Please select your home edition
Edition
GJW Direct 2024 Dinghy

2021 Finn European Masters at Tihanyi Hajós Egylet, Hungary - Overall

by Robert Deaves 11 Sep 2021 17:20 BST 7-11 September 2021

Akos Lukats has won the 2021 Finn European Masters at the Tihanyi Hajós Egylet in Tihany, Hungary, after no more races were possible on the final day. Bas De Waal, from The Netherlands, takes second with Taras Havrysh, from Ukraine, third.

The forecast for the day predicted very light winds and so it turned out. The light morning breeze slowly faded leaving a glassy lake and sweltering temperatures. With very little hope of a sailable wind in the afternoon, the plug was pulled at midday, so that packing could start.

It has been an eventful two weeks for Lukats, winning the Hungarian Nationals and the European Masters on Balaton back to back.

He was struggling to come to terms with what he has achieved.

"I still need to digest this. I don't know what's happened. What is important I think is to really find out how I got here; what made it happen so I can learn from that for my future sailing, because I really never, ever anticipated or believed that I could achieve this. Probably back in 1995, when I was sailing the Laser, I had this ambition, now I just sail for enjoyment."

On the event, "I am a local guy so I have to say this, but talking to all the guys here they all really enjoyed it. In any given week we were pretty lucky with the wind conditions to get seven good races, because the forecast was much worse.

"Overall, I think it was a great event, and social events were extremely nice.

"What I enjoy most is this crowd here, the company of these great sailors and great people, and a lot of friends. And what overawes is how most of the sailors approached me and congratulated me. It's so honest and I don't even know how I deserve this nice reception from these guys."

With 78 boats from 14 nations, this year's Finn European Masters was the largest so far and hopefully will continue to play an important part in the future of the class.

The prize-giving was held on the lawn outside the idyllic location that is Tihanyi Hajós Egylet, which has been an exceptional host to this championship, the concept of which began here 12 years ago as the Masters Euro Cup. More than a decade on the event has matured and has returned to where it started.

The overall prizes were presented by Zsombor Berecz, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist from Tokyo, while the prizes for the five Legends taking part were presented by the 2021 U23 Finn World Champion Doma Nemeth, from the host club. International Finn Association President, Balazs Hajdu was also attending.

Next year's Finn European Masters heads to Spain, while in just four week's time, the Masters will also gather in Spain at the Finn World Masters on Mar Menor.

Overall Results: (top ten)

1 HUN 50 Akos Lukats 24pts
2 NED 29 Bas De Waal 28pts
3 UKR 8 Taras Havrysh 29pts
4 CZE 2 Zdenek Gebhart 44pts
5 UKR 7 Vladimir Stasyuk 45pts
6 NED 7 Cees Scheurwater 45pts
7 POR 21 Felipe Silva 61pts
8 RYF 32 Alexey Zhivotovskiy 67pts
9 RYF 41 Felix Denikaev 71pts
10 HUN 30 Zsigmond Kantor 77pts

Age categories

Masters
1 HUN 50 Akos Lukats
2 UKR 8 Taras Havrysh
3 UKR 7 Vladimir Stasyuk

Grand Masters
1 NED 29 Bas De Waal
2 NED 7 Cees Scheurwater
3 RYF 41 Felix Denikaev

Grand Grand Masters
1 CZE 2 Zdenek Gebhart
2 RYF 1117 Andrew Bill
3 RYF 4 Alexey Borovyak

Legends
1 CZE 8 Jiri Outrata
2 POL 83 Blazej Wyszkowski
3 HUN 21 Andras Gero

Related Articles

Entry open for trio of Brisbane Finn events
For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Entry has opened for the main Finn events in 2026. For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, in Brisbane, Australia, for three back-to-back major regattas. Posted on 1 May
It's So Easy to Shop for Winning Sails Online
Shop North One Design sails online anytime for fast delivery Shop North One Design sails online anytime for fast delivery, in-stock availability, and podium-ready results. Don't wait, your next win starts here. Posted on 28 Apr
Finn Spring Series concludes at Bough Beech
'Hero to Zero' was frequent The final 2025 Finn Spring Series was held at beautiful Bough Beech on 12th April. This was the final event of the series following some fantastic sailing at Emsworth and Burghfield. It was a stunning day. Posted on 17 Apr
2025 Open Finn Europeans at Naples overall
Valerian Lebrun crowned champion after a in a drama packed final day Valerian Lebrun, from France, has won the 2025 Open Finn European Championship in Naples, Italy, after two final races on Saturday, in a drama packed day that nearly cost him his first major Finn title. Posted on 13 Apr
2025 Open Finn Europeans at Naples Day 4
Colaninno dominant on day 4, but Lebrun extends lead For the fourth day in a row, Valerian Lebrun, from France, is the top of the leaderboard at the 2025 Open Finn Europeans in Naples. For the second day in a row, Italy's Federico Colaninno was dominant on the water, going one better than Thursday Posted on 11 Apr
2025 Open Finn Europeans at Naples Day 3
Italy's Federico Colaninno made the best of the third day Italy's Federico Colaninno made the best of the third day at the 2025 Open Finn Europeans in Naples, Italy, with a first and a second, in a gradually veering breeze through the day. Posted on 11 Apr
2025 Open Finn Europeans at Naples Day 2
Valerian Lebrun extends lead on second day at Finn Europeans in Naples Valerian Lebrun, from France, has extended his lead at the 2025 Open Finn Europeans in Naples, Italy, to nine points. Estonia's Deniss Karpak is up to second with Italy's Arkadii Kistanov down one place in third. Posted on 9 Apr
2025 Open Finn Europeans at Naples Day 1
Valerian Lebrun takes early lead Valerian Lebrun, from France, has taken the early lead at the 2025 Open Finn Europeans in Naples, Italy, after two challenging races in a very unstable breeze. Posted on 8 Apr
Ullswater Yacht Club 2025 Preview
The calendar kicks off with the Magic Marine Daffodil Regatta Ullswater Yacht Club is delighted to announce both its open event calendar and Magic Marine's continued sponsorship and support for 2025. Posted on 8 Apr
Finn open at Burghfield
Beautiful blue skies and a puffy 10-20 knot breeze On 5th April a very good Finn fleet arrived at Burghfield for an event to be shared with the OK fleet. The weather forecast had been very promising and was even better than expected on the day: beautiful blue skies and a puffy 10-20 knot breeze. Posted on 7 Apr