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International Finn Association Press Release
Wright puts wrong to right at Finn Gold Cup
Ed Wright (GBR) put a wrong to right today in winning the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco. It has been an enigma of the class that the former world number one had never won a world title. He had come close on a number of occasions, but this week in San Francisco, he put together an incredibly consistent and winning performance to take the Finn world title in the best possible way by dominating and winning the medal race. Rafa Trujillo (ESP) took the Silver while Giles Scott (GBR) took the Bronze.
The final day started with race 11 for the rest of the fleet with Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) leading round the top mark from Daniel Birgmark (SWE) and Alejandro Muscat (ESP). Birgmark took the lead on the first downwind and led round the remainder of the course to take his second race win of the week to finish 12th overall. Bjorn Allansson (SWE) sailed well to place second while third place for Marin Misura (CRO) kept him in 11th overall.
Oscar flag for free pumping downwind was raised on the first downwind and stayed up for the rest of the day with the wind reaching 17 knots during the medal race for the top 10, which followed soon after race 11 was completed. This meant that Oscar had been raised on each and every downwind leg of the championship, giving the Jury very little to do.
The big question for the medal race was whether second placed Rafa Trujillo (ESP) would go for gold or protect silver. It was obvious within minutes what his strategy would be as he stuck to third placed Giles Scott (GBR) like glue and covered his wind all the way round the course. Scott was faster downwind and broke through twice but he couldn't gain enough boats to take the silver medal from the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, the regatta leader by 13 points, Ed Wright (GBR), won the pin end start and powered away, never headed during the entire race. He initially headed to the left and then crossed back to the middle without ducking a single transom. He rounded the top mark just ahead of Gasper Vincec (SLO), Zach Railey (USA), Thomas Le Breton (FRA), Brendan Casey (AUS), Mark Andrews (GBR), Andrew Mills (GBR), Trujillo, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Scott. With Scott in last place Trujillo had done his work well.
Scott immediately went low and passed three boats leaving Trujillo at the back. With Wright sailing away from the fleet, the fight was now on for silver. Trujillo rounded the gate just behind Scott, but within a few tacks was back in control and taking Scott to the left hand side, which he thought was not favoured. Also going this way were Railey and Mills and they crossed back in second and third. Trujillo and Scott also came back into the fleet closer than Trujillo has planned and again Scott passed Trujillo downwind. But he needed to take two boats to take the silver from Trujillo.
It was a nervous last downwind for the Spaniard as Scott sailed away and he was left behind. Scott caught up the pack ahead but could not take any boats and finished ninth to take bronze, with Trujillo crossing in tenth to take the silver.
A clearly happy Wright said, “I am so excited. It's something I have been working on for a while. Last year I got close, but this year I did it. The last couple of days have been the best of the regatta. Really windy and really difficult sailing, but I am really so happy. I am tired, but it doesn't matter. It's over now.”
Wright is renowned for being the fittest sailor in the fleet but commented, “I was surprised how fit the others guys were out there. But it does make a difference. It's nice to feel fresh each morning. I have put a lot of effort into this year did quite a lot of training over the summer and changed my body shape. Everything was gearing up towards this event. I am really happy.”
“It was brutal at times. Just great sailing. The boat is a powerful boat and it's so taxing sailing here. I loved every minute of the week. Rafa has been training hard as well and was sailing fast. But it was good to actually get out there on the track and actually do some real sailing. I only had to get seventh in the final race and I managed to win it, which was even better so I am really happy with that.”
“I just needed to stay near Giles and Rafa and it was apparent straight after the start that they were messing around with each other so I could just sail my own race. I just kept a loose cover on them and it made life a lot easier. To win the last race is great. I feel like I am sailing fast and really excited going forward to the next event.”
Fourth placed Railey commented, “It was a good race and very intense. I went in in fourth and very close with Thomas but I had a shot at third. So I wanted to try and push Giles back as much as I could, as he had to be last and I had to win the race, it was a tall order and I ended up second but he sailed very well after that.”
“But I'll take fourth at a world championship, though it is disappointing not to be on the podium. That was the goal. I think I averaged a fifth and that was part of the goal coming in as we thought that would be enough for the podium, but there were three other sailors here who just sailed a little bit better than me. Ed, Rafa and Giles were the three best sailors here this week.”
“It's probably the best regatta I have sailed this year and if I can build on that this winter and work on stuff, then we'll get ready for the 2011 season.
Silver medalist Trujillo talked about his race strategy. “This morning I did my planning with my coach and we had two options. Either try to win the Gold Cup depending on the wind conditions or protect the silver. After we saw the weather conditions, we realised it would have been impossible to catch Ed and he made a fantastic start, so I tried to slow down Giles as I thought I was faster upwind though he was clearly faster downwind.”
“I made a pretty good job of that and we had a nice fight with each other. I took him to the left and thought it was all over but we had more pressure and better shift and he made a fantastic job of the downwind. He was just flying and I was really worried he would catch up enough boats to take the Silver. But congratulations to Ed and Giles and all the other Finn sailors here because I think we have had a really tough week.”
“Now I have promised myself one or two months with no hiking! I think we have hiked enough in the last month. I am now 34 years old and this is my third Olympic campaign and I need to take care of myself. This kind of event is not good for me. There are a lot of juniors here at 1.95 metres and they were pushing us really hard.”
At the prizegiving tonight at the St Francis Yacht Club, under the shadow of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Ed Wright received the Finn Gold Cup, first presented in 1956 at Burnham-on-Crouch in the UK. This famous trophy is full of the names of legends of the class and now one more legend has been added to this list. It is what all Finn sailors aspire to and what all sailors everyone recognise as an outstanding accomplishment.
Final results (top 10 from 87)
1 GBR 11 Edward Wright 22
2 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 53
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 56
4 USA 4 Zach Railey 59
5 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 72
6 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 94
7 GBR 85 Andrew Mills 107
8 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 107
9 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 110
10 AUS 1 Brendan Casey 112
Full results at http://yachtscoring.com/event_documents/342/2010%20Finn%20Gold%20Cup%20Results.pdf
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class was held from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day each day and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
Class Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel
International Finn Association Press Release
Wright lays down the gauntlet
The windiest day yet at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco produced some more thrilling racing, close finishes and spectacular sailing. Regatta leader Ed Wright has moved into a 13 point lead going into Saturday's medal race after a scoring 3-1 while nearest rivals Rafa Trujillo (ESP) scored 2-3 and Giles Scott (GBR) scored 2-5.
Race nine was sailed in 16-20 knots with the right again proving popular with most of the fleet. Rafa Trujillo (ESP) and Ed Wright (GBR) led the fleet to the right hand side and played the few shifts on that side as the wind continued to increase. Wright narrowly led Trujillo round the top mark followed by Giles Scott (GBR), Eric Lidecis (USA), Mark Andrews (GBR) and Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN).
Scott took the lead on the first downwind and dug deep to hang onto it on the second testing upwind leg. He pulling away slightly on the final reaches to record his first race win this week. Trujillo placed second to narrow the gap on Wright, who finished third. The gap between the leaders was now just nine points. But Wright was about to lay down the gauntlet and firmly take control of the series.
Race ten turned into a thrilling display of endurance and power as the wind whipped up a confused sea and the downwind became an adrenaline fuelled fun ride. Wright again led at the top mark, this time from Pieter-Jan Postma (NED), Trujillo and Scott. The first downwind was crucial and very patchy. Both Postma and Scott slipped past Wright and avoided the holes to take the lead while Trujillo lost a lot of ground to round in eighth. Wright was having none of that though and retook the lead and then extended on the gruelling second upwind to lead down the reaches and take his fourth race win of the week. Trujillo could only recover to fifth behind Wright, Postma, Gasper Vincec (SLO) and Scott.
This leaves Wright win a 13 point lead going into Saturday's double scoring non-discardable medal race. He needs to finish seven boats ahead of Trujillo to make sure of the title. However, only five points separate second placed Trujillo and third placed Scott and if these two get into a battle for silver, then this could be the more interesting battle.
Wight commented, “Today was make or break. My goals were to just stay in contact with Rafa and Giles so tomorrow in the medal race I can have a little margin. But I found myself rounding both top marks first. Two good starts helped. It was windy on the downwinds and I wanted to sail conservatively with the steep chop making things a bit hairy. Finishing 3,1, was amazing for me as I have now extended my lead going into tomorrow. It's all on now. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong.
Wright is one of the four strong Skandia Team GBR sailors in San Francisco and all four are in the medal race – an impressive performance by any standard. In addition the European Champion Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) has his best day with two top 10 finishes to scrape into the medal race.
A new face inside the top 10 is Brendan Casey (AUS). He said, “I love San Francisco anyway, so when I heard the Gold Cup was going to be here it was my goal to be here, and getting into the top 10 has been my objective since I came back into Finn sailing in May. It's been a moderate to heavy air event and it's been wonderful.”
“This is my second world championship in the Finn. I came from the Lasers when I got too big for that. I finished 15th in in 2007, but since then I have spent more time in the boat training. I spent time with Ed, Rafa, and Zach here in San Francisco for two weeks. Three years ago I just jumped straight in the Finn from the Laser and just did regatta after regatta. Spending some time in the boat with a good group of people that allowed me to improve my performance. For the medal my tactics is high risk. I have nothing to loose. “
Star performer of the day must be Pieter Jan Postma with a 6-2; his best result so far had been an 18th. Rediscovering the form that led him to Gold Cup and pre-Olympic silver in 2007, he said, “Today was good. Perfect conditions. I have sailed better and better this week and today was my day. I have been studying the last year and didn't sail so much, so to see progress through the regatta is great. It sounds really strange at a worlds but the problem for me wasn't the practice it was the goals. I wanted to do really well here but I wasn't ready. I thought I would be after 10 days training, but I wasn't. So next time I will do more. Sailing is about feelings and the feelings are getting better and better.”
Indian connection
The furthest travelled sailor at the regatta is Johal Nachhatar (IND), all the way from Mumbai. He has has a tough season with a changes of plans and not doing the regattas he hoped to do, but is upbeat about the future. He is now being coached by 2000 Silver Medalist Luca Devoti, and is optimistic about his learning curve and training plans over the coming year.
He said, “The conditions here are good, the place is good but I am disappointed in my performance. I had hoped to do much better. But I fell sick. I think my coach and I both got some food poisoning and I was really sick. I just managed to finish the first race on Wednesday and Luca sailed the boat back and I went off the hospital and they gave me fluids and injections, so I couldn't sail yesterday, but today I will try.”
“I have taken on Luca as coach but we haven't done much training yet. But we have some plans for the next six months so hopefully that will go well. He is with me for some time and for sure I really like working with him. I try and talk to him as much as I can and he is really committed to this. We did a month's training in Valencia and he was spending at least eight or nine hours with me which is really great. For a guy of that level to give that much time to me it's really fantastic. He takes it really seriously.”
“It would be great if there were more Finn sailors in India. I am trying to do whatever I can. We have a lot of Optimist sailors coming in now so maybe in the future they will move onto the Finn.”
Nachhatar is in the Indian Army which supports his sailing activities. “That is a big plus point for me. Sponsorship for sailing in India is hard. It's all cricket, cricket, cricket. The system has been very good for me. They generally keep me free for sailing and they station me such that I can compete in regattas. So that's going good. But Luca and I have made some plans and if that all works out we will hopefully see a better 2011.”
The big winds and close competition is also proving something of a hit on the internet with more than 9,000 internet users enjoying the live video stream provided by SailGroove this week. This can be watched this through the event website at www.finngoldcup.com with full commentary during the racing and shore interviews before and after racing. The website also includes all the in-depth regatta reports as well as a Twitter feed sponsored by MotionX by FullPower with comments, mark roundings and latest updates for those unable – or without the time – to watch the live streaming.
Follow the final day's racng online at www.finngoldcup.com with live boat tracking from Kattack, live video feed from SailGroove, and live Twitter and blog updates from the Finn Class.
Results after 10 races:
1 GBR 11 Edward Wright 20
2 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 33
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 38
4 USA 4 Zach Railey 55
5 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 58
6 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 84
7 AUS 1 Brendan Casey 96
8 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 98
9 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 99
10 GBR 85 Andrew Mills 101
Full results at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=342
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
Class Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel
International Finn Association Press Release
Wright and Trujillo battle for supremacy
After another two windy races, the top five at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco maintain their relative positions but Rafa Trujillo (ESP) who scored 1-2 and Ed Wright (GBR) who scored 2-5 increased their lead over the rest of the fleet. Giles Scott (GBR) hangs onto third place after placing 3-6, but it is fast turning into a battle for supremacy between Wright and Trujillo.
The big winds and close competition is also proving something of a hit on the internet with more than 9,000 internet users enjoying the live video stream provided by SailGroove this week. This can be watched this through the event website at www.finngoldcup.com with full commentary during the racing and shore interviews before and after racing. The website also includes all the in-depth regatta reports as well as a Twitter feed sponsored by MotionX by FullPower with comments, mark roundings and latest updates for those unable – or without the time – to watch the live streaming.
Race seven got underway under black flag on the third attempt and again turned into a drag race to the right. Rafa Trujillo (ESP) made the best of the upwind to round just ahead of regatta leader Ed Wright (GBR), Andrew Mills (GBR), Marin Misura (CRO) and Thomas Le Breton (FRA). Wright chose the left side downwind and found more pressure to move past Trujillo but the Spaniard chose more middle ground in the second upwind to retake the lead when Wright went further right. Le Breton moved up to third, but then suffered gear failure on the reaches to the finish to drop to 10th while Giles Scott (GBR) took advantage of that to take third.
Trujillo again led to the top mark in race eight followed by defending champion Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN), Zach Railey (USA), Wright and Jonathan Lobert (FRA). With the winds topping 22 knots and a very nasty sea running it was probably the toughest race so far, but also according to Trujillo the most fun.
Høgh Christensen (DEN) took the lead on the second beat and the Dane led until the final thrilling stages of the fast spray filled second reach. He rounded the wing mark still in the lead and with the line in sight dug deep to maintain speed and stamina for the final few hundred metres. But coming from behind was Daniel Birgmark (SWE). He had already take Trujillo to leeward and catching a few waves better than Høgh Christensen, surfed through his lee to take the race win by a couple of boatlengths. It was the closest and most exciting finish of the week.
Birgmark said, “I am really enjoying sailing here in San Francisco though I think I am not the fastest upwind. There are about 10-15 boats that are much faster than me upwind, but now in the last race when there was a little bit more shifty conditions I was able to take advantage of that and I was faster on the reaches.”
“The last reach was a lot of fun. I like these broad reaches as it's quite tactical. You have to choose your track and take your chances to go down to get a good position to increase your speed. It's quite challenging. I passed both Rafa and Jonas to leeward and I managed to catch some really good waves to get good speed and I had a good track into the finish.”
“I don't remember winning a race at the worlds before, so I am very happy. Coming into the championship my goal was to be top three, but I had a cold at the beginning of the week and I didn't sail as well as I could have. I have still a lot of work to do but I hope to be top 10. ”
Trujillo said, “We had two really different races today. The first race was a really typical San Francisco race planning your start and trying to go as fast as you can to the right side. The second race was the most fun race of the week we had a lot of shifty conditions and you needed to play the middle. It was completely different and I enjoyed the second one much more than the first one, even though I didn't do as well. The first one was really hard for me with a hard fight with Ed.”
“I realised that the second race would be a key race because it would be easy to pick up a lot of points. I was leading but finished third, but that's OK as the objective for the day was two top 10s . I have a 35th and I cannot make any more mistakes. The legs were 1.8 miles long and Ed went to the left on the downwind and I stayed in the middle and he got better pressure and a shift into the gate and passed me. So I used this information on the second beat and passed him.”
“In the second race we had a lot more options and it was more fun, playing the shifts, looking forward, avoiding the holes. It was really fun.”
Australian growth
For the first time in more years than anyone can remember there is a substantial entry from Australia. An unprecedented eight Australians are competing this week, which is a reflection on the huge growth currently underway in the Australian Finn fleet.
As is often the case, the growth comes down to the enthusiasm drive and commitment of one person, in the case an ex-pat British Finn sailor, Rob McMillan (AUS). McMillan, a three time British National Champion in the Finn is currently lying in 45th position after a 33 and 23 today, his best results so far this week.
“It's my first year back in the class. I had a 10 year break but the objective is steady sailing this year and back to full time sailing next year. But just to be out there competing and racing against these guys is for me an enormous privilege and I wouldn't miss it for the world.”
“We are currently building a really good fleet of Finns in Australia. I am importing Finns down there and we are certainly finding, especially with the Masters, that there is a real niche for the boat and encouragingly for people like Oliver Tweedell, at 19, at his first Gold Cup having come third at the Silver Cup last week and sailing really well in 35th place this week. It's great to see some Australian kids get into the boat.”
“There is a lot of fleet building going on. We have sold around 20-30 boats this year. Some of those are upgrades but some are new people and from a real diverse spectrum and I think we've certainly got the opportunity to sell another 25-30 this year alone. I am hoping we are going to see a Nationals this year with 40-50 boats which will be a massive step change from recent years.”
What keeps him coming back to the Finn, “Well, look, I have sailed the boat for so many years now. My first regatta in the Finn was at Hayling Island in the UK in 1983; I think it was the UK Nationals. There is no other boat like it. The evolution of the boat has been sensibly controlled. The advent of free pumping brings a level of athleticism that is unique to the Finn and the boat today is just such a pleasure to sail. You can still compete as long as you are reasonably fit, so what else would you want to be doing at the weekend or a couple of nights a week, but go sail a Finn. Sounds pretty good to me.”
Crucial races
The final two qualification races are scheduled for Friday before Saturday's medal race. The top five boats have created a 32 point cushion over the rest of the fleet, with just eight points separating the next five boats. Both Wright and Trujillo have a high score they will want to avoid counting so Friday's two races will be crucial for both of them, and with another 10 boats or so looking to make the cut into the top 10, it's going to be an exciting day.
Follow it online at www.finngoldcup.com with live boat tracking from Kattack, live video feed from SailGroove, and live Twitter and blog updates from the Finn Class.
Results after 8 races:
1 GBR 11 Edward Wright 16
2 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 26
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 33
4 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 38
5 USA 4 Zach Railey 38
6 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 70
7 CRO 25 Marin Misura 72
8 GBR 85 Andrew Mills 73
9 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 75
10 AUS 1 Brendan Casey 78
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
Class Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel
International Finn Association Press Release
Wright takes lead on San Francisco Bay
Ed Wright (GBR) has taken a comfortable lead at the 2010 Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco after another outstanding day, placing first and third in the two races. Rafa Trujillo (ESP) won the second race of the day to climb to second, while a string of top 10 placings leave Giles Scott (GBR) in third.
After a short postponement to allow time for the wind to clock round and build, the first race was sailed in 10-14 knots with Ed Wright leading at each and every mark. He rounded the top mark from the right with Michele Paoletti (ITA) rounding second from the left. Jonathan Lobert (FRA) rounded third.
Wright took off on the downwind to build a substantial lead with Lobert climbing to second and these two separated from the pack, and most of the fleet favoured the right hand track. Regatta leader Thomas Le Breton (FRA) recovered from a poor first beat to place third.
Race six was then sailed in 14-17 knots with Rafa Trujillo (ESP) leading from start to finish. He rounded the top mark ahead of Pieter-Jan Postma (NED), Paoletti, Zach Railey (USA), Bjorn Allansson (SWE) and Wright.
Not much changed on the first downwind but on the second upwind the left side was favoured for a change and while Trujillo and Wright favoured the right, a lot of boats made up a lot of distance.
Trujillo still maintained a narrow lead but Allansson had climbed to second in front of Wright with Giorgio Poggi (ITA) moving to fourth from the right. Trujillo made enough of a break early on the reach to be comfortable in the lead while the fight for second to fifth was very tight.
Poggi eventually found a route under Wright to claim second by a few boatlengths with Dan Slater (NZL) finally finding the front to take fourth on the line from Allansson.
With the drop now coming into effect, Wright now has a 13 point lead with four more races to sail before Saturday's medal race, while the next four boats are separated by only four points. The leader going into today Le Breton drops to fourth while Railey maintains his consistency to end up in fifth, just four points off second. While the points at the top at tight
Poggi said, “Sailing in San Francisco is nice. These are nice conditions and I had a good day. The good thing is that races races are perfect with the wind and you can always gain some positions. In the first race I was about 35th on the first upwind and I finished about 12th as I gained a lot on the last downwind. In the second race I finished second so I am quite happy because I passed many boats on the downwinds and the last reach.”
On the second race, Trujillo said “The downwind was very difficult, the fleet very open and on the second beat the right was not paying at all. But to get out in front the starts are so important as the right side has so far mainly been favoured.”
Lobert commented on his second place, “It was my first good start of the championship. So this week if you have a good start then you have done half of the job. Both Ed and Thomas have been getting good starts, they are always ready to get on the good tack to the right hand side. So this is what I did in the first race. I got out and went right and the further you go the better it gets.
Juniors
The current European Junior Champion and the runner up last week in the Silver Cup Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) is lying in 28th place overall after a 33rd and a 61st today. He said he is finding it tough to keep sailing at this high level over three weeks. “I am really tired because we have been training hard and it doesn't stop blowing every day, so it's really tough. I enjoy sailing in the breeze but I prefer the lighter winds like we had at the Europeans. I have a hard time but it's OK. I can catch a lot of boats on the downwind legs, but to be good I have to be fast on the upwind too.”
“I am not in top shape at the moment but now I am fighting hard together with men and it's really hard. It's more complicated because you are not in front you have to make make better tactics but it's really good racing. We have over 80 boats, and you have to make space to be in the right place at the right moment and that's hard as well.”
The Silver Cup was sailed off the city front while the Gold Cup is being sailed in the Berkeley Circle. “This place is very different to where we sailed the Silver Cup. There is less current and the wind is more steady. But it's still really tough sailing here, really windy, still lots of current. I think you have to know the place very well to sail here. For the rest of the week I will keep my tactics the same and try and make something out of the races.”
Mitakis is also the leading junior so far this week, though Caleb Paine (USA) and Oliver Twedell (AUS) are very close to him on points. Tweddell is new to the class this year and really enjoying himself.
“It's a bit of learning experience for me, so I am trying to watch all the senior guys to see how they do it. I haven't been sailing the boat for that long and today I getting a bit of a mouthful from Rafa for not going fast enough. He gave me a few pointers on how to get the boat going better. Sailing here is very tough, very hard work, and I am struggling for speed, but downwind is good fun.
“I love sailing the Finn compared to the Laser. I can eat normally, the guys are really great and really keen to help everyone else get along. The Finn is a great boat and I can see myself sailing it for many years to come.
“My learning curve has been pretty steep so far. I learned a lot at the Silver Cup but at the Gold Cup it is even steeper. I started off slowly and have been learning a lot, so that makes it all much more fun.” After a 30th and 28th today Tweddell is lying in 30th place overall.
Power sailing
Sailing Finns in these conditions is all about power. Only the fittest, strongest and smartest survive in these testing waters. The effort to perform, to do well, is immense. After the finish of the free pumping final two races, with boats surfing and planing just metres apart, most of the sailors have to stop to catch their breath and regain their strength after 15 minutes of full on downwind sailing. It could be compared to running a 1500 metres sprint, but on top of two 20 minute upwind legs and a 20 minute flat downwind. No other class needs this level of power and stamina for such long periods as the Finn. If you want to go fast then you need to drive it hard. It is simply awesome to watch.
Racing continues Thursday with two more races scheduled for 13.00, with a one hour postponement already in place as the conditions are forecast for the same as today.
Follow it online at www.finngoldcup.com with live boat tracking from Kattack, live video feed from SailGroove, and live Twitter and blog updates from the Finn Class.
Results after 6 races:
1 GBR 11 Edward Wright 9
2 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 22
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 24
4 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 24
5 USA 4 Zach Railey 26
6 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 36
7 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 49
8 SLO 573 Vasilij Zbogar 55
9 CRO 25 Marin Misura 56
10 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 57
Full results at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=342
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
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International Finn Association Press Release
Ed Wright dominates day two in San Francisco
Thomas Le Breton (FRA) takes the lead at the Finn Gold Cup in San Francisco after two third places on Tuesday. Zach Railey (USA) stays in second place while the day belonged to third overall Ed Wright (GBR) after dominating and winning both races.
The day started misty and calm and by 12.00 it was a beautiful sunny day with 5-6 knots on the race area. However the heavy mist rolling in through the Golden Gate was a foreteller of things to come later in the day with a cold breeze quickly building on the first leg to peak out at 22 knots.
Race three started after a general recall with most of the fleet immediately tacking onto port to head to the right hand side. This proved to be the best decision as half way up the beat it was apparent that a massive change was about to take place. While the left side was still experiencing light winds, on the right, it started to increase and when the boats tacked they easily cleared the left.
Emerging from the middle right, Alexey Selivanov (RUS) led round the top mark from Piotr Kula (POL) and Ed Wright (GBR) and Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). Oscar flag for free pumping was raised at the top mark as the wind had already increased from 6 knots to 12 knots. Wright flew down the run to round the gate in the lead from Selivanov, while Gasper Vincec (SLO) had climbed to third.
Again favouring the right hand side, Wright extended on the second upwind, while Vincec climbed to second and Thomas Le Breton climbed to third. The positions stayed the same down the final run as the wind kept increasing to 18-20 knots for some spectacular downwind sailing.
Several of the front runners had a bad race with regatta leader Rafa Trujillo (ESP) climbing from the 50s at the top mark to 35th at the finish, Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN) finishing 38th and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in 37th.
After a second general recall race four started in 18-22 knots with the right side again being the most popular, though there were also big gains to be made on the left on the second upwind. Wright and Mark Andrews (GBR) led to the right hand corner, tacked and led round the top mark from Le Breton and Greg Douglas (CAN). Andrews got past Wright on the first downwind while Railey climbed to fourth.
Wright applied pressure to Andrews on the second beat and both passed him and created a useful gap. The final two reaches to the finish were fast and furious as the boats planed and surfed the choppy waves in balls of spray. Railey moved up to third, but Le Breton took it back on the reach to take his second third place finish of the day.
Le Breton summed his his day. “I have a good start. I am sailing well and it's nice. I had to stop sailing for about two months at the beginning of the summer as I got sick, but I am OK now. I am enjoying the sailing, so maybe that's the reason I am doing well.”
“I started sailing the Finn two years ago and Jonathan Lobert (FRA) and I have been training together in that time. For sure it's a good way to improve your speed. “
Railey said, “It has been a pretty good start to the regatta for me. I just kind of put myself in a good position after the first couple of days. I've been fortunate to four consistent results. I was very happy about the first race today. I rounded the first weather mark about 30th and got back up to seventh so that was for sure a key race for me.”
I think the regatta as far as the points being so close is going to continue. I think everyone is sailing really well and all the top guys are here, so if everyone carries on sailing the way they are the points are going to stay close the entire time. There are a few boats behind us now with a larger drops but also have some really good scores, so that will change things after the drop race comes in. But we still have a lot of sailing to go.”
“This is definitely the first windy regatta of the season. We have had some windy days before but for the most part it's been a very light airs season so we have been working hard in the gym and I came out here for three weeks training in July to prepare for this and really working on my fitness and pumping. This is a very hard venue because you have long times on one tack to one side. The right has mostly paid, but a few times the left has paid, but you are spending 8-10 minutes on one tack, so it's just about you pushing the boat as much as you can. Everyone is going really fast out there so if you let off a little bit you fade away.”
Wright said, “It was a great day today. Two bullets for me and my coach did his good deed for the day finding a Finn sail sinking on the right side in the second race. I had two good starts and didn't make any mistakes like yesterday. Mark Andrews pushed me hard on the second race by using his acrobatics on the first run and passing me. But I hope for more speed again tomorrow.”
Old hand
The oldest sailor in the fleet is 75 year old Gus Miller (USA). He started his Finn career back in 1966 and has no intentions to give up just yet. Miller has seen the class evolve over more than four decades and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the boats and its sailors.
What keeps him coming back? “For me it has opened doors for me all over the world. The boat is a special boat. It is highly evolved but it's like having a little Maserati. It's so sensitive and such a good sea boat. As a kid up until I was 38 I sailed a hundred different types of boats, including 505 and oceans racers but when I sailed a Finn it was the best boat I had ever gotten in to.”
“It's a very powerful demanding boat and you need a lot of initiative and attitude that you're going to do it yourself. There are a lot of coaches out there now but basically you are out there on your own. And everyone realises the challenges is yourself not the other guys. The challenge is the boat and that understanding is the old idea “I love my competitor because he makes me better”. The guys here have enormous respect because the challenge of sailing the boat is so great. If one guy figures it out then the others guys are glad for him that he's been able to do it.”
“You see very talented new guys coming in and these guys are getting bigger and bigger. Nutrition has improved such that the Asians and others are getting bigger and stronger. And the Finn takes a big guy and a big smart guy and one of the characteristics of the Finn is that the Finn sailors has to be smart. If he's not smart big and strong then it's hopeless. You gotta have brains out there.”
How long does he think he will continue the sail the Finn. "Well I am staying on a yacht with a young Estonian and he was talking about having the Finn Gold Cup in Tallinn Bay and long ago I said I'd continue to sail the Finn until it was sailed in Tallinn Bay. So who knows. For a couple of decades now I have told my body, “just get me through one more regatta and I'll quit.” Well in the practice this week I came in one day and my body said to me, “You lied.” So as long as I can physically do it I will probably carry on."
The full video interview with Gus Miller is available on www.finngoldcup.com
Racing continues Wednesday with two more races and forecasts of slightly stronger winds coming through.
Follow it online at www.finngoldcup.com with live boat tracking from Kattack, live video feed from SailGroove, and live Twitter and blog updates from the Finn Class.
Results after 4 races:
1 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 21
2 USA 4 Zach Railey 21
3 GBR 11 Edward Wright 23
4 GBR 41 Giles Scott 23
5 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 25
6 GBR 88 Mark Andrew 35
7 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 48
8 CRO 25 Marin Misura 52
9 GBR 85 Andrew Mills 56
10 ITA 146 Michele Paoletti 57
Full results at http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=342
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
International Finn Association Press Release
Finn Gold Cup: Rafa Trujillo masters San Francisco breeze
After two fantastic races on San Francisco Bay the 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Rafa Trujillo (ESP) takes the early lead in the 2010 Finn Gold Cup. The 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (USA) lies in second while Giles Scott (GBR) ended the opening day in third.
It was always going to be a windy day with 15 knots already in place when the sailors arrived and forecasts of more for later in the day. It was bright, sunny, windy. Perfect conditions for full-on Finn sailing. The wind increased during the day to 22 knots in race two with the Oscar flag flying for free pumping throughout the day.
Race one turned into a two horse race race with Rafa Trujillo (ESP) leading Gasper Vincec (SLO) round the top mark from the right hand side. These two already had a useful gap on the fleet and then extended on each and every leg. Third round was the defending world champion Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN).
At the downwind gate, Trujillo and Vincec rounded together while the European Champion Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) had moved up to third. Høgh Christensen was suffering both from lack of practice and a broken finger and slipped back on the downwinds.
Trujillo maintained his lead all the way to the wing mark but then lost it to Vincec on the fast reaches to the finish by around five boat lengths. This pair were about a minute ahead of the chasing pack, with Kljakovic Gaspic leading Brendan Casey (AUS) and Zach Railey (USA) over the line.
The wind increased slightly for race two with the fleet again favouring the right hand side. Trujillo made the best of it to hold a narrow lead from Høgh Christensen round the top mark with Ed Wright (GBR) and Giles Scott (GBR) close behind.
Trujillo pulled out a useful gap on the first downwind and was never really threatened again. He extended slightly again on the second beat crossing back from the favoured right hand side, while Scott moved up to second and Wright dropped to fourth.
Høgh Christensen again suffered on the final reaches to the finish, dropping three places. Trujillo took the win followed by Scott, Wright, Marin Misura (CRO), Railey and then Høgh Christensen.
So Trujillo takes the early lead after an exceptional day's sailing in some fantastic conditions. Home country hopeful Railey is second after a consistent day while the recent Skandia Sail for Gold winner Scott is on equal points with defending champion Høgh Christensen, who has sailed just one regatta in the past 12 months. There is surely much more to come from the tough Dane.
Trujillo said, “I am really enjoying sailing here. The conditions are very similar to home with the winds always over 15 knots. I was a bit lucky on the start of the second race. At 10 seconds to go I was sandwiched between two boats and going backwards. But I went back and round and found a fantastic hole to the right and kept going. So I hike, hike, hike and that was that.”
“The fleet is really tough here and they won't give you one metre they don't have to. This will be a really hard championship in San Francisco because you cannot rest. All the time you have to work the angles downwind through the chop to surf all the time. But it's more easy when you are in front.”
Høgh Christensen said, “For me being out of the boat for a year and with a broken finger makes it quite difficult on the runs and reaches I don't have any power in my right hand, so I had a hard time staying in my position. I am not that happy with my downwind and reaching speed but it's getting better and better. But am I happy being in fourth.”
“It's fantastic here. I would like little bigger waves but as a trade off for consistent winds and beautiful weather, I'll take it any day. I think it's one of the best places in the world to sail.”
New faces
Among the many new faces in the class this year is Matt Coutts (NZL). The championship is something of a family reunion with Matt's uncle, Rob Coutts (NZL) also sailing, with his father Grant doing some coaching and other uncle, Russell, popping in for a few days. “I haven't actually seen my dad for most of the year as I've been over in Spain but it's nice to all get together here. Russell is coming over for a couple of days, so it will be nice to see him as well.”
What are his goals and expectations here. “Well because I haven't raced much this season I honestly couldn't say how I will do. I weight in at 98 kg so I am big enough and strong enough. So we'll see. I've done quite a bit of sailing against Rafa but as far as the rest of the fleet in a breeze, I feel OK, but I don't know – ask me at the end of the week.”
“I am loving sailing the Finn so far. I came from the Lasers so the Finn has a bit more of a technical element to it which gives me something else to think about. And I am loving being able to eat as much as I want, especially for this regatta.”
“I started at the very end of last year. So I pretty much spent the whole of this year trying to get my strength up and get my speed up. I haven't done many regattas. I don't know how it's going to go yet, as we haven't really had many windy regattas this season. I am coming into it as a bit of an unknown.”
Russell Coutts has been at the venue for several days coaching his young nephew. Does his famous uncle have any influence on him or advice to offer. “Oh for sure he has. He's been a big help. When I decided to go into the Finn, you could see it was pretty exciting for him. He been giving me some general direction advice, kind of the big picture stuff, what I should be working on, a little bit of the technical aspect of it. A little bit of everything, but mainly just general direction making sure I am working on the right things and spending the time and money on the right things.”
“He's done some fantastic things. I think if I can get anywhere close to what he's done then I'll be happy but for the moment I am just trying to see how good I can do.” After a 37th and 48th today, Coutts lies in 43rd place, exactly half way down the fleet.
Racing continues Tuesday with two more races and forecasts of slightly stronger winds coming through.
Follow it online at www.finngoldcup.com with live boat tracking from Kattack, live video feed from SailGroove, and live Twitter and blog updates from the Finn Class.
Results after 2 races:
1 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 3
2 USA 4 Zach Railey 10
3 GBR 41 Giles Scott 12
4 DEN 2 Jonas Høgh-Christensen 12
5 FRA 115 Thomas le Breton 15
6 AUS 1 Brendan Casey 16
7 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 17
8 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 18
9 GBR 11 Edward Wright 21
10 ESP 7 Alejandro Muscat 21
Full results at www.finngoldcup.com
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
International Finn Association Press Release
Finn Gold Cup declared open in San Francisco
Commodore David H. Sneary of the St Francis Yacht Club officially declared the 2010 Finn Gold Cup open at a lavish opening ceremony on Saturday evening, with San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge providing an impressive backdrop to what will be an impressive championship. A total of 91 sailors have completed measurement and registration procedures and then around 35 took part on Sunday's practice race in a steady 18-23 knots on the Berkeley Circle in the eastern part of San Francisco Bay.
Beginning with a flag parade by all 29 nations represented, the opening ceremony was attended by consul generals of about 10 nations and introduced by regatta chairman and former Finn sailor John Callahan. After commenting that Finn sailors have got a lot taller and stronger since he sailed in the class he introduced Commodore Sneary and Finn class president, Balazs Hajdu (HUN).
Balazs Hajdu said to the more than 200 competitors and guests, “You can see through the window how great the conditions are here. We have strong winds and nice waves and I think are sailors are getting ready for a strong wind regatta. They are bright, they are big and they are strong and actually this is what they have been waiting for. So let me wish you fair winds and all the best for a great regatta and good competition over the coming week.”
After a musical interlude, Commodore Sneary closed the ceremony with the words, “The 2010 Finn Gold Cup is now underway. Have a great week. Sail fast. Sail fair. Be safe. Enjoy the party tonight and enjoy the regatta.”
Practice race
After a week of strong wind practice, the practice race was deemed a race too many by much of the fleet with around 35 boats sailing just one lap of the course before heading for home. The stiff winds produced some great sailing and an indication of a great championship to follow this week.
First off the line at the pin end was returning Finn star Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). He said, “They were very nice conditions and very steady. I don't have any doubt that we will make all 11 races. It looks like we are guaranteed 15-20 knots each day. It will be good racing for all the for sailors. You are going to have to be really fit to survive. I haven't done a lot of sailing this year apart from Sail for Gold and I am fitter than I was then. But you cannot be fit enough for these conditions. Then you can pump more, but I think I'll be all right.”
First around the top mark was defending champion Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN). He was equally enthusiastic about the conditions. “It was really good fun, and windy. I am having a good time out there. Lots of laughs and just hanging in. I haven't been sailing in a year so it was a bit surprising to lead round the top mark but my speed was good. I got some good shifts. But I have a broken finger so I took it a bit easier on the downwind and the guys caught up a bit, so I started pumping again and passed them again and then we decided to go in.”
Meeting
At the class AGM held over Friday and Saturday evenings the sailors heard about and discussed new initiatives to market the class and find new ways to tell the sailors' stories. The principle points included:
- A marketing working party, initially chaired by current world champion Jonas Høgh Christensen, will look at longer term marketing strategies and issues including corporate sponsorship, increasing revenue flow, professional marketing, offering prize money, and increasing use of new technologies such as boat tracking and internet coverage as standard.
- An internet based boat database to both provide an instant access to boat certificates to event organisers as well as providing transparency for all new boats.
- Ongoing development strategies to encourage new builders and easy access to affordable boats in developing nations. In particular the introduction of new builders in Brazil and South Africa were highlighted, assisted by the Finn class, FIDeS international development programme.
- Other FIDeS initiatives include grants to sailors for Silver and Gold Cups and Sailing World Cup events, fleet development support through a sail depositary, building fleets in new nations through clinics, gear databases and class owned boats for new sailors, to provide cheap access to the class. These initiatives are being spearheaded by 2008 Olympic Silver medalist, Zach Railey (USA), the Finn class Vice-President Development.
- Better visibility for sailors at championships and major regattas through flags on sails, golden insignia for past world champions and more sailor branding.
- Lowering of the wind limit for free pumping to 10 knots at SWC events and major championships.
The meeting also thanked Daniel Birgmark (SWE) for his time as Vice-President Sailing and welcomed young Tapio Nirkko (FIN) onto the Executive.
First races
After extensive preparations, the racing for the 2010 Finn Gold Cup will finally get underway at 12.00 local time on Monday with the first two races scheduled.
About the event
The Finn Gold Cup, the world championship of the Olympic Finn class runs from Monday 30 August to Saturday 4th September, with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday and the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday.
Broadcast quality video is available for download to approved media. For FTP access please email corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr. Please note web quality versions of the files will be made available at www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
Class Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/thefinnchannel
International Finn Association Press Release
Finn fleet ready for San Francisco Gold Cup
The 2010 Finn Gold Cup is about to get underway in San Francisco. With 95 pre-entries from 28 countries and five continents it is set to be the largest Finn World Championship in the USA for more than three decades.
The focus is turning to the senior championship after the conclusion of the highly successful Junior Finn World Championship for the Silver Cup last Tuesday. The reliably solid wind patterns here should produce a tough and challenging series, starting Monday, with the breeze regularly hitting 18-25 knots in recent days and little signs of change in the near future.
Favourites
Picking favourite's is as always a difficult task. The defending champion is Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN). Having won in Denmark last year after almost stopping sailing for a year, the big question was whether he could he do it again, having only sailed Kiel in the last 12 months. However fate played a cruel hand as the Dane inexplicably broke a finger while out training this week and he is now all bandaged up rethinking his expectations. A pirate's hook wasn't an appealing prospect to the reigning world champion.
Edward Wright (GBR) is still hunting for his first world title. After taking the Europeans in 2006 and the bronze at the worlds the same year, he came closest last year and recently won the ISAF Sailing World Cup for Finns for the second year running. However he recently fell victim to one of the UK's fastest rising stars, Giles Scott (GBR). Scott won the recent Sail for Gold in Weymouth against some formidable opposition including the double Olympic Finn champion Ben Ainslie (GBR) and this may well have given his confidence such a boost that his lack of consistency becomes less of a problem. In fact, any of the four strong Skandia Team GBR sailing here are potential race winners, so expect to see at least two or three in the top 10 by the end of the week.
Double European Champion Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) is also likely to make a strong challenge. He has won two of the other major events this year and has been on the podium at all those he attended. However he tends to prefer the lighter winds, being one of the lightest sailors in the fleet, and San Francisco Bay is famous for its stiff winds.
Another sailor to watch for is Jonathan Lobert (FRA). Having medalled at two major events this year, including silver at Sail for Gold a few weeks back, Lobert is having his best season ever, and, together with sparring partner Thomas Le Breton (FRA), these two are increasingly featuring in the top 10 by the end of regattas.
The local favourite has to be Zach Railey (USA). The 2008 Olympic silver medalist probably knows these waters as well as or better than any other sailor here and has won races at most major events this season. However he has a strong fight ahead of him to be top dog this week with Bryan Boyd (USA), Caleb Paine (USA) and newly crowned world Finn junior world champion Luke Lawrence (USA) more than keep to upset the pecking order.
Also keep an eye on Pieter-Jan Postma (NED), Finn Gold Cup 2007 silver medalist; Daniel Birgmark (SWE), 2010 European bronze medalist; Dan Slater (NZL), 2008 Finn Gold Cup silver medalist; Rafael Trujillo (ESP), 2007 world champion; and Gasper Vincec (SLO), 2005 European bronze medalist; and back for another go is three time Olympian Anthony Nossiter (AUS). Another 10 to 15 sailors have race wining potential.
Mix
Added into this mix are a number of great sailors including former Laser world champion Nik Burfoot (NZL) and former Star world champion crew David Giles (AUS). The event is also set to become something of a Coutts family gathering with Rob Coutts (NZL) sailing alongside his nephew Matt Coutts (NZL), in his first Finn world championship. The last time a Coutts raced a major Finn event on the USA west coast, in 1984, he won Olympic Gold. That of course was Russell Coutts (NZL), Rob's brother and Matt's uncle.
The last time the Finn Gold Cup came to the US west coast was 1974, 36 years ago. In 1974 it was held in Long Beach and the winner there, Henry Sprague (USA), is also sailing this year, a most definite 'old hand' of the class. Another old hand, Gus Miller (USA), has spent the last week driving the 5,000km from his Rhode Island home with a new Finn on the roof because, “I gotta be here, it's the Finn Gold Cup,” At 75 he is the oldest competitor here, though maybe one of the youngest at heart.
Over the coming week, we'll be talking to all these sailors, and more, to bring their stories and their exploits in the Finn Gold Cup to the world. Some will be winners on the water and some will be winners in spirit, but they all take pride competing against some of the best sailors in the world, in this supreme test of physical and mental ability. After 54 years, the Finn Gold Cup remains one of the hardest trophies to win in the sport of sailing.
Follow it online
You can follow the 2010 Finn Gold Cup in any number of ways:
- To keep up to date on all happenings in San Francisco, and other Finn events, as they happen, sign up for the Finn Class press releases at www.finnclass.org.
- There will be live screening of the racing each day, plus post-race interviews, broadcast live through the event website at www.finngoldcup.com by SailGroove.org as well as in depth reports and the class blog event feed.
- Live GPS boat tracking online for all races by Kattack through the event website www.finngoldcup.com
- Live action, clips and photos will be posted to the class blog at http://finnclass.blogspot.com during each and all of the races
Berkeley Circle
While the Silver Cup was based out of St Francis Yacht Club and sailing took place between the stunning backdrops of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Finn Gold Cup is being sailed on the Berkeley Circle, some six miles away. To save our tough sailors the long sail to and fro the event is actually based at Marina Bay in Richmond, just a short reach from the Circle.
Measurement and registration runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29, with a practice race scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
Racing commences on Monday 30 August with two races scheduled each day at 12.00 each day until Friday 3 September. The medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest will be on Saturday 4 September.
Class website: www.finnclass.org
Event website: www.finngoldcup.com
Class event blog: http://finnclass.blogspot.com
Class Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
Class Twitter: http://twitter.com/Finn_Class
On the day of his 20th birthday, Miami sailor Luke Lawrence wins the 2010 Finn Junior World title. What better present than the Silver Cup?!
“Winning this event was my main goal this year. I have trained hard since spring with my coach John Bertrand. My learning curve has been great. It has been quite stressing at time with difficult sailing conditions and good competition. I am happy because I was able today to go out there and do the job!”
The day started with sun and wind from the East. The AP flag went up to postpone racing until the westerly filled in the bay. Racing started at 3 PM after a general recall. It was a nerve raking race with light wind and event leadership changing through the race. Caleb Paine was first to the top mark while Luke Lawrence rounded in 11th place. The run against the current provided the biggest opportunities to gain or lose. While the top five sailed the run down the middle of the course, Oliver Tweddell (AUS), Egor Terpigorev (RUS) and Luke Lawrence (USA) went close to the shore. “With the side being so shallow, there was much less current close to the shore. There was also an opposite current starting to form towards the end of the run. I waited until every one there gybed towards the gate. We all made big gains. On the second run we went again close to shore and very low to be pushed to the gate by the current.”
Egor Terpigorev (RUS) won the last race with Oliver Tweddell (AUS) second and Luke Lawrence third. Fourth place in the last race goes to the fleet younger RJ Bay who at the age of 16 is looking forward more Finn racing!
Luke Lawrence takes the title, three points from European Junior champion Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) and Oliver Twedelle (AUS). The Silver Cup is the first Finn event for the 19 years old Australian who has started sailing the Finn only four months ago.
Most Junior sailors will stay in San Francisco to race the Finn Gold Cup scheduled next week. “My objective is to make the top 30” says Lawrence. “This is where I finished in the Finn Europeans last May. But for now I will have a good break and sail the 18 ft skiff!”
For more information, contact Corinne Mckenzie: corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr
Results, videos and more pictures on: www.finngoldcup.com
This press release was sent to you by the International Finn Association.
Its contents are free for editorial use in any shape or form, with a credit to the source.
For clarification please email robertdeaves@yahoo.co.uk
The regatta leadership went briefly to Caleb Paine, to be given back after a long hearing for redress to former leader, Luke Lawrence.
The sailors engaged in the 2010 Finn Silver Cup (the 21 years old and under World championship) have learned plenty on and off the water. With only 15 boats, one would have hoped for a peaceful regatta... While on the water, the sailors are showing their athletic skills and smart mind, working out the tricky conditions, and on the land they have got acquainted with the jury room.
Defending World Champion, Jorg Zarif, finally got his first race win. “ I have been slow during the whole regatta, I am not using my mast and the one I have is way to stiff. Today I have tried a different rake and even if it is unusual, it seems to work better.” Coming up the beat on the “usual” left side, Zarif and Caleb Paine enjoyed a nice shift to the top mark. Caleb rounded first followed by Zarif and Mitakis (GRE). Caleb Paine (USA) went down the left side while Mitakis and Zarif chose the right. Mitakis and Zarif lead the fleet at the gate and repeated their left move up the second beat. “On the run, I took a mini tsunami” explained Jorg Zarif with a broad smile! “Caleb and I surfed this giant wave and put at least 300 meters between us and the rest of the fleet.” Unfortunately for Ioannis Mitakis, a cruiser crossed in front of him and prevented him from taking the wave. The Greek lost ground and tried it in the jury room but his request for redress was dismissed.
Zarif went on winning the race with Caleb paine in second place and Josip Olujic third.
The triangle course was set for the second race with building winds reaching 18 knots.
Caleb Paine was first at the top mark with Ioannis Mitakis hot on his heels. On the run Caleb went left. “I didn't do well on the left of this run” explained Paine. “Of course there was less current , but most importantly there was less wind! I lost three places. I played catch up on the second beat, tacking on shifts.” On the first reach to the wing mark, Ioannis Mitakis was first from Luke Lawrence and Josip Olujic neck and neck with Olive Twedell (AUS). This is the moment when all went wrong! A St. Francis Committee boat was anchored a few meters away from the wing mark with a start/finish flag. And as soon as Mitakis passed between the wing and the committee boat, a sound signal went. At the same time Mitakis, and a nearby jury boat thought that the course had been shortened and that this was the finish. The jury boat signaled the boats to go back to shore...Soon after it became clear that the signal was actually for a starting race for the 18ft skiffs! The top three sailors who were in the lead and heading to the Yacht club asked for redress while the guys at the back realised it was intended for the 18th and proceeded on the last reach with Paine first across the line. The earlier race leaders followed, but had lost some precious places.
Back to shore the jury did initiate a redress hearings where all the competitors were parties. After a long hearing, it was decided that the wing mark rounding order would become the finising order.
Then Ioannis Mitakis wins race 8 with Lawrence and Oliver Twedell sharing second place.
The score is tightening up among the top sailors with 5.5 points separating the top 5. Luke Lawrence is keeping the lead one point from Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) and two points from Caleb Paine (USA).
The last race is scheduled for Tuesday with all the boats. Only change is that this race will be non discardable.
For more information, contact Corinne Mckenzie: corinne.mckenzie@orange.fr
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For clarification please email robertdeaves@yahoo.co.uk