Yacht Club celebrates 40th Anniversary of the NZ Finn Masters
by David Hoogenboom 15 May 17:23 PDT
16 May 2024
Day 1 start - 2024 Finn Masters - Waiuku Yacht Club - May 10-12, 2024 © Jes Batten
The 40th NZ Finn Masters was held at Waiuku Yacht Club over the weekend 10-12 May 2024. The inaugural regatta was held in 1985 with Freerk Kempkers from Christchurch winning the first three years.
The weekends event attracted 18 sailors sailing in a range of conditions over the three days which was ultimately won by Mark Perrow.
Day 1 brought 20-25 Knot Southerlies which made for some testing conditions with the final bottom mark gybe the undoing for a couple of sailors. Four races sailed had some very tired sailors recovering on the deck after racing with cold drinks and hot food. Wins were shared between Mark Perrow and Ray Hall leaving them on equal points after Day 1.
Day 2 saw SW 8-10 knot champagne sailing with the free-pumping flag coming out for the 3rd and 4th races. After boat issues on Day 1 Oscar Paulich showed some real form with a 2nd, 3rd and 4th on Day 2. Ray held a slender lead at the end of Day 2 with two wins against Mark's 1.
With only one race scheduled for Day 3 and with Ray unable to sail it was a tense wait for wind with a 4-6 knot Nor-Wester finally obliging to allow Mark to win the final race and take the series.
Although no longer an Olympic class the Finn continues to attract good fleet numbers with 19 boats at the Nationals in Lyttleton recently. Dunedin held it’s first Finn regatta for many years with a fleet building in the city to continue the strength of the South Island Fleets.
The Finn World Masters and Finn Gold Cup are scheduled for Brisbane in Jan-Feb 2026 with many NZ sailors intending to sail. The next 18 months will be a very busy time for Finn sailing in New Zealand with these regattas a goal for many.
Overall Results:
- Masters (40-49) Mark Perrow
- Grand Masters (50-59) Ray Hall
- Great Grand Masters (60-69)David Hoogenboom
- Legends (70+) Gerrit Bearda
- Apprentice Masters (Under 40) Sean Cleary
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | NZL4 | Mark Perrow | Waiuku YC | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ‑5 | 4 | 1 | 15 |
| 2nd | NZL2 | Ray Hall | Plimmerton BC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | (DNC) | 18 |
| 3rd | NZL11 | Sean Cleary | Wakatere BC | 8 | 2 | 3 | ‑10 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 37 |
| 4th | NZL60 | Gordon Sims | Wakatere BC | 3 | 6 | 6 | ‑11 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 44 |
| 5th | NZL8 | David Hoogenboom | Waiuku YC | ‑9 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 45 |
| 6th | NZL12 | Dan Bush | Wakatere BC | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 9 | ‑10 | 3 | 10 | 46 |
| 7th | NZL17 | Russell Wood | Wakatere BC | 6 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 12 | (DNC) | 59 |
| 8th | NZL16 | Tom Dodson | RNZYS | 7 | 9 | 9 | (DNF) | 3 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 60 |
| 9th | NZL14 | Mark Grise | Wakatere BC | 10 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 11 | ‑14 | 4 | 62 |
| 10th | NZL999 | Joe Spooner | Wakatere BC | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 9 | (DNC) | 69 |
| 11th | NZL94 | Tony Bierre | Wakatere BC | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 9 | ‑13 | 11 | 86 |
| 12th | NZL1 | Oscar Paulich | Wakatere BC | (DNF) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 15 | 3 | 4 | 2 | DNC | 100 |
| 13th | NZL230 | Justin Hurst | Waiuku YC | 14 | 15 | 11 | 12 | ‑18 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 103 |
| 14th | NZL10 | Scott Beavis | Wakatere BC | 12 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | (DNC) | 104 |
| 15th | NZL54 | Gary Morse | Waiuku YC | 13 | 13 | (DNF) | DNC | 13 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 105 |
| 16th | NZL193 | Gerrit Bearda | Waiuku YC | 15 | 14 | (DNF) | DNC | 17 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 7 | 120 |
| 17th | NZL22 | Dirch Anderson | Waiuku YC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 6 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 124 |
| 18th | NZL244 | Geoff Letcher | Waiuku YC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | DNC | 11 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 125 |
NZ Finn Association Website www.finnclass.org.nz
NZ Finn Association Facebook Page www.facebook.com/NZFinnAssociation