Rising stars

Lynsey Thomas assesses the Finn sailors following in Iain Percy's footsteps.

Chris Brittle (pictured right), recently won the gold medal at the 2001 Junior Finn World Championship, and perhaps more importantly finished in fourth position at the overall Championship.
"I am absolutely delighted." said Brittle of his win. "Perhaps more so about finishing fourth overall than winning the Youth's." A result like this at such an early stage in his career has obviously given him a huge boost. "I always had a chance to win the Youths but I never imagined I would do as well at the Worlds."he said.

The light conditions at the start of the week were not in Brittle's favour as he admits he performs better in stronger winds. But after four light wind races the prayers to the wind gods were answered, and a consistent set of results enabled him to inch his way to fourth place."By the last day I just had to make sure I stayed with the top of the fleet and keep an eye on Charlie." he added

He along with Charlie Cumbley, Ian Clingan and David Mellor, other members of the GBR team in the Finn class spent the bulk of their year training, and all the hours of hard work appear to have paid off. "We spent the summer training almost everyday at Hayling Island Sailing Club, as well as going to the gym."

Brittle says that training with the rest of the team along with brief sessions with the now World Champ Sebastian Godefroid (BEL) have been crucial to his success. "It would be useless without them. You need training partners - we get a lot out of each other through taking advice and learning different techniques." Holding back on their knowledge and expertise is not something they entertain, he added.

David Howlett (Sid) and Matt Howard have also played vital roles in the development of the team. "Sid helped a lot with the rigs and we all knew we had really fast kit." said Brittle. On their performance Howlett added, "They both [Brittle and Cumbley] got a great result. They now have to try and juggle their commitments to sailing around their education - If they discover women in the meantime however it could be dangerous."

Time and commitment is a serious issue when it comes to determining the future of Brittle's academic and sailing career. At just 20 years young (yesterday) Brittle is just about to start lectures at Southampton University in Civil Engineering and Architecture. The university have been supportive of his sailing and allowed him to continue with his training. "We have training camps running for one week in every month. The next two are at Weymouth, followed by three in Palma." adds Brittle.

His plan is to try to work during the evenings of the training camps to ensure he doesn't fall too far behind in his studies. However, after a hard day on the water it must be tough to try and muster up the energy and motivation. "I am aiming now for Athens 2004. I'll maybe take a year out of university in order to train full time after the trials - we'll see how it goes."

No current British Finn sailor can progress without the daunting prospect of following in Iain Percy's footsteps. But even Percy agrees that they're currently doing a great job. "It was a fantastic result for both Chris and Charlie - they both showed real promise - more than promise really as Chris is already there."

Percy does however assert that Andrew (Bart) Simpson's result at the Worlds was not true to form and that Brittle and Cumbley will still have a fight on their hands for the top British spot. "I still think they're going to be hard pushed to beat Bart in any UK trials situation. His performance at the Worlds was hopefully just a blip in what will be a steady stream of top results."

But you can't ignore a top four result at a World Championship. Brittle has now secured a higher level of funding and will reign supreme until the next battle. Whether that battle is with the Finn sailors or poor unsuspecting Freshers is up to him to decide....