Finn Gold Cup at Takapuna Boating Club, New Zealand - Day 3
by Robert Deaves, International Finn Association 26 Nov 2015 09:47 GMT
21-29 November 2015
Scott extends but Fabian Pic wins the day
Giles Scott (GBR) extends his lead at the Finn Gold Cup in Takapuna to 18 points after two more races were sailed on the Hauraki Gulf. Deniss Karpak (EST) won the first race of the day to move up to second, while a great day for Tapio Nirkko (FIN) leaves him in third overnight. However the performance of the day went to Fabian Pic (FRA), who followed up a second place in the first race with a race win in the second.
It was a long day on the water in Takapuna. The day started with a postponement on shore, but when the fleet was sent out towards Rangitoto, the wind died and clocked, so the course was moved back to the Takapuna side. It was mid-afternoon before the first race got away after a few false starts. Eventually two races were managed out of the three were originally scheduled. The fleet didn't come ashore until past 18.00.
In race 4 it was a French 1, 2 at the top mark as Pic led Jonathan Lobert (FRA) around the top mark from the right with Pablo Guitian Sarria (ESP) and Karpak not far behind. Karpak had moved into second at the gate and took the lead on the second upwind to lead down the final run to win the race from Pic. Sarria followed across in third while James Hadden (GBR) sailed a spectacular race to cross in fourth. Regatta leader Scott moved up from around 15th at the top to eighth at the finish.
The breeze was coming and going, but the fantastic fifth race was sailed in a solid 7-9 knots and beautiful clear skies. This time it was Nirkko in the lead at the top, with Pic in second. Scott rounded third but that was as high as he got. Ben Cornish (GBR) passed him downwind, while on the second beat Scott passed Cornish but also got passed by Croatian youngster Nenad Bugarin (CRO). The only change on the final downwind was Bugarin moving up to second, while Pic took an emphatic victory that clearly shows potential for his future.
It was also a day for a lot of mixing it up and changes on the leaderboard with a lot of big scores picked up by various sailors. First day leader Andrew Murdoch (NZL) could only manage a 43, 37 to drop to 13th, while Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) picked up a DNF, for his second yellow flag, and a 24th to drop to 12th. Ed Wright (GBR) picked up a 54th in the second race, while fourth overall this morning, Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) drops to 15th after a 33, DNF.
The high scoring day for many also included Alejandro Foglia (URU), who is one of many sailors hoping to qualify for the 2016 Olympics this week. He is currently in 35th place, and ninth nation, some way outside the qualification zone.
He said, "It's good to be here in New Zealand for the first time and my second Gold Cup. It's an important event for me to qualify for the Olympics. Everyone has come here very fit and trained, and it's quite a tough regatta as a lot of guys are sailing well and the conditions are up and down. I had a good start, but today was not a very good day. I managed good starts but the pressure was on the right and I was on the left. But still it's a long way to go with six more races, and hopefully with a more equal wind, so I can sail better and try to qualify here."
Foglia became the International Finn Class Vice President for Development earlier this week and is also a member of the FINNTEAM development programme. "I am very happy to develop the class to get more countries into the Finn. The FINNTEAM also needs more activation. It's been a bit quiet so far and we need to get more people involved in the crowdfunding to support these guys. The FINNTEAM is group of five sailors who don't have much support to travel to events and buy equipment."
Race four winner Karpak is also trying to qualify his county. "For me and my country this Gold Cup is an Olympic qualification event so is very important. I am really happy to do that for myself, my parents and my country."
"Today was a good day for me, especially the first race. At the first mark I was fourth and I caught some pressure downwind and then step by step I worked out the shifts and won. The second race was a bit harder and I was a bit slower. With the discard now in I am second overall after Giles so I am happy with that. It's the best place I have ever been mid-regatta in my career so I hope to continue in that way."
On his performance so far, "I am a little but surprised with my good speed in these light conditions, but it's good for me, so we'll see."
After three days the four nations in the qualification zone are Estonia, Russia, Greece, and Czech Republic. However, there are three more nations within 20 points and many more close behind fighting for the four places in Rio available this week.
The star of the day was undoubtedly Fabian Pic. Now in fifth place overall, he also has a huge lead in the Junior fleet, 28 points ahead of Bugarin, with the World Junior Champion Ondra Teply (CZE) in third, another nine points back.
Pic said, "It was a really good day for me. I started all the time at the committee boat and tried to keep to the right and I think my speed was quite good. It was not easy to win but I was fighting all the time so it was good. In the first race I finished second after a big fight with the Estonian. And I am really happy with that. In the second I won so everything is perfect today."
"I am higher up than I was expecting, so really happy. It's a good beginning so I'll take that."
Jonathan Lobert has already been selected for Rio so that is not on the cards for Pic, however he is already looking further afield. "Jonathan has already qualified for Rio, so it's a big challenge to try and beat him, anyway I am training to go to Tokyo, but I am happy to take this."
Racing continues Friday with three races scheduled again. With more wind forecast by some, hopefully the championship will get back on track.
Results after Day 3: (top ten, 5 races, full results here)
1 GBR 41 Giles Scott 13pts
2 EST 2 Deniss Karpak 31pts
3 FIN 218 Tapio Nirkko 31pts
4 GBR 11 Edward Wright 37pts
5 FRA 17 Fabian Pic 41pts
6 CRO 69 Milan Vujasinovic 43pts
7 GBR 91 Ben Cornish 46pts
8 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 48pts
9 SLO 73 Vasilij Zbogar 49pts
10 USA 6 Caleb Paine 51pts
Scott retains yellow jersey as Finn Worlds reach the halfway stage (from Imogen Stanley, RYA)
Giles Scott continues to set the pace at the halfway stage of the Finn Gold Cup, consolidating his lead amid a third day of light wind racing in Takapuna, New Zealand, on Thursday (26 November).
The defending champion posted an eighth and a fourth in two testing and tactical races on the Hauraki Gulf to keep hold of the overall lead with three race days of World Championship competition to go.
The 2010 World Champion Ed Wright is currently fourth overall, with fellow British Sailing Team Podium squad talent Ben Cornish breaking into the top ten for the first time this week in seventh overall.
After an hour's postponement ashore, sailors faced a further wait afloat for the cloud to lift and a light sea breeze to form and settle enough to allow for racing.
Scott made the best of it when it did to finish eighth in the first race, but teammate James Hadden fared even better, finishing the opening race of the day in fourth.
"It was quite good fun turning round and seeing Giles behind me. I enjoyed that!" Hadden admitted.
"I just got on the right shift early on and managed to cross over the top of the fleet and made the right decisions from there."
The 24-year-old is placed 43rd overall after five races in what will be his final Finn Gold Cup.
"I've just got to the point where I feel like I've got as far as I can and I want to go and do something different in my sailing career. Time to call it a day, but hopefully it will be a really good event to finish on!"
Scott, meanwhile, was satisfied with his day's two races.
"I stayed pretty consistent which is always a good thing in this light and shifty stuff," he explained.
The 28-year-old is happy to have had an impressive series so far to be wearing the yellow bib at the halfway stage, but knows there's a lot of racing still to be done, with a change of conditions in the offing.
"For sure it is a good place to be, but as ever with the Gold Cup there's an awfully long way to go so we'll just be looking to try and take the same sort of approach into tomorrow and we'll see what that brings. But things are going well and hopefully that will continue."
"I think the change of conditions will maybe shake things up a bit. We're back into hiking conditions and it's looking like at least 10-15 knots which will change things a little bit. It'll be back to the norm."
Ben Cornish sailed a steady two races to finish 11th in his first race and just behind Scott in fifth in the second.
Ed Wright endured a mixed day, finishing tenth in his first race before a discard of 56th in the second. He's poised just outside of the podium positions in fourth overall.
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Tough day at the office for NZL (from Yachting New Zealand)
It was a tough day at the office for the NZL Sailing Team competing at the 2015 Finn Gold Cup on Auckland's North Shore and both Andrew Murdoch and Josh Junior have taken a hit in the standings at the regatta mid-way mark.
Grey cloudy skies and calm conditions kept the Finn fleet ashore at Takapuna Beach Reserve this morning and the world's best Finn sailors waited for wind.
They were rewarded for their patience, and the Race Committee for their perseverance, heading out onto the Hauraki Gulf in anticipation of a light breeze which eventually came down the course and allowed for two races to be sailed and added to the score card.
Andrew Murdoch remains New Zealand's top placed sailor but has slipped to 13th overall after placing 43rd and 37th in the fleet of 76 boats.
Murdoch says, "It wasn't a typical day here – there were tricky things happening with the wind. I felt I executed the starts really well in both races and strategically I did what I wanted to do but it wasn't the right call."
He continues, "Finishing the second race today I was pretty frustrated with how things went, I spoke to John Cutler our coach and we went through it and just parked it there. We talked about some of the good things I did today and will just look to keep doing those."
Josh Junior is now in 28th overall after scoring a 54th and a 40th on the water today.
"Tactically I wasn't doing that well, and lacking a bit of speed at times, and a bit unlucky as well I think," says Josh Junior.
"You win some you lose some, tomorrow's another day, and I'll just get back out there and do the things I always do."
Meanwhile the British Sailing Team's Giles Scott is looking strong having extended 18 point leading margin over the fleet. He is the only sailor with a sweep of top ten results across all five races sailed so far, while the majority of top sailors have mixed results from the first half of the series.
Tough day for Australian helms (from Australian Sailing)
Racing for the 2015 Finn Gold Cup, the Finn Class World Championship, continued off Takapuna in New Zeland as the fleet took to the water for day three of the six day regatta.
Three races were scheduled for the day after only one race was possible yesterday. But again conditions were light and only two races were completed.
After both Australian Sailing crews had a tough day in the office yesterday, Oliver Tweddell had a strong recovery posting a 14th and eighth and moving up from 19th into eleventh overall.
"We had massive delay today waiting for breeze to come in. It was a light northerly to start with and eventually the breeze came in and we sat on the water for a couple of hours whilst we waited for the breeze to fill. The breeze eventually came in and we had a light 7-8knts breeze and I managed to have two really good races," Oliver Tweddell said about the day.
"I sailed quite conservatively as I had a bad race yesterday but was very happy how I sailed today. I'm looking forward to tomorrow with three races scheduled and a lot of breeze, which should be good."
Australian Sailing Squad's Jake Lilley (QLD) did not have the best day posting an 18th and 36th and sitting in 31st overall after five races.
Three races are now scheduled for Friday, 27 November to try and catch up with the programme.
Racing at the Finn Gold Cup runs from Tuesday 24 to Sunday 29 November with ten races scheduled until Saturday 28 November and with the medal race and final race on Sunday 29 November.
Australia secured country qualification for the Finn class for Rio 2016 at last year's ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain. But who will be representing Australia in the class is yet to be decided. With selection still ongoing the Finn World Cup will be an important event for the current World #2 Jake Lilley and World #6 Oliver Tweddell.