Finn Gold Cup 2005
9th to 18th SeptemberEvent website:
www.finngoldcup2005.ru
(c) September
2005 Robert Deaves, International Finn Association
Reproduction
in part or in full welcomed with credit to author.
Event
website: www.finngoldcup2005.ru
Class
website: www.finnclass.org
Finn Gold Cup 2005 - Preview
Robert Deaves
The 2005 Finn Gold Cup and Junior Finn Gold Cup will open
in Moscow on Saturday with 100 sailors from 33 countries taking part.
Registration and measurement will continue through to Sunday with the
first race scheduled for Monday 12th and continuing through until next
Sunday, the 18th.
The hosting club is the Moscow Sailing School, with the
racing scheduled to take place on Pestovskoe Lake, about 30 km north of
the centre of Moscow. The 49er Class have just held their World
Championship at the same venue and now it is the turn of the Finn class -
these are the first two Olympic class world championships to be held in
Russian waters.
The organisers have supplied all the Finns for competitors,
who were also free to bring their own rigs in a laid-on container from the
Europeans in Kalmar, Sweden.
Defending champion Ben Ainslie (GBR) is back to try and win
the event for a record breaking 4th time in a row. After wins in Athens
(2002), Cadiz (2003) and Rio de Janeiro (2004), as well as Olympic Gold in
Athens last summer, Ainslie has taken a step back from Finn racing this
year. However, he emphatically won the Holland Regatta and the Europeans
with virtually no training. He is viewed by most of the fleet as the firm
favourite, but with the light and shifty conditions expected, nothing is
certain.
Ben commented, “Winning the Europeans was a bit of a shock,
but I guess it's like riding a bike. I hope to be in the frame in Moscow.
Things have gone well this season but winning big championships is all
about performing when it matters.”
Also present in Moscow is the 2004 Olympic Silver medalist,
Rafael Trujillo (ESP) and 2001 European Champion, Emilios Papathanasiou
(GRE) who are probably the greatest threat to Ainslie’s dominance at the
moment.
 However
there are a large number of sailors capable of high finishes including
world ranked number 1, Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN), Gasper Vincec (SLO),
who has hit form this year with a 3rd at the Europeans and a win at Kiel
Week, Andrew Simpson (GBR) - 6th in Rio and 3rd in Cadiz and back for
another go - and Marin Misura (CRO) who finished 4th at this year’s
Europeans.
The fleet has also seen an influx from the Laser class over
the past year including Dan Slater (NZL) - who recently finished as
runner-up to Ainslie at the Europeans - 1996 Bronze medalist Peer Moberg
(NOR), Daniel Birgmark (SWE) - who finished 14th in the Finn in Athens
last year - Ed Wright (GBR), who finished 3rd in Hyeres this year.
Commenting on the depth of the fleet, Dan Slater said, “The
fleet is littered with experience and great sailors. There are also some
new sailors like myself who have been lucky with the light air season so
far. Most of the new guys have all been good in Lasers and other classes
so they know how to pick wind shifts and race a fleet but we are all not
as good in the boat handling and tuning of the boat. The level is high but
it’s watered down by sailors like Ben, Rafa and Maier all not spending so
much time Finn sailing due to America’s Cup sailing, so us new guys can
catch up a little.”
The format for this Finn Gold Cup is different to previous
events with a two fleet format. Six qualifying races will be sailed (2, 1,
2, 1) over the first four days, followed by a gold/silver split for the
final two days (2, 1).
There are also 13 sailors competing for the title of Junior
World Champion, and based on performance so far this year Ivan Kljakovic
Gaspic (CRO) is the clear favourite. He followed a 3rd at Kiel Week with a
12th at the Europeans, well ahead of many experienced helms.
New Finn Class President Balasz Hajdu (HUN) commented, “It
is good to try a new format. However, because of likelihood of extremely
shifty winds, equipment will not be a decisive factor. We are expecting
light and shifty winds with calm waters, so reliable starts, good pointing
and good boat to boat sailing skills will be important as the sailing area
will be rather small. Bearing in mind the expected conditions, light,
smart sailors with a feel for light winds should do well.”
The first races are scheduled for Monday.
[photos from 2005 Europeans.
www.eurofinn2005.org]
[top]
Sunday 11th September -
Practice Day - All set for a great championship
Last night at the opening
ceremony, new Finn class president Balasz Hajdu (HUN) opened the 2005
Finn Gold Cup in front the 100 sailors and more than 200 officials,
personnel and guests at the Moscow Sailing School. The opening ceremony
was very impressive with a marching band, majorettes and all the sailors
lined up behind a local girl carrying a banner with their national
letters on it. Dr. Balazs Hajdu, said that it was a great honor to come
to Russia, with its deep traditions in Finn sailing. In his speech he
drew attention to the many Russian Finn sailors over the years, some of
whom were present at this event including 1972 Bronze medalst Victor
Popatov, Evgeny Chernov and Oleg Khoerpski.
Following the ceremony - which was
attended by local dignitaries including Mr. Mikhail Stepaniants, The
Chairman of the Moscow Sports Committee, Mr. Alexander Kotenkov,
President of Russian Sailing Sports, Mr. Anatoly Yudaev, Vice-Chairman
of Moscow Region Sports Committee and Mr. Mikhail Tikhomirov
Vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee - the sailors and guests
were treated to a buffet of Russian style food followed by a band and
dances by traditionally dressed girls. A dancing Russian bear also made
an appearance, although you could clearly see the zip up his back if you
looked carefully! The party continued well into the night...
Today, the practice races were
sailed in a shifty, fitful wind. The wind was across the lake so only
allowed first beats of 0.4 and 0.6 miles with the fleets sailing
windward leeward courses. However, the usual sailors were near the
front. Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Andrew Simpson (GBR) headed the Green
fleet, although both were OCS, and Daniel Birgmark (SWE), Peer Moberg
(NOR) and Marin Misura (CRO) were at the front of the Yellow fleet. The
two course areas are run by two separate race teams, one from Spain and
one from Sweden, with assistance from Russian staff as well. Each course
area also has a full International Jury, with Pat Healy (USA) as
Chairman.
The organisation here is
immense. The very impressive modern campus of the Moscow Sailing
School sits alongside the Klyazminskoe Lake where the cruise ship
acting as home to the 100 Finn sailors is moored. However the Finns
are sailing at the larger Pestovskoe Lake, about a 10 km tow to the
north. Here the organisers have constructed a day marina with full
facilities where the boats will be kept for the week. Hydrofoil
ferries will whisk the sailors to and from the marina each day.
All the boats are now located at
the day marina - an impressive construction - easily accommodating the
100 Finns on a specially built platform, with tents on land providing
cafe and changing facilities and a small cruise ship moored next to it.
The hospitality experienced by all
the sailors and guests is also something special. Marinepool is one of
the main sponsors of the regatta and has generously outfitted all the
sailors and officials with smart event clothing, for which many sailors
- who came expecting a summer heat wave - are now using gratefully as
some colder weather has descended on Moscow.
If everything goes to plan, four
days of qualification races will be followed by a lay day and then two
days of gold/silver finals. It seems as if everything has been taken
care of and nothing too much trouble for our hosts and the sailors are
now looking forward to the racing, with the first start scheduled for
midday local time on Monday.
[top]
Monday 12 September - Day 1 -
Challenging day in Moscow
The 2005 Finn Gold Cup got
underway in Moscow today with two challenging races sailed in near
perfect conditions. A complete change in weather overnight saw a healthy
and relatively steady 8-14 knots breeze from the south-east. After two
races, defending champion Ben Ainslie (GBR) narrowly leads Emilios
Papathanasiou (GRE).
With the wind aligned along the
main axis of Prestovskoe Lake, the race committee on each of the two
courses could set long legs. Both fleets sailed 3 windward leeward loops
for each race with the maximum wind strength coming half way through the
first set of races. At the second windward mark in the first race, the
wind had increased in excess of 12 knots, just enough to allow free
pumping on both courses and the Finn sailors had great fun. However, the
flag remained in its bag for the afternoon race.
Green flight
Course 2 is furthest from the day
marina and saw the steadiest winds of the day. It also saw the first
showdown between two of the main favourites for this event. 2001
European Champion Emilios Papathasaniou (GRE) led race one from start to
finish. Starting at the pin end he was never headed throughout the race.
Ben Ainslie (GBR) rounded the first mark in 5th place and gradually
worked his way up to second by the finish.
The second race again saw Ainslie
playing catch up. Josh Beaver (AUS) rounded the first mark in the lead
followed by Soren Holm (DEN) and Ainslie. At the bottom mark Thomas
Laursen (DEN) had taken the lead, which he held until 100 metres from
the final upwind mark, when Ainslie moved in front to lead to the
finish.
Yellow course
Course 1 is set just a short sail
from the day marina and the windward mark was set just below the dam at
the south-east end of the lake. Both right and left paid at times, and
the sailing proved challenging for some. The first race saw Peter-Jan
Postma (NED), an ex Laser sailor in his first Gold Cup leading round the
first mark followed by Gasper Vincec (SLO) and Jonas Hogh-Christensen
(DEN). Postma led until the second windward when the O flag was raised.
Vincec took the lead on the free pumping run and led inrto the finish
followed by Daniel Birgmark (SWE) and Hogh-Christensen.
Race two was sailed in slightly
less wind, with a large shift out of the start favouring those at the
committee boat end. Edward Wright (GBR) led Dan Slater (NZL) and Tim
Carver (GBR) into the top mark. These three battled down the run with
Carver just (probably) ahead at the leeward gate. However on the next
beat Slater and Wright gained some distance and fought all the way to
the finish. Birgmark just pipped Carver on the third beat to take third.
With today's forecast of very
little wind, the sunny, windy conditions were a surprise to many, but a
welcome one nevertheless. The day was challenging not because of the
expected fluky conditions, but because of tired legs and arms after a
hard day's sailing. The racing was tight in places, with the corners of
the beats well up on dry land, but finding the right shifts and the
better pressure paid big dividends. The race committees did an excellent
job today timing the races to perfection. With a suggested duration of
75 minutes, the first boat on the green course finished after 74 minutes
in race 1 and then 75 minutes in race 2. Not bad.
While most of the fleet are using
the supplied equipment, some sailors have opted to bring their own rig.
All underwent the same rigorous measurement procedure and it will be
interesting to see how many supplied rigs feature high up in the
results.
There are 10 Russian entries in
this year's Gold Cup, the most ever seen and an international
championship. In fact the number of entries from Eastern European
countries is very high indeed with Bulgaria and Lithuania fielding
entrants in addition to the usual countries such as Belarus, Slovakia,
Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and Estonia.
The forecast for the week includes
more wind for tomorrow but also - for those sitting at home in front of
their computers - temperatures are forecast to plummet to zero on
Wednesday morning!
Race three is scheduled to start
at midday Tuesday.
[top]
Tuesday 13th September
Lack of wind causes problems
While Yellow fleet completed one
race today with a large win for Ben Ainslie, Green fleet had two
abandoned races when the wind died away to nothing. The wind kept coming
and going, coming and going all day long and was a race officers
nightmare. Light winds and calm patches delayed racing by two hours.
The only race sailed on the yellow
course today saw a win for Ben Ainlie (GBR) after rounding the top mark
in third place. He moved into the lead on the second upwind to extend
his lead to win by some 3-4 minutes.
The green course saw two races
started. The first was abandoned at the first windward mark when the
wind completely disappeared. An hour later the second races was started
and three laps were completed of the four lap course when the wind died
again and the drumming of tillers on decks was followed by the second
race abandonment of the day.
As a result, green flight must
sail three races tomorrow with yellow sailing two to level things up.
The forecast is for more wind so hopefully this will happen so the
fleets can keep to the schedule
[top]
Wednesday 14th
September - Coffee shop reports record
breaking sales!
Today in Moscow, the sailors at
the Finn Gold Cup drank coffee all day and waited for the wind. The
coffee kept coming but unfortunately the wind didn't. One start was
attempted at 18.00, but was soon abandoned as the wind started playing
games again.
In order to get three races in
today, green flight had their start time brought forward to 11.00 with
the yellow flight due to start at 12.30. As no more races could be
included in the flight allocation system, they remained the same as
yesterday. The first hydrofoil of the day to the day marina took only
the sailors of the green flight. However when yellow flight arrived an
hour later, green flight were still waiting for the wind to come,
sipping coffee and enjoying the sunshine.
It was a lovely sunny day,
although the air was cold. It remained hot in the sun but the air
remained still. The only sounds to fill the air were the chatter of
Finn sailors, the throb of motor vessels as they briefly sped past and
the thunderous roar of the never ending stream of planes arriving at
the nearby Sheremetyevo Airport.
The little cafe in the large
tent at the day marina did a roaring trade in coffee and soft drinks
as the sailors waited for seven hours. The race team were determined
to get some racing in and were going to wait it out. However, the wind
just wasn't playing ball.
Finally at 16.00, the PRO
postponed racing for the day for the yellow flight. The green flight,
still a race behind, had to wait another hour. The AP came down and
everyone assumed that that was that. However nothing replaced it so
the fleet rapidly uncovered their boats and headed for the race area.
After half an hour, with the race about to start, the wind clocked 40
degrees. Another 10 minutes of wind shifts and the race officer, now
running out of enough daylight to complete the race cancelled racing
for the day.
The planned lay day in Moscow on
Friday is now a distant hope as there are still four races to get in
before the finals start on Saturday. With only two races sailed so far
and a maximum of three per day to be sailed, it looks like racing will
go into Friday.
Each day in Moscow begins with
breakfast on board the cruise ship moored alongside the Moscow Sailing
School between 7 and 9. After that the sailors get ready for the first
hydrofoil shuttle at 9.00 down to the sailing centre at Mikhalevo
Village some 10 km and 30 minutes fast ride away. If you miss this one,
the next one is at 10.00, although this is cutting it fine if you are
sailing in the green flight, a much longer sail out. The main deck on
the cruise ship is always crowded at 8.55, but they normally manage to
squeeze everyone on. Yesterday morning there were so many Finn sailors
at the front that they had to be asked to move aft so that the bow would
lift enough to get the craft on the hydrofoil!
The boat passes through
Klyazminskoe lake first, which is quite developed with many small
marinas, waterside houses, yacht clubs and restaurants. Then we pass
through the long canal with its shores lined with fishermen and hundreds
of small makeshift fishing tents and shacks. Occasionally there are
elegant buildings, gates and churches - some of them quite impressively
extravagant - no doubt country residences for some of the country's rich
and famous.
After 20 minutes at high speed we
emerge into the Pestovskoe Lake where the racing is held. Mikhalevo
Village is on the far shore about 0.5 km up a sheltered channel. The
whole lake is surrounded by spruce and birch trees - apart from the dam
to the south-east - with only the odd village or building breaking up
the shoreline.
One of the sailors here at his
first Finn Gold Cup is Lithuainian Giedrius Guzys. Giedrius has sailed
the Laser since 1996 and competed in both the Sydney and Athens Olympics
and this event is his first International event in the Finn. He is only
sailing here due to the ease of using one of the supplied boats, as he
has yet to secure funds to buy his own. Currently in 50th place, he is
thoroughly enjoying his first exploits in a Finn.
He says, "I have no Finn so this
is a great chance for me. The class is really friendly compared with the
Lasers. Perhaps because the sailors are generally older, they are more
gentlemanly and create a very nice atmosphere."
Giedrius, currently studying
vetinarian immunology, continued "We have no Finn sailors in
Lithuania sailing internationally, so our national Finn association is
really happy to have me here and support me. I hope to get a Finn soon
and do the international circuit. I am using some of my Laser
techniques, which at first seem strange, but I am gradually getting used
to the feel of the boat. I also feel very comfortable here as I am
racing against many friends I made in the Laser class who have also
moved onto the more technical Finn. Sailors are a special social group,
with a similar path of life which gives us all something in common. I
think that's important to sailors."
He concludes, "The organisation
here reminds me of the Sydney games with the travelling to the day
marina and the official opening ceremony. Everything is also so well
organised. I am having a great time."
Probably the lightest sailor in
the fleet is the Russian Timofey Zhbankov. At just 76 kg, he is here for
the experience, and is finding the transfer from his usual Laser Radial
- where his best result was a third at the Europeans - interesting.
However he did find his way to lead round the top mark in the only race
competed yesterday, which should do his confidence no end of good.
Before this race is scored - when green flights catches up - he is lying
in 77th place after the windy first day.
Tomorrow (Thursday), the wind is
forecast to be 8-12 mph all day long, so the fleets should catch up with
green fleet sailing three races and yellow fleet sailing two. The groups
will then to reallocated for the final qualification race on Friday
morning.
[top]
Thursday 15th September
- Finally some racing
Finally there is some racing to
report at the Finn Gold Cup in Moscow. Five races were sailed today, two
for the yellow flight and three for the green flight. A 2nd and 10th for
Ben Ainslie (GBR) is enough to hold the series with 6 points from
Emilios Papathanasious (GRE) on 10 points and Marin Misura (CRO) on 17
points. Today the sailors had it all. Flat calms, flat out planes and
hard hiking beats, sometimes all at the same time coming into the
weather mark!
With only two complete sets of
races sailed after 3 days, all fingers and toes were crossed this
morning that we would get a full day's quality racing in. The day
dawned windless and cold again and there was an audible sigh from the
Finn sailors as the hydrofoil entered Pestovskoe Lake to a near mirror
like surface. However very soon the breeze started to fill and in
green flight were sent out to the race area.
Green flight
It took a long while to set the
course as the breeze kept changing its mind where to blow. The breeze
was across the lake only allowing a short windward/leeward course. The
windward marks were quite near the trees so the approach was critical.
Sometime it was easy, sometimes it was hard went the wind died away
and sometimes it was fun when the shift was so big you came into the
buoy on a reach. To say it was quite shifty would be a gross
understatement.
Finally it kind of settled in
one direction (+/- 30 degrees) and race 3 was started. Repeating his
success of race 1, Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE) started well at the pin
end, tacked onto port, cleared the fleet and was never headed. He was
followed by Sander Willems (NED) and Emil Tomasevic (CRO). Dan Slater
(NZL) eventually passed Willems to finish second.
The next race got underway
fairly soon with Rafael Trujillo (ESP) leading at the first mark
followed by Michal Hruby (CZE) and Edward Wright (GBR). Apart from
briefly losing his lead to Hruby on the second lap. Trujillo led into
the finish to win by a considerable margin.
There was a long wait for the
third race as the fleet waited for yellow flight to finish their
second race on the larger, slightly more stable course area, so that
they could use it. Hruby finished off a great day with a win followed
by Borysov and Vladimir Krutskirh (RUS), the first of four Russian
sailors in the top ten.
Yellow flight
The first race was started at
1pm and while Trujillo was winning the green flight, his +39 team mate
Anthony Nossiter (AUS) dominated race 4 of the yellow group by leading
from the start to win. There was a strong challenge early on from
Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN), before he fell foul of a large shift,
and then Marin Misura. However, series leader Ben Ainslie came through
from 8th at the first mark to second at the finish. The wind strength
went over the magic 12 knot mark after the first beat, allowing for
free pumping downwind.
The second race turned into a
battle between Marin Misura (CRO) and Waclav Sukiel (POL). Neck and
neck most of the way round, they finished in that order within just
yards of other other. The final downwind was an epic battle of strong
arm pumping. To make it a family affair, Rafal Szukiel (POL) finished
3rd, albeit quite a long way back from the leaders.
Every night the sailors either eat
on board the ship, take a free shuttle bus ride into Moscow or are
entertained in the large tent by the cruise ship. The other night there
was a games evening and last night there was a Turkish evening with
hubble bubbles, food and belly dancers. When this is finished the usual
go-go girls take up position in the corner and gyrate to the music and
their Finn fans.
Topics of conversation include
which angle the ship will be angled today. Sometimes it's towards the
shore, sometimes towards the land. The thing is that the showers in the
cabins only have drain holes in one corner so if the ship is angled the
wrong way, your shower water doesn't drain and creates a puddle in the
corner under the sink. A committee has worked long and hard to find the
reason for this, but rumour has it that it all depends which side of the
dining room Chris Brittle (GBR) is sitting at the time!
So after four days, there have
been five sets of races sailed, so tomorrow's flights will be
reseeded
for the final qualification race for the gold and silver fleet finals.
The forecast tomorrow is for less wind, but hopefully just enough to
get the start off promptly. After 5 races, Ainslie leads by 4 points
on Papathansiou and 11 points on Misura.
This year's event sees the
highest number of Junior sailors in recent times with 15 sailors
representing 11 countries. Defending World Junior Champion Tapio
Nirko (FIN) is currently lying in 28th place, some way behind the
favourite to take the title, Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO) who is up in
17th, some 21 points ahead. Third is Norbert Willand (POL) in 31st
place with 59 points.
[top]
Friday
16th September -
Ainslie extends
lead after good day for the British sailors
The final race
of the qualification series for the 2005 Finn Gold Cup was sailed this
morning in Moscow. Andrew Simpson (GBR) and Ben Ainslie (GBR) led the
yellow flight home with Chris Brittle (GBR winning the green flight by
nearly two minutes . For the next two days the fleet will be split into
gold and silver fleets with 49 Finns in each fleet.
The wind was
blowing most of the night. After two days of near nothing on Tuesday and
Wednesday, it seemed a shame to waste all that wind. However the
forecast for Friday morning at 11.00 was 12 knots from the SW, which was
not the best direction but at least a good strength. When sailors awoke
in the morning, for the first time this week, there was a healthy breeze
across the lake.
The
qualification series has been plagued by shifty winds that have tested
the patience of even the most laid back sailor. Gus Miller (USA) -
currently languishing in 88th place - put it nicely, "Uncle Wiggley had
a great time with his stacks of red chips, large and small and green
chips, large and small.
The pressure would look good on one side while the angle would look good
on the other with confusing little shifts up by the weather mark. On
runs there would be random strong shafts what would pick up one small
group and send them flying ahead through the fleet."
While those at the top of the fleet had guaranteed a place in the Gold
fleet, and those at the bottom of the table had done their best to be in
the Silver fleet, the points in the middle were so close, that there
were a great many battles of honour to be able to sail in the gold fleet
on Saturday and Sunday. There was only 20 points separating 40th place
and 60th place, so a good final result could make all the difference.
Yellow fleet got away second time with Wittze Zetzema (NED) leading
followed by Tapio Nirko (FIN). Andrew Simpson (GBR) took the lead on the
second beat to lead to the finish. Ben Ainslie (GBR) recovered from a
poor first beat to finish second, taking off places on each leg.
In the green fleet Kevin Hall had a good start to lead round the top
mark from Chris Brittle (GBR), having started at the committee boat.
Brittle took the lead on the first run and extended his lead to win by
two minutes. Johan Tillander (SWE) sailed a great race to come second
with Emilios Papathansaiou (GRE) in third.
This leaves Ainslie leading the regatta on 8 points followed by
Papatahansaiou, 5 points back and Michal Hruby in third, some 20 points
behind. It is all very tight going in the final two days, and with the
eratic winds in Moscow, anything could happen. Many sailors results are
just as eratic as the wind. Yesterday, class newcomer Peter-Jan Postma
(NED) posted a 13, 33, 4 and lies 7th overall. Meanwhile Athens Silver
medalist Rafael Trujillo (ESP) posted a 11, 1, 33!
Meanwhile in the junior fleet,
Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO) continues to lead after a scoring a 4th
today, with second placed Tapio Nirko (FIN) finishing 3rd to sit in 24th
place. Both are in the gold fleet going into the finals, so the title is
still open for the taking.
Over the weekend Ben Ainslie will be racing for a place in the record
books. Not just the Finn class record books, but also those of the sport
of sailing. Having already won this title for the past three years -
equaling a record lasting for some 32 years - a fourth win will make
him the most successful Finn sailor of all time.
Meanwhile, second placed Emilios Papathansiou is looking for his first
Finn World Championship. So determined is he, that he is one of the very
few sailors here - and the only one from western Europe - who brought
their own boat to sail. He was European Champion in 2001, but the World
title has continued to elude him, his best placed being 3rd in 2000,
2001 and in 2002.
The event is receiving a lot of media interest with both Russian TV
crews following the regatta as well as international TV companies such
as the BBC here for filming. Internet aficionados will also be
interested to note that they can follow the gold fleet finals live
online. Track and trace equipment is being places on the boats in the
gold fleet which will be relayed live through the event website
www.finngoldcup2005.ru.
Check the forum section for details and the web address.
[top]
Saturday 17th September
- Ainslie and Papathanasiou set for last race showdown
The first day of the finals at the
2005 Finn Gold Cup saw a mixed bag of weather from which Ben Ainslie (GBR)
still holds a narrow lead over Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE). A good day
for Chris Cook (CAN) sees him lifted from 6th overnight to third going
into tomorrow's final race.
Yesterday's moderate breeze was
still in place this morning, albeit now from the south. However by the
time the races were started this had died to a shifty 3-5 knots.
However, by the start of the second Gold fleet race it had shifted some
120 degrees towards the west and increased to 16-18 knots.
Gold fleet
Starting in the light rain and
lights winds, Chris Cook (CAN) led round each and every mark of the
first race of the day to score his first win of the regatta. At the
first mark he was followed by Ivan Karatkevich (BLR) and Emilios
Papathanasiou (GRE). Papathansaiou moved up to second on the third
upwind, while Gasper Vincec (CRO) moved up to third. Karatkevich, sailed
his best race of the regatta to finish in 4th. Series leader Ben Ainslie
(GBR) got himself boxed in at the start and spent the entire race trying
desperately to catch up with the leaders. Picking off places on every
leg, he finally caught up to 8th at the finish, his second worst result
so far, but also a countable race.
However, after this first race,
for the first time in the regatta, Ainslie had lost the overall lead
to Papathanasiou by one point. He responded in typical Ainslie fashion
by winning the final race of the day, but not after a great deal of
confusion.
The second race was started in
similar conditions to the first with Cook again in front, Walclav
Szukiel (POL) in second and Ainslie in third. However, half way up
the second beat, a 120 degree shift in the wind led to its
abandonment. Papathanasiou must have breathed a sigh of relief as he
was second to last at the time. Actually this is the third time this
week, he has got out of jail through a race abandonment.
The course was reset along the
length of the lake and with gusts up to 18 knots and waves starting to
build, the sailors had a great time with the O flag raised for free
pumping throughout. Again Ainslie didn't get a great start, but
recovered to round the top mark just behind Soren Holm (DEN) and Dan
Slater (NZL). Behind him there was chaos. Jonas Hogh-Christensen (DEN)
was finally having a good race and about to round the top mark in 4th,
but David Burrows (IRL) didn't see him as he ducked Ainslie rounding
the mark and the two collided and capsized.
Behind this collision, a lot of
boats were arriving at the windward mark together allowing the top
three to escape down the run. Holm maintained his lead at the second
top mark with Josh Beaver (AUS) moving up to second and Daniel
Birgmark (SWE) in third. Ainslie had slipped to 6th. He put that to
rights on the third beat, taking the lead which he held to the finish.
Holm held on for second place, with Chris Brittle (GBR) claiming
third.
After the top mark collision,
Burrows happened to be OCS anyway, so sailed home, but Hogh-Christensen
has trouble righting his boat in the strong winds and moderate waves
and rounded the bottom mark in 44th. He sailed well though, to recover
to 18th by the finish but was understandably upset.
Commenting on his success today
Chris Cook - finished 9th in the second race of the day - said "I have
been doing a lot of training in Canada on a lake similar to this, with
flat water and very shifty winds. A shoulder injury meant I was unable
to do the European summer circuit, so instead I did a lot of training at
home. It seems to have worked."
Silver fleet
In the silver fleet, both races
became somewhat scrappy due to the shiftiness of the wind. Consistency
is very hard to achieve here due to the vagaries of the wind, and most
people are looking for a few top positions to boost them up the results
table. One such is David McGregor (BAR), representing another new
country in the Finn community. Taking the lead on the final run of the
first race in his own private patch of wind, he sailed well to score
second in the next, after recovering from around 10th at the first mark.
Second race winner, Dragoutsis Alexandros (GRE) found an impossible
shift out of the start line to lift out on port and cross the entire
fleet. He sailed well to lead throughout and win by a large margin.
Finn Class president Balasz Hajdu
(HUN), who missed the gold fleet by just 3 points, had an unfortunate
day with an OCS followed by a 9 to lie 5th in the silver fleet. Giedrius
Guzys (LTU) and Jurgien Eirmann (GER) both had a consistent day to end
the day first and second.
The battle for the junior title
took a new twist today when overnight leader Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO)
had a bad day with a 30th and an OCS to drop to 18th overall, just 8
points ahead of the defending champion Tapio Nirko (FIN) in 21st place.
Tomorrow, these two will fight it out for the Jorg Bruder Silver Cup
while third placed Norbert Wilandt (POL) will try to maintain his 12
point margin over Mark Andrews (GBR).
Our time here in Moscow is
nearly coming to and end, and it will be sad to leave. All the sailors
and officials here have been made so welcome by everyone, and have had a
great time. Most have made the time to visit Moscow and see the sights -
Red Square, The Kremlin, St Basils, the shopping areas. Life aboard the
ship has also been an interesting and different experience, with all the
sailors and helpers eating breakfast and often dinner together, creating
a community atmosphere that is rarely present at major international
regattas. However, it must be said that the ship has taken on the look
of a sailing club changing room, with all the corridors decked out with
drying wetsuits sand rash vests, along with the natural aroma that only
wet wetsuits can create. One factoid this is interesting is that the
vessel, the Felix Dzerzhinski, was named after the found of the Cheka,
which was the forerunner to the KGB!
Before we all head home though,
there is still tomorrow to sail, and all eyes will be on Ainslie and
Papathansaiou. Between them they are guaranteed first and second. The 4
point margin means that Papathansaiou has to be in the top 5 to stand
any chance of winning, and at least 3 places clear of Ainslie. While not
pre-empting Ainslie's strategy for tomorrow, some pundits are already
expecting a repeat of the Ainslie/Scheidt showdown in the last race of
the 2000 Laser regatta in the Sydney Olympics. For third place, Chris
Cook has a 12 point margin over Walclav Szukiel, but with the wind the
way it is in Moscow, that could all change.
The forecast is for a miserable,
cold day but with wind. It all starts at 11.00 local time, with live
internet coverage through
www.finngoldcup2005.ru.
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Sunday 18th September - Ainslie makes in four in a row
Eighteen months ago in Rio, Ben
Ainslie (GBR) made history by winning the Finn Gold Cup for the third
time in a row. It was only the second time in the event's 48 year
history that this had been done. He equalled the record set by Jorg
Bruder (BRA) between 1970 and 1972. Today in Moscow, Ainslie has made
his own record, winning the Finn Gold Cup - arguably one of dinghy
sailing's hardest and most coveted trophies, for the fourth time in a
row.
With a light northerly light wind
in the morning, the fleets set sail for the final race of the 2005 Finn
Gold Cup. The temperature had dropped to 3 degrees overnight so those
sailors who had only brought summer sailing gear found the day rather
cold. In fact the Gold fleet sat around for over two hours before a race
could be started. The wind changed from one minute to the next and was
varying by over 70 degrees. So the race committee waited around in the
cold air for it to stabilize.
Finally at just after 13.00, the
postponement came down and the fleet got underway. Series leader Ben
Ainslie said, “In these conditions I was going to try to control Emilios
[the only man who could beat him] from the start.” At the four minute
signal, the two were locked together in their own match race. Ainslie
succeeded in delaying Papathansaiou’s start, but picked up a penalty
himself. “I wasn’t sure if our boats touched, but I did the turns anyway
to make sure.”
The two boats started well behind
the fleet with Papathanasiou banging the left hand corner in a bid to
find a large enough shift to get him back to the front. Ainslie played
the shifts and looked ahead half way up the beat when the wind died
again and the race officer admitted defeat and abandoned racing. “It was
a huge relief when they abandoned,” Ainslie admitted later. “With the
wind we have had here this week anything could have happened.”
So Ainslie
makes history in being the only sailor to win four Finn Gold Cups, and
these in successive years. He won in Athens in 2002, Cadiz in 2003, Rio
de Janeiro in 2004 and now Moscow in 2005. His coach David Howlett
commented, “Ben’s outright professionalism is the key to his success.”
Ainslie concluded, "The
organization is great, I liked the sailing centre but the race
conditions were very difficult. I am very happy that I could cope with
the wind and win."
Second placed Papathansaiou scores
his best Finn Gold Cup result to date, but is still looking for that
world championship win that continues to elude him. Third placed Chris
Cook (CAN) wins his first major championship medal after being one of
the few sailors here to find any sort of consistency.
Meanwhile the silver fleet sailing
on course two further down the lake - had just enough wind to start a
race at 11.30. The race was characterized by large shifts and flat
patches and the left hand side was made more interesting on the third
beat with the arrival of a cruise vessel trying to get down the lake.
The lead changed several times and it was a surprised Alexey Lavros (RUS)
who found himself leading the fleet. He eventually finished 4th
with the lead finally going to Class President Balasz Hajdu (HUN) to
lift him to third in the fleet. A good 3rd place from Edward Greig (GBR)
lifted him to second in the silver fleet, while the ever consistent
Giedrius Guzyz (LTU) posted a 6th to win the fleet by 13
points. Full credit must go to the slick race team who managed to change
the marks for each and every leg of the race as the wind performed
circles around them.
The Junior Finn World Championship
was won by Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO) in 18th place, beating
defending champion Tapio Nirko (FIN) bu just 8 points. Third placed
Norbert Wilandt (POL) finished in 38 place, 58 points behind Gaspic.
Interestingly, Ainslie is one of
many America's Cup sailors taking time out of their AC dayjobs to sail
the Finn. In fact five of them have won races here. From +39, Rafael
Trujillo (ESP), Andrew Simpson (GBR), Chris Brittle (GBR) and Antony
Nossiter (AUS) have all won individual races. In addition, both
Ainslie and Kevin Hall (USA) - who finished 20th - are with Emirates
Team New Zealand.
Before the regatta, ISAF World
Ranked No 1, Jonas Hogh-Christensen had commented, "Sailing against Ben
is like biking against Lance, playing basket against Jordan, driving
against Schumacher or playing golf against Tiger. More and more when you
look good in a race you start looking around to see if Ben is close to
you, if he is not, be ready to get a big shift not going your way. Ben
is already a legend in sailing and he will probably be the biggest ever.
But bear in mind that legends get beaten. I think Ben looks
unbeatable because he has the highest ground level in the world. The
rest of us just have to turn it up a level or two, to beat him. If we
didn't think that he could be beaten we should start doing something
else."
Finally a big thank you to Moscow,
Moscow Sailing School and the literally hundreds of helpers, staff and
officials who have made this championship possible. While the sailors
expected difficult sailing conditions, the magnitude of the welcome and
the organisation took them completely by surprise. Moscow Sailing School
have a first class facility here, and have excelled in running a
fabulous regatta, to which the Finn Class has been honored to be
invited.
Next year's Finn Gold Cup in in
the beautiful town of Split, in Croatia. Will Ainslie turn up and try to
make it five in a row? Watch this space...
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