Too Much Of A Swell Time For Finn Gold Cup

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Second lost day at Finn Gold Cup following very unstable conditions
Whilst different storms rage elsewhere in the sailing world, for the second day running,
no racing was possible at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup after offshore Atlantic storms brought very unstable conditions to Porto.








It wasn’t for lack of trying. After more than four hours trying to get a start away on the third day, the race team had to contend with 120 degree shifts, huge waves, waterspouts, hail storms, and wind ranging from 3-33 knots. However with a deadline to be back in the harbour before the ebb tide kicked in, the fleet was sent ashore with no more races on the board.

The course and marks were moved more than a dozen times with more than 10 starts attempted, but each time it was abandoned in the final minute and one shortly after the start got away on a huge shift. It was a long, cold day on the water. Full credit to the Herculean efforts of the race officers and their team to do everything possible to try and get a race away. But sometimes it is not meant to be.









There are two more days left in the Finn Gold Cup, with a maximum six races possible and one more needed to get a valid series. Conditions look set to stabilize, so the fleet is keeping everything crossed ready for Tuesday.

Results so far here: https://proregatta.com/events/162/







Linky

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Kiwis Hold On To Two Spots Of Gold Cup Podium




Maloney and Junior run the show on penultimate day
New Zealand’s Andy Maloney has extended his lead at the 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto, Portugal, to take a five-point lead into the final day on Wednesday, with three races possible. Zsombor Berecz, the 2018 champion, from Hungary, moves up to second, while defending champion Josh Junior, also from New Zealand, climbs to third.


Race wins went to Brazil’s Jorge Zarif, in the very light first race, before Nenad Bugarin, from Croatia, and Junior won the next two races in winds of up to 16 knots.

After no racing for two days, everyone was happy to get racing again and what a day it was. It was actually a day of three thirds, with a very light opening race of 6-8 knots, followed by clearing skies and a slightly tougher race of 12-14 knots, before finally clouding over and picking up to 14-16 knots in the final race. The one constant though was the shifting wind, which kept the sailors on their toes and the race teams busy repositioning marks for almost every leg.









Britain’s Giles Scott led round the top from the middle left in Race 4 from Ioannis Mitakis, from Greece and Brazil’s Jorge Zarif. Zarif, the 2013 World Champion took the lead on the second upwind to lead down to the finish, as the soft breeze finally started to build.

Milan Vujasinovic, from Croatia, was fastest to the top mark in Race 5, but was soon surrounded by Kiwis, who passed him downwind. Junior led round the second top mark, but Bugarin found better pressure on the left on the final downwind to move into the lead and take the win, while Maloney moved up to third.

The last race of the day was again all about the left, with many boats overstanding the layline as the top mark was difficult to see in the huge swell. The Kiwis dominated again, but France’s Fabian Pic got the first beat right to round with a nice lead from 2018 Swedish World Champion, Max Salminen. By the gate Junior was in the lead, but he went too far left on the final beat, while eagle eyed Maloney got the layline spot on. Maloney got there first only to touch the mark as he rounded. After turns Junior was back in the lead and both stretched out to the finish, while Estonia’s Deniss Karpak sailed a great race for third.










Junior said, “It was a pretty nice day. The breeze settled in from the south-west , and we ended up with pretty epic conditions. Still big waves with a chop on top. It was a lot of fun.”

“In the first race it was really hard to see the pressure. I think the left was where the pressure was, and there were some big phases and some big patches that were really hard to see. I was in tenth and then just lost it. It was a pretty hard race.”

On his and Maloney’s performance over the next two races,

In the final race, “No one really realized where the top mark was and Andy was first to realize that and managed to pass me and round just ahead of me, but unfortunately he hit it. He had to do a turn and then it was all on.'”

He laughs, “I didn’t want him to beat me so I went a bit harder than I have for a while, and just managed to keep him behind me. It was cool to win a race, that’s for sure.”

Bugarin had the best day of anyone in the fleet with a 5,1,7 to keep him in contention for the final Olympic place on offer this week. “It was tough racing today. We had very hard conditions especially in the first race. It was quite tricky and then in the second race the wind increased. It was hard work all the way, but I managed to put everything together quite well and am very happy with the day.”

The key moment came on the last downwind in Race 5. “I rounded just behind Josh and was having good downwinds today, so I managed to pass him on the last run, so that was very pleasing.”









Josh Junior, NZL

Maloney and Junior are sailing their first major regatta for 15 months, after time out for the America’s Cup and SailGP, so their performance is particularly impressive, as well as worrying for everyone else as they prepare for the Olympics in just over two month’s time. In contrast, Berecz has won back to back European titles.

The Toyko 2020 European Continental qualifier is heading for a nail biting conclusion with four sailors inside the top 10. Spain’s Joan Cardona is fourth, but just six points ahead of Croatia’s Nenad Bugarin, while the European bronze medalist, Nils Theuninck from Switzerland, is in ninth place, a further 17 points back. However it is a long way from being over.

Three races are possible on Wednesday and the forecast indicates a good day of sailing is on the cards. Both Maloney and Junior have heavier discards than Berecz, but with three races, the championship is still wide open. Racing is scheduled to commence at 11.00 local time.

Results after Day 4
1 NZL 61 Andy Maloney 18
2 HUN 40 Zsombor Berecz 23
3 NZL 24 Josh Junior 28
4 ESP 26 Joan Cardona 29
5 CRO 10 Nenad Bugarin 35
6 GBR 41 Giles Scott 43
7 USA 91 Luke Muller 44
8 ESP 17 Pablo Guitián Sarria 46
9 SUI 1 Nils Theuninck 52
10 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 56

Full results here: https://proregatta.com/events/162/

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Maloney Repeats As Finn Gold Cup Champion

The Finn Gold Cup remains New Zealand’s Cup as Andy Maloney sweeps to victory in Porto




It took more than 60 years for a New Zealand sailor to win the Finn Gold Cup, and now two have come along in a row. Andy Maloney has led the 2021 Finn Gold Cup since Day 1 and on Wednesday, though he briefly lost the lead, did just enough to take the cup from his teammate Josh Junior, who was the first ever Kiwi to win the Cup in 2019.


Joan Cardona, from Spain, took the silver and won the European Continental Qualifier for Spain in Tokyo, while Junior took the bronze. Leo Davis also qualified South Africa for Tokyo in the African Continental Qualifier. Race wins went to Deniss Karpak, from Estonia, Jake Lilley, from Australia and Nicholas Heiner, from The Netherlands.

The racing was again held over huge waves and constant wind shifts. A rainstorm in the opening race mixed the fleet and kept everyone guessing. Karpak held a huge lead at the top mark after skirting round the cloud on the right and was never headed. In the second race, the skies had cleared and, determined to make amends, Lilley found the front and took a well deserved win. The final race was more tricky with several lead changes, but Heiner took the lead on the final leg to win.








The bigger interest was behind him with most sailors picking up some high scores all day to leave a very tight scoreboard. Maloney was in the front at the top mark, and a tricky final beat dropped him to sixth, but he was still ahead of the other contenders, to take the Finn Gold Cup. Junior had also dropped a few places, and had to settle for the bronze.

Maloney, “It was a good week for both of us and cool to both be on the podium. It’s a shame that the Spanish managed to get between us but it’s a really cool feeling to have both of us on the podium.

“We are confident with what we are doing and when we got here it was nice to see we still had some pace and we sailed reasonably well this week and stayed near the front.”

On the final day’s racing, “Similar to yesterday, that first race was influenced by the rain clouds. Both Josh and myself got it quite wrong. So we had our work cut out for us, but we fought back pretty well to still get a reasonable score. But we definitely had to switch our heads back in the game for the last two races.”

They recovered from the mid 30s up to top 15 for a keeper each.

Junior paid tribute to his teammate, “It’s awesome to see Andy win the world championship. I was lucky enough to win it last time, and it’s cool that Andy had backed it up and kept it in New Zealand. I’m stoked for him.”

Maloney continued, “The fleet here was highly competitive, and everyone was sailing really well. For Josh and I to manage to be at the front of the fleet in these super tricky conditions that we had this week feels extra special.”

Junior concluded, “As usual, the Finn fleet is super close. You can see that in the points and people are up and down and it’s just about not getting any big ones. It was a really close week and we just managed to do enough be out in front. We are so stoked where we are at and can’t wait to keep pushing forwards.

“From here we just keep working together, stick to the plan we had and the person who goes to the Games will hopefully be better than what we are now.”

Junior was the first to congratulate Maloney after the win and the pair have already decided that whoever is not selected will coach the other at the Olympics, so this is a team effort like no other.









Joan Cardona has won the European Continental Qualifier for Spain. In the end it came down to a battle between him and Nenad Bugarin, from Croatia.

Cardona said, “It was super tight. He was very good all through the championship and we had a great battle. We are good friends, we train together and it was great to be so close on the water.

“Today was quite difficult, super tricky out there and we had some rain, and it was not easy, but I managed to have a good day overall and get the spot for Spain, so I am very happy. I think we were well prepared. We worked very hard as a team and I really hope the best is yet to come in Tokyo. And I will give my best for that.

“For the moment, we have qualified the country but we don’t know who is going to the Olympics so it would be great if I would be selected. It’s a dream come true. I always said my dream was to win a medal, but first you have to go to the Olympics. So this is a very good step.”

For the African Continental Qualifier, Leo Davis, from South Africa, was unopposed.

“I finished rowing in 2018 and got back into competitive sailing, but then COVD threw a spanner in the works. So this was a chance for me to get back into it. Luckily things worked out well for me to come here and race. I was already in Italy, so it wasn’t as hard as if I had been in South Africa.”

“It was nice to race my first Gold Cup. I was very lucky to meet up with Paul McKenzie, who also coached me and I leaned a lot from him over the week we had before. So now I need to talk to South African Sailing to put me forwards to our Olympic Committee and then they will decide whether I can go.”

Going to the Olympics has always been his dream. “My dad, Greg Davis, coached Ian Ainslie in 1996. So from when I was four years old I had his Olympic kit, and it’s always been a dream of mine to go. I thought I was going to go with rowing but it never worked out, so I am just as hungry as I was then, but now for sailing.

“I think if I do qualify, there is a lot that I need to learn, but I have got a bit of time now and I have a plan to get a lot of training in and bridge the gap to the top guys.”

The 2021 Finn Gold Cup in Porto has been an exceptional event – with exceptional hospitality and organization in quite difficult circumstances, not to mention the unusual weather patterns – for a group of exceptional world-class athletes at the top of their game. In 10-20 years times, many of these sailors will be household names through successes at America’s Cups, ocean races and major sailing events, just like their predecessors have been, and are, over the past 60 years.

That these young sailors will be the last generation to benefit from the universal school of life and sailing that the Finn class has always been, is unthinkable, untenable and plainly unimaginable. If this is the last Finn Gold Cup as an Olympic discipline, then it is not just a shame, but it brings shame. There has to be a solution to maintain this pathway and legacy for the sport and look after this unique brand of young sailors.

Long live the Finn.








Final Results
1 NZL 61 Andy Maloney 44
2 ESP 26 Joan Cardona 51
3 NZL 24 Josh Junior 54
4 HUN 40 Zsombor Berecz 61
5 CRO 10 NENAD Bugarin 66
6 USA 91 Luke Muller 76
7 AUS 1 Jake Lilley 82
8 NED 89 Nicholas Heiner 88
9 GBR 41 Giles Scott 89
10 ESP 17 Pablo Guitián sarria 91

FULL RESULTS