FINN GOLD CUP 1998 REPORT

FINN GOLD CUP 1998 REPORT

The 1998 Finn Gold Cup was sailed from 16-23 August in Athens, Greece, on the same water that will be used for the 2004 Olympic Games. Mateusz Kusznierewicz secured his first major victory since his Olympic Gold Medal in 1996, and in doing so became the first reigning Olympic Champion to win the Gold Cup for 25 years. Report and photos by Corinne Rolland-McKenzie.

The 1998 Finn Gold Cup organising Committee did some great work on a short deadline after the withdrawal of Durban in April. They were also able to secure important sponsorship from RE/MAX (International Real Estate Group), Super Sport (TV channel specialised in Sport) and SuperFast ferries who offered half price transportation to the sailors for the event. The entrance hall of the Peace and Friendship stadium was converted to a sailing club. In a week, a 600 square meter bare room was fitted with 9 offices, a souvenir shop, a lounge... and all facilities to allow everyone of the 41 organising Committee team members to work. JŸri Saraskin, IFA Chief Measurer was the first one impressed with the facilities: ÒThis is the best measurement area have I come across in all my lifetime as a measurer.

The practice race was as usual, a pale rehearsal of the real thing...all boats crossed the line early, sailed one windward beat and went home!

A few of the following race reports were written by the new World Champion, Mateusz Kusznierewicz.

Race 1

Mateusz’ race report read: The ‘Meltemi’ wind from the Acropolis gave us a lot of fun and work to do during this race. It was very shifty all the time making racing very difficult. After the start it was easy to recognise what was the tactic of whole fleet. Heroes of the right lead by Super-Seb were going closer to the shore catching a late big shift. On the left I saw about 20 boats hitting the corner to find more wind on the open bay. Only myself and Freddy choose the middle. This paid off as we rounded the top mark 1st and 2nd. We felt Emilios and Andrzej on our back but the rest were far behind. During the whole race it was nice to watch from 1st place how the good guys were constantly filling up the top places. Really nice comeback on the finish for Richard Clarke in 3rd by beating Emilios just on the finish.

At the end of his training last week Mateusz had said ÒI have been preparing myself for a long time for the Finn Gold Cup. Now I feel ready. My coach, Andy, told me that the sailing conditions in Athens were similar to what I have at home. So I spent lots of time training in Puck (Poland).

Race 2

Mateusz’ race report read: 'With a long postponement and a lot of wind (Meltemi again) we started the race around 12.30. It has not happened not very often this season, but today we had a 40¡ wind shift just 5 seconds before the starting gun. All of us who started on the vessel side of the starting line were already 150 meters behind the leaders. At the top mark the lead was held by ‘Golo’ Ainslie followed by Iain Percy and Mike Hruby. The wind was shifting a lot during the whole 2 hours and 13 min race. The race was won by Iain Percy followed by Mike Maier and Freddy.

After coming back to the shore, Iain Percy explained ÒWith such shifty conditions, it is much easier to be in front than behind. I only had to stay in the middle during the following beats to secure both sides. Then on the run, I know I am fast. That’s when I increased my lead on the others.

Race 3

Mateusz’ race report read: 'This was the first day with a nice seabreeze. From the beginning until the end of the race we had between 5 and 12 knots. When all the Finn sailors where going out I noticed that all of them are a bit confused because of new weather conditions. I decided to talk about it not only with my coach but also with someone else (Karlo Kuret). Actually during the race we did some different tactics but finally both rounded the top mark in the lead just behind Jamie Lea. The wind paid more in the middle putting still more pressure on the left. Karlo was going well especially on the downwind legs when the Jury paid a lot of attention to all the Bad Boys. Xavier also impressed me and was sailing great in the light winds, finishing 3rd!!! At the end of the race the wind died and Dominik Zycki got a 5th and Andreas Buchert a 4th.

It was the first time that Karlo Kuret had won a race at a Gold Cup. ‘I think that I have a good speed in all conditions thanks to the sail I developed with Victory. These new sails are good in all weather, I always use the same one and it is a big advantage.’ confided Karlo.

Race 4

The start of the race was delayed while the sea breeze established itself but around 2 pm the wind was a steady 12 knots. After a general recall race 4 started at 2.30pm. Xavier Rohart started near the Committee boat before crossing the course towards the left. He rounded the top mark in front of Mateusz and Iain Percy.

The reach started with Mateusz and and Iain Percy trying their best to overtake Xavier. The Frenchman retained his speed, keeping ahead of his followers: 'I just focused on the mark in front of me, without worrying about any one else. I let Mateusz and Iain fight each other and sailed my own race.

At the end of the first reach, Iain Percy had passed Mateusz and at the bottom mark, Xavier was still in front, with Mateusz back in second place. The next beats followed the same pattern as the first. Xavier won the race with a good lead on Mateusz and Sebastien.

Race 5

The sea breeze, similar to the last two days, came late and increased from 8 to 18 knots during the race. The fleet was evenly spread on the starting line with all the regatta favourites grouped at the pin end with the only exception of Fredrik who chose to start at the Committee boat end. ‘My main goal was to start clear from everyone else. I saw that the line was quite even and it didn’t matter to me which side I chose if I had clear wind. I know that I have good speed and that I can point high. With a good start I had the best chance to cross in front of most sailors. The first beat worked exactly as Fredrik had planned. After a good start and constant speed, the Swede was first around the top mark. He was closely followed by Larry Lemieux who enjoyed the light conditions (8 knots).

During the reaches, the wind nearly doubled in strength. At the next windward mark, Fredrik was still in front of Karlo, Ian Ainslie and Iain Percy. The extended run gave Fredrik the opportunity to make the break with his followers. It also allowed Iain Percy to take second position on Karlo. The last beat saw Fredrik winning the race in front of Iain Percy, Karlo and Michael Fellmann.

Fredrik Lššf, despite winning the race easily, was worried by Ian Ainslie at times but especially by Iain Percy, who was very fast on the beat as well as on the downwind legs. Fredrik has been using the same rig since the start of the regatta. ÒI try as much as possible to use only one rig for all types of conditions in a regatta. I am using a Latini mast and a Swedish Sobstad (Polyester) sail.

Race 6

After a postponement from the shore to let the sea breeze settle and a black flag start which cost a few heads it needed another general recall followed by another black flag start for Race 6 to finally get under way.

Only a few chose to start at the pin end of the line. Emilios Papathanasiou took a terrific start around the mark on port tack. Luca Devoti had also selected the pin end but went further to the left on starboard tack. He was the first one to reach the top of the course, closely followed by Emilios. During the reaches, Emilios passed in front of Luca and Mateusz climbed from 6th to second. After the second beat Emilios was still in front of Mateusz. Xavier Rohart, 11th after the first beat was now in 4th place. Luca had a disastrous second beat dropping from 3rd to 25th place and decided to abandon. Mateusz put his Òturbo on during the run to pass Emilios 10 meters before the bottom mark with Xavier Rohart in third place.

The climax of the race was definitely on the last beat. Emilios and Mateusz started match racing each other on the left side of the course. In the meantime, Xavier was making progress further right, until the finishing line came so close that Mateusz finally realised that the real danger now was more in the French than the Greek! He came charging in just to be at Xavier’s side 20 meters before the finish. Xavier, tacking on the line, won the race by a few centimetres!

Xavier Rohart had won his second race of the championship. When asked about his tactics for the last day: ÒI will not worry about the others, I will do my own race and will try to win it as today!

Race 7 - No race

But he didn’t get the chance! The race committee were on the water evaluating options and kept all the sailors ashore in suspense, but when they decided the chances of having a start before the deadline of 2 pm were gone, they sounded the horn. This meant that Mateusz had won the Gold Cup. Since his Olympic Gold medal in 1996, Mateusz has managed to stay at his best to finally win a World title. Fredrik Loof came very close to winning the Gold Cup for a third time. With just 4 points dividing the two, anything would have been possible, but the wind decided otherwise and came too late to allow a race within the time limit. Fredrik will take his place on the Gold Cup podium for the 6th year in a row! Third place goes to Xavier Rohart, winner of two races but only one point ahead of Sebastien Godefroid.

Of course, the ongoing development in the rig, especially in the sail cloth have obliged sailors to up date their equipment to stay competitive. Once again, the new materials (vectran, polyester, monofilm...) have been widely used and proved successful.

All competitors are unanimously grateful to the Hellenic Yachting Federation and Olympiakos for organising such a great event. Principal Race Officer Takis Nikiforides and his Race Committee set the standard for 6 quality races. The IFA thanks the Hellenic Yachting Federation and Olympiakos for putting together a memorable Finn Gold Cup, and congratulates the sailors on some great and exciting racing.

This year’s Gold Cup had the added pressure and excitement of being the first qualifier of the Finn event in the 2000 Games. Congratulations go to the top eight competitors who have successfully qualified their countries for a place on the starting line in Sydney. The next Olympic qualification opportunity will be at the 1999 Gold Cup in Melbourne.