Finn Gold Cup 2008 - Melbourne, Australia

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Finn Gold Cup preview - Last chance for Finn berths in Qingdao

 

Over the next two weeks, Finn fans from across the world will be turning their full attention to Port Phillip Bay, Australia as the class’s world championship, The Finn Gold Cup, gets underway this weekend at Black Rock Yacht Club.
 

The two questions that are uppermost in many people’s minds are who will qualify for the remaining six places at the summer Olympics, and can Ben Ainslie (GBR) win an unprecedented fifth Finn Gold Cup.
 

For the nations that have not already qualified for Qingdao, the competition to secure an Olympic berth will be tough. As far as Ainslie is concerned, he has already secured his place in the GBR team and after his performance at the recent Sydney International Regatta and Sail Melbourne, and it would be a brave soul who would bet against him next week.

 

Based on conditions experienced during Sail Melbourne, next week should prove similar with lots of wind and waves. Most of the sailors here have been training in strong winds to prepare for this Gold Cup, although there have been some lighter days as well. However, the majority of them have also been keeping to their diet for Qingdao.

 

The top priority for many sailors will be to secure one of the remaining six places at this summer’s Olympic Games in China. Nineteen nations have already qualified from last years ISAF Sailing World Championship in Cascais, Portugal. The pre-entry list includes 14 nations (AUT, BUL, CYP, EST, GER, HUN, IND, ITA, POR, RUS, SVK, TUR, UKR, VEN) that could fill these six places, and competition for these will be tough. In addition some of the sailors also have to meet individual national authority criteria to be included in the sailing team, and that could be tougher than actually qualifying the country.

 

Eduard Skornyakov (RUS) should be one of the favourites to qualify his country for Qingdao. After winning the Europeans in 2007 – albeit in the light winds and flat waters of Lake Balaton – many thought he would do the job in Cascais, but he failed to perform in the tough conditions.

 

While some of these hopeful nations are only fielding one sailor, for the nations with more than one sailor present there could be some interesting battles as they try to qualify both their country and themselves, without jeopardising either. It is certainly going to be interesting to watch the battles between the two Indians, the five Italians, the two Portuguese, the two Russians, two Turks and the two Ukrainians.
 

The nations that have qualified so far are: NED, ESP, SLO, GBR, CAN, GRE, DEN, CRO, SWE, AUS, FIN, FRA, NZL, POL, USA, CZE, BRA, IRL and NOR, and of these most have already concluded their sailor selection process.

 

The pre-entry list consists of more than 70 sailors from 33 countries, including many old and new faces. The only sailor in the top 20 not in Melbourne is Joao Signorini from Brazil, who is training for the next Volvo Ocean Race on the Ericsson boat.

 

The practice race is scheduled for 13.00 on Tuesday 22nd January. The opening first race is on the following day, with the final race and medal race planed for Tuesday 29th. Eight races, plus a final race and a medal race for the top ten are scheduled. A reserve day has been planned for Saturday 26th January

 

Now that Ainslie has been given the nod by the Royal Yachting Association to defend the Olympic title he won in Athens four years ago, the reduced significance of the much awaited battle between him and Edward Wright (GBR) will no doubt disappoint some observers, but with the pressure off, both of them will be able to focus more fully on the regatta. Although obviously disappointed by the early decision in Ainslie’s favour Wright has regrouped and is determined to show his form here. The battle between these two could define the event.


 

Favourites

 

Ben Ainslie (GBR)

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said? Most sailors here probably hoped he would still be in the trials process so he might be distracted. His worst ever position at a world championship is first place, in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Now guaranteed a place in the British team in Qingdao, he has proved time and again that he is one of the world’s best sailors.

 

Daniel Birgmark (SWE)

Made several medal races last year and is always there or thereabouts but never converts this to a winning position. Birgmark is all round performer though who is always in with a chance.

 

Jonas Høgh Christensen (DEN)

World ranked number one since June 2006, he finished a disappointing fourth place in last year’s world championship. Best result was world champion in 2006. His only ISAF Grade 1 events wins were all in the USA: he has twice won the Midwinters (2006 and 2007) and also won the Rolex Miami OCR in 2003.

 

Chris Cook (CAN)

Good all rounder but has failed on several occasions to convert opportunity into medals. Best result ever was the bronze medal at the Finn Gold Cup in Moscow in 2005.
 

Ivan Klakovic Gaspic (CRO)

One of the few sailors who has proven their ability to beat Ainslie in the conditions in Qingdao, Klakovic Gaspic threw away the gold medal on the last leg of the medal race in the pre-Olympics by capsizing while Ainslie was buried.

 

Anthony Nossiter (AUS)

Having already secured his place in Qingdao, Nossiter is sailing on home waters and likes the conditions in Port Phillip Bay. Qingdao will be Nossiter’s third Olympics, his best performance so far being a sixth place in Athens. Tenth in last year’s world championship, he will be looking to improve on that.

 

Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE)

The man who has never won a world championship but has come so close on too many occasions to mention is already qualified for his fourth Olympic regatta and will no doubt prove as competitive as ever. His best result was European Champion in 2001. Last year he took bronze at the Europeans and a fifth at the world championship after leading both regattas at the half way stage.
 

Pieter Jan Postma (NED)

An outstanding season in 2007 brought him silver medals at the world championship and at the pre-Olympics. Postma loves the breeze and should be a strong contender in Melbourne. These results and a host of other podium places lifted him to second in the world rankings.
 

Giles Scott (GBR)

Perhaps the dark horse of the fleet, he has been training hard and a third place in the Sydney International Regatta ahead of Edward Wright clearly indicates his potential for the future. Expected by many to be one of the main contenders in 2012, he should do well in Melbourne.
 

Rafael Trujillo (ESP)

Silver medallist in Athens behind Ainslie and the current world champion. Trujillo likes and performs best in big breeze so if Port Phillip Bay lives up to its reputation he could be a serious contender. His current world ranking of 8 doesn’t really reflect his current form.
 

Gasper Vincec (SLO)

A bronze medal at last year’s world championships capped a great season for Vincec, a recipient of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, Vincec is a good all rounder and has a knack for being consistent enough to be in with a chance at the end.

 

Edward Wright (GBR)

A tough decision by the RYA brought an early end to his trials against Ben Ainslie to win the GBR berth for Qingdao. However this may remove the pressure and provide him with the impetus to perform well here. European champion in 2006 and bronze medalist at the worlds that year he has been ranked in the top five in the world since October 2006.

Day one - Slater claims the day

There was no sharing from Dan Slater (NZL) at the 2008 Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne. The New-Zealander won the day’s two races after patiently tailing the race leader and delivering the final blow on the last downwind leg to the finish.

The first race was sailed in moderate winds increasing from 7 to 10 knots. Light shifts made racing tricky and crowded mark rounding created enough turmoil to upset placings.

In the first race, Giorgio Poggi (ITA) who had finished 11th at the 2008 Sail Melbourne regatta last week, repeated his early form to lead the first race until the last down wind and crossed the line in third placed. The Italian lost two places on the last run to Slater and Harris Papadopoulos (CYP). Papadopoulos stepped into a Finn only 6 months ago, having his first race at the Olympic test event in China, last August. Since then, the ex-laser sailor has intensively trained with Emilios Papathanasiou and other top sailors in Greece and made great progress. The regatta started well for Indian Nitin Mongia (IND) who finished in 13th position after sailing smartly in light and shifty conditions.

The second race started with freshening breeze from 11 to 15 knots. Free pumping provided fun downwind sailing and a slight advantage to the favourites, well trained for this sailing style.

Matthias Bohn (GER) took a great start at the committee boat and played the shift to round the top mark ahead of Dan Slater (NZL), Gaston Pal (HUN) and Nick Burfoot (NZL). Bohn covered his opponents all race, but hurt his elbow on the last downwind. It was enough distraction for Dan Slater to close the gap and take his second bullet in front of Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE) and Peter-Jan Postma (NED). Matthias Bohn crossed the line in 9th position.

It wasn’t the conditions expected by the favourites. Some of them collected heavy scores that could jeopardise their overall placings if repeated. While Ben Ainslie caught up from average starts to 4 and 11th places, World Champion Rafael Trujillo never recovered from bad starts scoring 58 points on his first day. “Just one of these bad days!” commented his coach on the shore.

Dan Slater is leading the scoreboard in front of Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE) and Giorgio Poggi (ITA). In the Junior division, Giles Scott (GBR), placed 11th overall is dominating his opponents by an impressive margin.

One race is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Day two - Ainslie masters tricky conditions

 

The second day of racing at the Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne proved to be challenging with light and shifty wind.

 

Multiple World and Olympic Champion, Ben Ainslie (GBR) made his way through the fleet to cross the line a few meters behind Florian Raudaschl (AUT). The young Austrian who had nurtured a good lead around the course could not match Ainslie speed on the downwind leg. To further his disappointment, Raudaschl found himself disqualified for starting early giving the race victory to Ainslie.

 

Michael Maier (CZE) enjoyed the lighter conditions to finish in second place and improve his overall results after a very disappointing start in the regatta.

 

Australian Anthony Nossiter improved from a poor start to take 3rd place. “I was on the second row but I decided to sail conservatively on the beat. I played the shifts in the middle of the race and passed a few on the run.”

 

Dan Slater (NZL) capitalised on his earlier outstanding results with a 4th place which gives him a comfortable lead on the overall standings, 12 points ahead of Ben Ainslie (GBR). He is the only sailor with one digit results so far. Ainslie had predicted the tough weather conditions: “We will all have to count with bad races in this regatta. Despite being strong, the wind is often shifty and quite hard to read.” Today he compared the sailing conditions with Qingdao. “We raced with light wind and the remaining big waves created by the earlier breeze.”

 

With most sailors training in strong wind to prepare for this event, the sailing conditions on the start of the Finn Gold Cup are taking most by surprise: “Not the weather I was expecting in Melbourne” declared Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN), disappointed with a 15th place. Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE) and Peter-Jan Postma (NED) lost about 10 places after sailing on the wrong side of the shift on the last beat.  However, the Greek is only losing one place to 3rd overall, while Hoegh-Christensen and Postma conserves their earlier 4th and 5th position.

 

It could have been a great day for Junior Piotr Kula. The young Pole finished the race in 11th place but was found among the 6 sailors disqualified at the start. Giles Scott (GBR) is loosing 5 places in 16th position after collecting 31 points today. He is still the clear leader of the Junior division. Ian Cook (USA) was the first Junior across the line with a 29th. He is placed in 4th place in the Junior classification, 5 points behind Federico Melo (POR) and 4 behind Henry Bagnall (GBR).

 

Two races are scheduled on Thursday.

 

Day three - Cook in full mode

Canadian sailor Chris Cook had a near perfect day in the 3rd day of the Finn Gold Cup in Melbourne after winning race 4 and placing 2nd in race 5. Cook gains 5 places in the overall standings to 4th.

Ben Ainslie won his second race in the series to remain in 2nd overall, behind Dan Slater who retains the lead despite an up and down day.

The conditions were light when the sailors arrived at Black Rock Yacht Club this morning. Regatta PRO Bill Bell was already anticipating the possibility to postpone racing onshore to avoid a long unwanted wait on the water. Set like a Swiss clock, the wind started to fill in Port Phillip 30 minutes before starting time, allowing for the 4th race of the Finn Gold Cup to start. The conditions, like the previous days were light but fair with a stable 8 knots wind that didn’t go much over 11knots throughout the day.

Race 4 started under a Black flag with most of the fleet massed at the pin end of the line. While Chris Cook (CAN) and Dan Slater (NZL) took the best start, Ben Ainslie collided with Sander Willems (NED). He repaired his fault with a 720 but that cost him dearly, finishing 18th.

Meanwhile Dan Slater and Chris Cook where leading the fleet to the top mark. The Canadian took command on the run and increased his lead with skilful boat handling. Under the watchful eyes of the Jury he went on to win the race. Slater collected his first penalty for kinetics at the end of the first run allowing Cook to sail further in front. Zach Railey (USA) who had a disappointing regatta so far was glad to recover his good form from the Sail Melbourne regatta, to place second in front of Slater and Ed Wright (GBR). World ranked # 6, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic recovered from a 20th place after a yellow flag at the start of the first run to finish in 5th place. “I gained 10 places on the 2nd beat and another 5 on the last downwind leg”, explained “Bambi”.

The right side of the course was often the best choice. It was how Ben Ainslie won the second race: “I started on the pin end again but crossed to the right. I went on the right side again on the second beat and gained a few places. It looks like the right is often the way to go. It is surely a hard place to sail and the wind is not obvious to read.” Chris Cook repeated his first race tactic to finish second in front of Gasper Vincec (SLO). It was the first top 10 result for the Slovenian who has been struggling so far. Emilios Papathanasiou crossed the line in 4th place.

The top 3 place in the overall standing remains unchanged, with each of the 3 leaders discarding their only 2 digit results today. Today best improvement among the top 10 comes from Chris Cook who climbed from 9th to 4th place overall. While Guillaume Florent from France gains 16 places to 29th thank to a 5th in the last race.


Giles Scott (GBR) is in a class of his own, first junior in 14th position overall after scoring a 16th and 11th place today. Piotr Kula, who had collected a disqualification at the start yesterday, can finally discard 83 points. Along with 2 races in the 20‘s, the young Pole is the day’s best improver climbing from the 59th to the 37th place, he is now the second junior. Third Junior is Federico Mello from Portugal.

In the chase for Olympic places, Florian Raudaschl (AUT) places Austria on the list after dropping 83 points for OCS.

The Finn race had a special observer today. John Bertand (AUS), Sail Melbourne’s Patron (2nd at the 1972 Finn Gold Cup, and 1976 Finn Bronze medallist) watched the racing and was impressed with the changes in a boat he sailed 30 years ago: “This is way above the boat and the way we sailed in the 70’s. The rig has improved greatly; it is impressive for such an old design to have evolved this way. The athletes are so fit, just a pity they are so restrained by the jury. Kinetics should be free, these guys should be able to sail freely and express their athleticism.” When asked about his best memories in the Finn, Bertrand doesn’t hesitate: “Friends! Most of my best friends from today sailed a Finn at some stage. Because this is a single handed boat, you need to make friends. This is a boat that demands good qualities, the ability to accept the help and advice from the others. This is in fact a “team” boat. It is not easy for single handed sailors to integrate that in their mentality. It works as a natural filter to keep the best people. This is also such a demanding boat that sailors need to be tough. In the end it makes the sailors a better person!”


As Australia will turn in “holiday” mode tomorrow to allow everyone to properly celebrate “Australia day”, the sailors and officials will have a day off. Racing will resume with two races on Sunday. Tonight, the sailors were treated to a taste of Australian “wildlife on the Barbie” with Emu, Kangaroos, Barramundi and other local delicacies.

 

 

Day four- Slater under pressure!
 

Two races sailed Sunday in the Finn Gold Cup, are bringing the regatta favourites close together. Dan Slater is starting to really feel the pressure, he is still leading the championship but on equal points with Ben Ainslie. 2005 World Champion and World #1 sailor, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen is only 5 points behind the leader after a 6th and a victory in the last race. 2007 World vice-champion, Pieter-Jan Postma capitalised on the windier conditions today with a 1st and a 2nd place bringing the Dutch into serious contention for the title, 1 point behind the Dane and 6 from Slater. Greek sailor Emilios Papathanasiou has slipped from 3r to 8th overall after collecting a second disqualification on the first race and placing 36th on the second.

 

Race 6 started with a 12 knots unsettled sea breeze. The start was delayed on the water to adjust to the wind shifts. After a general recall, the race started under black flag very close to the shore…too close for Michael Maier’s liking. “I capsized before the start and I broke my mast on the reef”, complained Maier back ashore. The pin end was favoured but the fleet quickly crossed to the right. All but Dan Slater who decided to continue under the cliff to the left side. “It just kept getting worse! Then there were not many opportunities to pass. I must have gained a few boats downwind”, but not enough for the New Zealander, who collected more points in this race than all the others combined! Pieter-Jan Postma leaded the race from start to finish. Marin Misura (CRO) collected his first top ten results crossing the line in second place in front of Rafal Szukiel (POL).

 

Finally, the strong conditions expected for so long found their way to Port Phillip Bay. The wind had increased to 18/20 knots for the second race sailed with Oscar flag and a triangle course. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) headed the fleet to the top mark then kept increasing his lead to the finish. “The regatta is really open now, I look forward tomorrow and more breezy races” declared the Dane. Pieter-Jan Postma was second in front of Ed Wright and Ben Ainslie. Gasper Vincec (SLO) who has collected irregular results was 5th on the finish with Dan Slater 6th.

 

“The other guys are coming into the loop too. It isn’t just between Ben and I, many are in the game. With another race and then the medal with double points, we still have a long way to go!” declares Slater when asked about being on equal points with Ben Ainslie.

 

Monday’s last fleet race will see a fight to qualify among the top 10 for the medal race.

 

Australian Anthony Nossiter is on the hot seat in 10th position overall on 77 points. He is tailed by Peer Moberg from Norway on 79 points, British junior Giles Scott on 81 and Tapio Nirkko 83. Current World Champion Rafael Trujillo (ESP) is racing well below his habitual form in 14th place.

 

The battle for Olympic qualification is going on with the 6th and last place strongly fought for. Ali Kemal Fekci (TUR) is getting closer to qualifying Turkey for the last spot after a good day placing 10th in the first race. Fekci has gained 9 places on the overall qualification in 35th position and 6th “unqualified nation”. However, Olexei Borisov from Ukraine, only 6 points behind is his most direct threat.

 

In the Junior division, the top 3 remain unsettled with Giles Scott well ahead in 12th position. Piotr Kula (POL) is 2nd Junior in 36th and Federico Melo 3rd in 42nd overall. Current Junior World Champion, Jan Kurfeld gained 5 places today to still be in contention for the podium.

 

One last fleet race is scheduled for Monday afternoon. Tuesday will be the championship final day with the Medal Race planned to start after the last race for those sailors placed 11th or more.


Ainslie takes lead

 

For the first time since the start of the Finn Gold Cup, the lead has changed hands.


After an intense race Ben Ainslie passed Dan Slater on the line to get ahead by one point before tomorrow’s medal race. With Pieter Jan Postma climbing to 3rd and Jonas Hoegh-Christensen in 4th position after a 9th in today’s race, the top 4 contenders are within 10 points going into tomorrow’s Medal race. It will be a four man battle for the title.

Today’s race was scheduled at 2.3O PM but Race 8 started 2 hours later. After a general recall, the course was postponed to wait for the wind to settle. One hour later, the racing committee decided to move the course further out to catch the breeze. The wind started to fill in and provided a nice race with the wind increasing up to 15 knots.

Sweden Daniel Birgmark sailed smartly to lead the fleet to the top mark. He stayed in control from start to finish and claimed the race. Ranked 7th in the World, Birgmark has known better days. “It was definitely worth the wait. It is good to finally sail well.”

Guillaume Florent from France and Tim Goodbody(IRL) took second and 3rd place. Ben Ainslie, tenth at the top mark, gradually gained places. Turning 5th onto the run, under Oscar flag allowing for free pumping, Ainslie stayed close behind Slater waiting for a good opportunity. A few meters from the finish, Ainslie gybed to take a wave that propelled him ahead of Slater.
31st at the top mark, Pieter-Jan Postma made a huge recovery passing 25 boats to finish 6th in the race.

“It doesn’t really matters who from Ben or I passed the other today” explained Dan Slater after racing, “tomorrow’s medal race counting double is minimising the one point gap between us.” This will not be the first time that the two sailors will be competing for the same title. “This is bringing some old memories of times when Ben and I where racing against each other in the Laser.” The New Zealander acknowledges that tomorrow’s will be a 4 men battle.

Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) is looking forward tomorrow’s final race: “I will prepare myself for an optimum race. I am not going out there just to beat the other guys. I will only focus on my sailing and I want to push my own abilities.”
The battle for the Olympic berths will see the last opportunities during the last race tomorrow. Turkey is still placed 6th nation among the countries yet to qualify. Ukraine and Portugal are only 11 and 17 points behind and will try for their last opportunity tomorrow.

Ben makes it five


Although Wright held on to win the medal race, a second place from Ainslie was enough to win him the Finn Gold Cup for the fifth time. In 2005 Ainslie set a record by winning the event four times in a row and being the first sailing ever to win it four times. H e has now set a record that will surely never be broken. To win the Finn Gold Cup once is a massive achievement by any standard. To win it twice is exceptional. To win it more than three times is nothing short of monumental.

The medal race started in a 15 knot south westerly with Ainslie starting well and Slater burried and having to tack away. Wright got the best start at the pin and was never headed, while Slater recovered to fifth to secure the silver medal with Hogh-Christensen placed fourth to snatch the bronze from Postma as was disqualified as a premature starter Two other battles also took place on the final day. In the Junior division, Giles Scott has been leading the contest since the first day and had securedbthe Junior title although the fight was on for the second and third places. Piotr Kula and Federico Melo retained their overnight position to take Silver and Bronze.

 

After being deemed as a premature starter, Henry Bagnall missed out on the Junior bronze.The other battle was for Olympic selection. With the first five already assured qualification (ITA, RUS, CYP, AUT and GER) the sixth place came down to POR, UKR and TUR. Federico Melo missed out on Olympic selection by just 22 points. The 6th country overnight was Turkey and although Ukraine and Portugal tailed the Turk closely, Fekci managed to keep his direct opponents at bay qualifying his country and himself for the Olympics. Junior European champion in the Finn in 1993, Ali Kemal Fekci stopped racing in the Finn in 1996 to try his luck in the Laser. “I was coaching the Chinese Laser team in Qingdao and realised that it could be my type of conditions. I asked my Federation and started again in the Finn two months ago.”