British Finn Spring Series 2026 at Itchenor Sailing Club
by Mike De Courcy & Rich Sharp 24 Apr 18:57 AEST
18 April 2026
Eleven Finns gathered in Chichester Harbour on a sunny Saturday morning with a light 8-12 knot north-westerly forecast, including boats from four clubs within Chichester Harbour.
Race one got under way with a strong flooding tide crossing the racecourse, favouring the committee boat end of the line. The fleet lee-bowed the tide to the windward mark, close to the Thorney shore, and then on to the wing mark over towards the Witterings. The breeze coming over Thorney Island proved erratic and shifty, a theme which lasted for all but the final race. Mike de Courcy favoured the right side of the course and led the way around, followed by Tim Carver.
The breeze for the second race held up for the first leg but dropped for the final run. Richard Sharp found a good pressure on the left-hand side of the final run, finding enough breeze to edge past Mike to take the win.
By the third race the fleet had a better understanding of the challenging conditions, although the tide was beginning to ease by this time. This resulted in a tightly fought race with Richard gaining his second win, followed by closely by Tim Carver.
The tide had started to ebb by the fourth and last race, with the tide under the boats for the start, catching out the boats at the committee boat end. Richard thought he had got away, but the race officer did not agree, and he was given OCS. By this stage, the wind had shifted to the south-west with a building sea breeze, which put a different complexion on the tactics for the race. Tim took the line honours, followed by David McGregor, returning to a Finn for the first time since 2007.
Consistency was the key for the day, with Tim Carver of Warsash SC taking overall honours, followed by David McGregor from Itchenor SC with a well-deserved second place and Richard Sharp of Emsworth Slipper in third.
It was great to see newcomer Tom Thirkettle in the Finnspiration BFA loan boat steadily improve his results over the day, taking a well-earned fifth in the final race, against a tough and highly experienced field.
Our thanks to Itchenor Sailing Club for hosting the last of the BFA one-day Spring Series and providing some great racing with quick turnarounds.
Event Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | GBR8 | Tim Carver | Warsash Sailing Club | 2 | ‑4 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2nd | 739 | David McGregor | Itchenor Sailing Club | 3 | ‑7 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| 3rd | GBR 90 | Richard Sharp | Emsworth Slipper | 8 | 1 | 1 | (OCS) | 10 |
| 4th | GBR21 | Michael De Courcy | HISC | 1 | 2 | ‑7 | 7 | 10 |
| 5th | GBR 61 | John Heyes | Warsash SC | ‑5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 6th | GBR119 | Mark Macdonald | MRSC | 4 | 3 | ‑5 | 4 | 11 |
| 7th | GBR 776 | Mark Spruce | Warsash & Lee on Solent | 7 | 6 | ‑9 | 6 | 19 |
| 8th | 708 | Tom Thirkettle | Hayling Island Sailing Club | 9 | ‑10 | 6 | 5 | 20 |
| 9th | 12 | Chris Waples | HISC | 6 | 8 | 8 | ‑9 | 22 |
| 10th | 63 | Tom Watkins | Itchenor | 10 | ‑11 | 11 | 8 | 29 |
| 11th | 606 | | | 11 | 9 | 10 | (OCS) | 30 |
Spring Series concludes
The Itchenor Open concluded the British Finn 2026 Spring Series.
We had three fantastic events in varying conditions, with 22 competitors, including some new and also returning faces.
After a beautiful sunny last event at Itchenor, the final results were calculated, and congratulations go to Tim Carver, who is the 2026 Spring Champ and winner of the Richard Creagh-Osbourne silver trophy - well done Tim!
Well done to everyone who competed.
Spring Series top five:
1. Tim Carver
2. Dan Dixon
3. Rich Sharp
4. Matthew Webb
5. David Magregor