Vaikobi British Finn National Championship 2026 at Brixham Yacht Club - Day 2
by Robert Deaves 4 Jul 21:36 PDT
3-5 July 2026
Matt Howard has extended his lead at the Vaikobi British Finn National Championship at Brixham YC. He again won the first two races of the day before recovering from a mid-fleet top mark rounding in Race 6 to cross in fourth. He holds an 11 point lead into the final day over Peter McCoy with Cameron Tweedle a further three points back.
Saturday brought lighter westerly winds, off the shore and very shifty. After winning the opening race with ease, Martin Hughes led the second race until just before the finish when he was handed a yellow flag, gifting the wind to Howard.
The wind increased in the last race with Oscar up for one leg, and a huge right shift o, the first upwind that left Howard rounding in the mid-20s. Nick Craig eventually won after a tight battled with Tweedle. A possible two races remain on Sunday, though the forecast a very light
The British Nationals, sponsored by sailperformance.co.uk and Vaikobi, is Leg 4 of the WTF Grand Slam series. 36 Finn sailors are present in Brixham.
Full gallery here.
Results after Day 2:
| Pos | Bow No | Sail No | Helm | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
| 1st | 37 | 550 | Matt Howard | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | (4) | 6 |
| 2nd | 14 | 88 | McCoy | Warsash SC | 2 | 3 | 4 | (5) | 5 | 3 | 17 |
| 3rd | 16 | 64 | Tweedle | Hyde Sails | 3 | 4 | 1 | (13) | 10 | 2 | 20 |
| 4th | 17 | 74 | Lawrence Crispin | Stone SC | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | (13) | 22 |
| 5th | 38 | AUS2 | Rob McMillan | | 4 | 8 | 3 | (12) | 4 | 7 | 26 |
| 6th | 31 | 24 | Nick Craig | Frensham SC & Burghfield SC & Lee on Sol | (RET) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 32 |
| 7th | 2 | 5 | Greenwood | West Kirby and Blithefield SC | 8 | 6 | 7 | (10) | 8 | 5 | 34 |
| 8th | 3 | 8 | Tim Carver | Warsash SC | 7 | 7 | (17) | 2 | 13 | 6 | 35 |
| 9th | 30 | 799 | Jack Kristian Bartlett Acton | Christchurch SC | 6 | 10 | (12) | 4 | 12 | 10 | 42 |
| 10th | 23 | 567 | Martin Hughes | Warsash SC | (18) | 14 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 49 |
| 11th | 1 | 2 | Allen Burrell | Thorpe Bay YC | 14 | 12 | (19) | 16 | 3 | 12 | 57 |
| 12th | 19 | 90 | Richard Sharp | Emsworth Slipper SC | 10 | (17) | 11 | 6 | 17 | 16 | 60 |
| 13th | 26 | 635 | Simon Percival | Christchurch SC | 11 | 9 | 14 | (17) | 15 | 14 | 63 |
| 14th | 8 | 26 | Matthew Webb | West Kirby and Blithefield SC | (21) | 19 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 64 |
| 15th | 32 | 708 | Alistair Higgins | Aberdeen and Stonehaven YC | 17 | 15 | 8 | 14 | (23) | 11 | 65 |
| 16th | 15 | 61 | John Heyes | Warsash SC | (RET) | 16 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 66 |
| 17th | 20 | 119 | Mark Macdonald | Mengeham Rythe SC | 13 | 20 | 9 | (27) | 16 | 18 | 76 |
| 18th | 21 | 124 | Carrington | Norfolk Broads YC | (24) | 11 | 13 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 83 |
| 19th | 28 | 738 | Mark Cooper | Burghfield SC | 12 | (23) | 21 | 18 | 11 | 22 | 84 |
| 20th | 29 | 776 | Spruce | Warsash SC & Lee on Solent SC | 20 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 21 | (24) | 84 |
| 21st | 34 | NOR55 | Arild Heldal | | 9 | 24 | 20 | 20 | (29) | 19 | 92 |
| 22nd | 13 | 51 | David Kitchen | Dalgety Bay SC | 16 | 22 | 22 | 25 | (26) | 17 | 102 |
| 23rd | 4 | 16 | Nick Mason | Emsworth Slipper SC | (29) | 26 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 117 |
| 24th | 9 | 33/750 | Burden | Netley SC | 15 | 28 | (RET) | 34 | 18 | 26 | 121 |
| 25th | 36 | AUS3 | Phillip Smith | | 28 | (34) | 29 | 19 | 22 | 27 | 125 |
| 26th | 10 | 34 | Peter Blick | Christchurch SC | 27 | (33) | 24 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 127 |
| 27th | 25 | 612 | Rob Fisher | Highcliffe SC | 25 | 21 | 27 | (30) | 25 | 29 | 127 |
| 28th | 27 | 692 | Jez White | Draycote Water SC | 22 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 33 | (DNS) | 132 |
| 29th | 35 | 40 | Russell New | Christchurch SC | 26 | 29 | 32 | (33) | 31 | 20 | 138 |
| 30th | 6 | 20 | Andy Denison | Christchurch SC | 23 | 27 | 31 | (35) | 32 | 25 | 138 |
| 31st | 5 | 18 | Jonathan Pyke | Hayling Island SC | 19 | 18 | 30 | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 141 |
| 32nd | 22 | 564 | Patrick Keen | Rutland SC | (RET) | DNS | DNS | 22 | 19 | 30 | 141 |
| 33rd | 18 | 85 | Garry Phare | Royal Torbay YC | 30 | 30 | 25 | 28 | (RET) | DNS | 148 |
| 34th | 12 | 42 | Richard Phillips | Christchurch SC | 31 | 31 | 28 | 31 | (34) | 32 | 153 |
| 35th | 24 | 603 | Upton | Teign Corinthian YC | 32 | 32 | (33) | 32 | 28 | 31 | 155 |
| 36th | 33 | 777 | Howard Sellars | Warsash SC | (DNC) | DNC | DNC | 29 | 30 | 33 | 166 |

