Pieter-Jan Postma lifts Finn World Masters title in Helsinki
by Robert Deaves 8 Jul 2022 17:18 BST
1-8 July 2022
Just two months after winning his first ever Finn Gold Cup, Pieter-Jan Postma, from The Netherlands, has become the first person in history to also win the Finn World Masters in the same year. He has put together a picket fence score line this week in Helsinki, Finland and has had an amazing time with the Masters fleet. Laurent Hay, from France held on to second while Peter Peet, from The Netherlands was third.
The Netherlands was a major prize winner tonight at the Helsingfors Segelklubb, taking the Nations Cup, and the Club Cup, for Het Witte Huis, as well as many individual prizes in addition to Postma.
The final day of racing was always forecast to be light, and never more than 5-8 knots, and it took nearly an hour to get the fleet away in the fickle breeze. Postma started in the third row but was leading at the top, but couldn't break away from the fleet with Székely Antal from Hungary, never far behind. Gert van der Heijden, from The Netherlands was third.
Postma joins an elite group that have won the Finn World Masters with straight wins and paid tribute to the sailors, the organisers and the rest of the fleet at the prize-giving, on Friday night on the steps of Helsingfors Segelklubb. The original podium from the 1952 Olympics was used, to mark the end of an event that was created to celebrate 70 years since the Finn was first included in the Olympic Games.
Age knows no bounds in the Finn class and the first presentation was for the Super Legends, those over 80 years old. Richard Hart, from Britain, won again, though again said it was probably his last event, something he has been saying for 10 years. Once a Finn sailor...
Hans Fatzer retained the Legends prize that he won last year, while John Greenwood won the Great Grand Masters and Laurent Hay the Grand Masters. Postma was of course top Master. While there are many age categories in the Finn Masters, they all race as one fleet, with inclusivity and community an important ingredient in what makes this event so successful.
This year was the first time the event has been in Finland and the furthest north it has ever been. Next year, the event goes far down south to Kavala in Greece where already the class is expecting in excess of 250 entries, bringing it back to somewhere near pre-covid numbers. For those that think a trip in May to sail with fellow Finn enthusiasts sound like fun, there is more information here and more will be released very soon. finnworldmasters.com/events/kavala-iraklitsa-2023
Overall Results: (top ten, 7 races)
1 NED 842 Pieter Jan Postma 6pts
2 FRA 75 Laurent Hay 25pts
3 NED 148 Peter Peet 35pts
4 POR 21 Filipe Silva 42pts
5 NZL 111 Karl Purdie 55pts
6 NED 41 Karel Van Hellemond 66pts
7 NED 25 Gert Van Der Heijden 72pts
8 GBR 5 John Greenwood 74pts
9 FIN 234 Ville Aalto-Setälä 84pts
10 NED 80 Sander Willems 85pts
Full results available here.
Event website at fwm2022.com