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Day 1 report
Courtesy David Wells
www.waterhound.com
The Finn World Championships kicked off today in San Francisco California under foggy grey skies and blustery winds in the 18-22mph range. The Gold Cup serves as the World Championships for the Finn Fleet while winning the Silver Cup will earn you the title of Junior World Champion.
The Juniors are up first with the event running through August 24th and is hosted by the prestigous St. Francis Yacht Club. Day one featured the juniors hitting course for two races with first race firing off in near perfect Finn weather. With 15mph of breeze and almost no tide to speak of it was a treat for the sailors who will most certainly see bigger breezes and bigger tides before the week is out.
With 15 boats on the line Germany's Lennart Luttkus took the first race win but in a testament to the tight competition in the fleet could not follow that result up. Luttkus came in 8th place in the days second race. Consistency will be the key for securing a spot on the podium and consistently sailing well was Caleb Paine (USA, San Diego) whose 3-2 scoring line left him leading the fleet after the first day.
"It feels good to be leading but there is still plenty of sailing to do!" declared Paine who keeps realistic even if his mind is set for the title. "There are many good guys here, the Greek, Ioannis Mitakis, or Jorge Zarif from Brazil."
Luutkus weighs in "I surely didn't expect to win the race! My objective was and still is to finish in the top 10. This race was fun because Josip and I were very close all the way. I took a different option on the last run to the finish. The current was strong and I stayed in the middle of the course while Josip went to the right. I passed him a 100 meters from the finish!"
Croatia's Josip Olujic trails Paine by two points while Paine's American Teammate, from Jupiter Florida, Luke Lawrence is in third just 3 points off the lead.
Defending World Champion Brazilian Jorge Zarif sees himself in 6th place after the first two races with lots more sailing to come. Two time Junior European Champion Ioannis Mitakis of Greece sits in 9th place. I told you this was a tough fleet!
Mitakis had this to say after day 1 "I took a bad start, I was worried to be pushed over the line by the current going upwind so I was too conservative and started from second row. I then figured out that the current would be stronger in the middle so I took that option to make up some ground. I met Jorg Zarif and went around the top mark with Jorg second and Caleb third"
The SI's call for 9 races with the medal race set for Tuesday the 24th of August. The Gold Cup kicks off August 27th and runs through September 4th. Stay Tuned!
Results
Country, Sail#, Name, Race 1, Race 2, total
1. USA 619 Caleb Paine 3 2 5.0
2. CRO 11 Josip Olujic 2 5 7.0
3. USA 40 Luke Lawrence 5 3 8.0
4. GER 64 Lennart Luttkus 1 8 9.0
5. AUS 261 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 6 4 10.0
6. BRA 109 Al Hamed Jorge Zarif 4 6 10.0
7. RUS 707 Larionov Egor 7 7 14.0
8. POL 12 GENERALI Milosz Wojewski 8 10 18.0
9. GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis (18-DNF) 1 19.0
10. CAN 11 Martin Robitaille 11 9 20.0
11. RUS 57 Egor Terpigorev 9 11 20.0
12. GBR 18 James Hadden 10 12 22.0
13. USA 33 Gordon Lamphere 13 13 26.0
14. USA 8 RJ Bay 12 15 27.0
15. USA 81 Titanium Monkey Joshua Revkin (18 DNF) 14 32.0Pressure-drop.us ~It's not the size of the website, it's how you use it! ~ -
A few selects from Day 2
Race 4
James Hadden
Oliver Tweddell
RJ Bay
Josip Olujic
Oliver Tweddell ( AUS)
Egor TerpigorevComment
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Day2 Race 4 continued
James Hadden
Josip Olujic
Luke Lawrence and Oliver Tweddell
A clean start!Comment
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Official Silver Cup verbiage:
After two victories in the second day of racing, Miami sailor Luke Lawrence takes the lead of the Finn Silver Cup. Josip Olujic (CRO) conserves his second place while Australian sailor Oliver Tweddell gains two places to third overall.
Despite saying on the first day to prefer light conditions, Luke Lawrence mastered the increasing breeze and the current to win both races today. « I had a good start from the pin end and managed to have a clear path to the left of the course with more current to lift me to the top mark. I am not fast upwind but could keep good position on the course. » With 93 kgs (205 lb), Lawrence is one of the fleet lightest. The breeze increasing from 13 knots in the first race to 20 in the second provided for athletic sailing. « I was fast on the run but often just in control!! » Oliver Twiddell (AUS) and Jorge Zarif (BRA) finished in second and third place.
With increasing wind, the triangle course was set for the second race. Yesterday leader Caleb Paine (USA) rounded the top mark in top position after racing up the right side with Ioannis Mitakis (GRE). Coming from the left side Josip Olujic (CRO) rounded in third.
Luke Lawrence (USA) was not in good shape to win his second race after a bad start and in seventh place at the top mark. « My first beat was not good, I was undecided and stayed too long in the middle where the island of Alcatraz stopped the current from pushing me towards the top mark. I had to make a decision and pick a side! Fortunately, I was able to gain some grounds and a couple of places on the run. » Lawrence won the race in front of Josip Olujic and Ioannis Mitakis.
At the end of the second day, Olujic is only three points from the lead. « I have very regular results. Before coming, Bambi (Ivan Gaspic, European champion and world #1) told me that the key was to be consistent! » On the first race today I took a very good start but I got a penalty for rocking upwind and lost lots of places. I am fast downwind so I managed to pass a couple of boats on each run. Fourth is not bad for a race with a penalty! »
Regatta leader Luke Lawrence admitted that having John Bertrand's (USA) help was a real advantage. « John has sailed here all his life and knows the bay like the back of his hand! It does help me build my confidence when I make tactical choice on the water. He has a good perspective of my sailing and helps me go fast. We have worked together since May and already thanks to his help I was top three junior at the FINN European. » With Olympic selection in his mind, Lawrence knows that he has to keep working hard. “There are good Finn sailors in the US. Zach Railey of course, but also Brian Boyd and Caleb. Hopefully we will push each other to the top!”
Racing will continue on Sunday with races 5 and 6. The forecast is for building winds reaching 25 knots and stronger current which will provide for interesting racing.Comment
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Day 2 Race 4 continued
Ioannis Mitakis ( GRE 77) and Lennard Luttkus ( GER 64)
Gordon Lamphere
Caleb Paine
Egor Terprigorev
Lennart Luttkus
Martin Robitaille
Joshua Revkin
Milosz WojewskiComment
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