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Finn 2004 News Sail Information
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Report by Skip Dieball August 21-23, North Cape Yacht Club, LaSalle, Michigan Pleasant weather and light winds greeted the 24 boat fleet for the Finn North Americans. Competitors from the West Coast and East Coast came to Lake Erie for some summertime racing. Chris Cook from Whitby, Ontario dominated the 8 race one throwout series with 12 points. Skip Dieball from Toledo, Ohio was 2nd and Derek Mess from Cambridge, Massachusetts was 3rd. With nearly 50% greater turnout for this year’s event, the class is very excited to see growth in both the youth division and the masters division. Here's the results:
*partial inventory
You are having a great year -- 2nd at the Finn Gold Cup, 6th at the Europeans and now going to your third Olympic Games. After being away for a few years how have you done this great come back to the Finn class in such a short period of time?
Richard: It has been all possible because of my extensive experience in the class and the incredible amount of racing I have done in other classes. Currently my finn skills might not be anywhere near the level that they once were but my racing skills are sharp and highly developed. Currently I am racing over 100 days a year. I have been calling tactics on the World Champion Melges, West Coast Farr 40, as well as racing on various offshore projects that have enlightened my knowledge and awareness of wind and weather.
Richard: Surrounded by good people on so many projects that good habits become second nature. Developing better tactics, experience, maturity and being relaxed. What advice could you offer to the North American Finn sailors to move up to the next level? Any common mistakes you see? Richard: North American finn sailors need to stop focusing on beating other north American Finn sailors and start focusing on being the best in the world. To be the best in the world you need to race against the best in the world and that means traveling to Europe and not only racing but developing relationships with the better Europeans…training with the best European REGULARLY. They need to be much fitter.
Richard: This summer is incredibly busy for me, besides the Olympics I am racing in the Melges Worlds, the Farr 40 Worlds and the Mumm 30 Worlds. Thru my involvement with Philippe Kahn and Pegasus Racing. My plans to prepare for the Olympics include spending 10 days in July which are the only break in my racing schedule in Athens preparing my boat, sails and mast for the local conditions by training with Dean Barker from New Zealand. Richard: After this incredibly busy summer I look forward to spending some time with my wife. I have promised her some uninterrupted time this fall as it looks to be quite busy in the New Year. I am currently very close to signing with a team for the next Volvo Race. I would love to do an America’s Cup as well but the next Volvo Race looks to exciting to pass up. The new boats are going to be great and after my experience in the last race I am now in a position to take a leading roll on a team and that is something I truly value. Thanks Richard and good luck on your campaigns!
Interview by Skip Dieball Thank you again for your business. We at North Sails are so excited that you have chosen our sails, and judging by the results at SPA and Europeans, it looks like the sails are serving you well.
Mateusz: Definitely New Zealand. Mostly around Auckland, with my favorite Murrays Bay where I learned how to drive my boat properly and very fast downwind. But the best and the most beautiful place I've sailed was Bay of Islands, 300 km up north from Auckland. It's a pity, New Zealand is so far away from Europe. The Finn is a tough boat both physically and mentally. What advice would you offer a young “Olympic” sailor from a campaign/training/fundraising standpoint? In the beginning of each year, I’d create my calendar and plan training and clinics along with regattas, time for rest and relax, order and analyze new sails, masts and budget time for delivery, which is very important. I worked separately on my sailing skills, technical stuff and physical training. In the end it all needs to come together and work out well during competition. I've always schedule separate times for each of this issues.
I've found the North to be a very sensitive sail, which need proper leech tension. I must play with outhaul and Cunningham a lot, while still using the traveler. Believe me, there is no time for rest during the race. Shape and panel distribution allows each sailor to play a lot with the twist and separately to open or close the leech. That helps me to get a little bit more power in the light winds in the top part of my sail. I don’t struggle when the breeze picks up, by properly setting the rig. There are many more things in North I've found as big advantage, but maybe on next occasion I will tell you more about them, with time.
Mateusz: I'm in my final stage of preparations. Everything goes as planned in my calendar long time before. Only small changes are made, depending on my feelings and the way I feel. In June I'm resting for one week after tough and challenging SPA regatta in Holland. Then for 10 days I will go to Polish Olympic Preparation Camp where without any sailing I will be working on my physical strength and fitness. Swimming, gym, bike, running on the beach, tennis, golf and other activities for the whole day.
Second half of June I will spend in Athens on training and small races on our Olympic course. In July I will train in Poland. Together for 19 days on the water plus physical training. All divided for 2 camps. In between I will rest and relax.
Mateusz: Ben Ainslie of Great Britain is the top favorite for gold in Athens. He is great sailor, one of the best I've ever sailed against. Sebastian Godefroid from Belgium, Emilios Papathanasiou from Greece and Guilaume Florent from France are gonna be good too. There is also Raffael Truillo from Spain and David Burrows who are great sailors when there are strong winds. I feel that Canadian, Richard Clarke is going to be up there, even fighting for the medal. I would be very happy for him if he would finish good. He is such a good man and great sailor. Dark horse for Athens Olympics.....I vote on Jonas Christensen from Denmark.
Mateusz: Most of my spare time from sailing I spend in my Sailing Academy in Poland. I'm building also the camp with hotel, on beautiful land I bought one year ago. Besides that I play a lot of golf. Also tennis and badminton. I love windsurfing and skiing during winter. Mateusz: I like Polish beer. Zywiec and Lech are my favorites
Mateusz: What a question..? :) I thought it's obvious that the most beautifull are Polish girls. Come and see!
Thanks Mateusz.
Interview by Rodrigo Meireles Kevin: #1 Focus on making major improvements in downwind speed in the skewed,
confused seas of Ft. Lauderdale. Kevin: Certainly doing the finn trials in 92 and having a few months in the boat already under my belt from that time helped. It's funny to think back and realize I was so clueless then about the rig and sail, and didn't even know you could sail 2-1 downwind! But I would have to credit a lot of my success to Geoff Ewenson, Mo Hart, and coach James Lyne, all of whom welcomed me to the class and shared information about technique and equipment which got me through the basics very quickly. After that I think I just made good choices about what to focus on in my training, and learned to get as much speed as I could out of the equipment I had. Switching to North Sails after the Worlds was a big call which has proven very beneficial looking back and certainly will be important looking forward. What advice could you offer to the middle and back of the fleet guys on how to move up to the next level ? Any common mistakes you see? Kevin: My biggest advice would be to not confuse putting your sail up and then taking it down a few hours later with training. When I am on the water I am either trying to get stronger in the boat, to improve a specific aspect of my technique, or I am on the way back in. I never left the dock without at least one very clear specific goal for the day's training session. If I realized I wasn't 100% focused or putting in physically, I would stop and either regroup or go in. It was very important to me not to practice sailing the boat at anything less than 100% focus. What is coming next, and how are you planning to prepare your self to the Olympics? Kevin: I'm spending a couple weeks at home first. I'm planning to go back to Florida mid-March to do more downwind trips from Ft Lauderdale to Miami before heading to Europe to compete in as many regattas as I can. I've ordered some new masts and will have James working with me on my upwind setup and speed - I'm really looking forward to trying some new gear. Besides that it will be the usual eat as much as possible, gym, and fundraise... Kevin, thanks for your time and congrats
again on a great Victory and let us know how we can help you to get
the Gold!
Report courtesy Robert Deaves - International Finn Association. Photos: Héctor Etchebaster Finn Gold Cup 2004 - Rio de Janeiro Ben Ainslie claims third Finn World title in fine style
The Finn Festival in Rio is over and the Rio Carnival is just starting. Rio de Janeiro has certainly put on a show to be proud of over the past 7 days and the Finn Gold Cup was just one of many preparatory events for the 2007 Pan-American Games. Most sailors here would agree that this regatta has been a great success and can't deny the beauty and attractions of Rio. However, before all the congratulations could start some sailing had to be done. The courses, which were again windward leeward loops, were set inside the harbour today to ensure that two races could be sailed. Ben Ainslie (GBR) takes up the story. While he admits to being very nervous before the start - especially when waiting onshore earlier in the day for the wind to pick up - as soon as the racing started he settled down. He relates, "It was essential to be at the committee boat at the start and head off right out of the tide. I got a good start and went right right before coming back towards the middle. I was watching for both Mateusz and David and they went too far in and lost the wind a bit. When they came out they were behind me and it was looking good. After that I just played the fleet up the middle, but it was pretty nerve racking at times." Up at the front Jorge Zarif (BRA) was battling with Tapio Nirkko (FIN), Michael Fellmann (GER) and Soren Holm (DEN). Zarif was Brazil's Olympic representative at the 1984 Olympic Games in Long Beach, USA. He is a veteran Finn sailor and today he led from the front to record an impressive victory. A large hole in the wind to the right of the course caused quite a few problems for some sailors, but Zarif led the way round. Ainslie rounded the top mark about 14th and managed to climb up to 9th at the finish, but that didn't matter. He had beaten both his nearest rivals and now couldn't be touched for the title. However the race was still very much on for the other medals with 5 to 6 sailors in with a chance. At the start of race nine, several top boats were found to be having trouble trying to negotiate the strong tidal stream around the committee boat and having to tack out and come round for another go. Several attempts to start the race ended in general recalls as the tidal set was pushing boats over and the biased line was causing bunching at the committee boat. At one false start Sebastian Godefroid (BEL) was seen inching his way along the leeward side committee boat on port tack where he was pinned by the tide and facing a number of starboard tack boats shouting at him. His response was, "This is my only way out of here. Sorry" One of those shouting at him was Mateusz Kusznierewicz. Fate would then have it that less than a minute later Mateusz was doing the same trick. Luckily a general recall was sounded soon after.
Richard Clarke (CAN), 10 points adrift of a medal going into the day, scored a 5th, which put together with his 6th in the morning catapulted him into the silver medal position. Mateusz Kusznierewicz couldn't quite find the form he had in the early races and dropped to fourth overall. Third overnight, David Burrows (IRL) had a scrappy day but two 15th places were just enough to keep him in the bronze medal position, which he was pretty pleased about. His bronze medal here this week is David's first Finn World Championship medal. He commented. "This is an amazing place. I've never been anywhere quite like it. After the pre-regatta training several of us went up to Buzios, north of Rio for a break. It was a stunning place, 20 knots winds every day and some gorgeous scenery. I have really enjoyed it here although the racing has been tough." Buzios is also the location where the Brazilians will have their Olympic selection trials in a week's time.. Joao Signorini (BRA), the leading sailor from Brazil concurred, " It has been a really great event. There has been a very high level of racing with the leaderboard changing many times during the week. Rio has showed that it is a place which can be very tricky. You have to stay calm to race well here and be consistent. Some guys have results all over the place, even on the same day. However it has been a hard event with some great racing. I think the organisers have done a great job in bringing it all together and I hope that all the sailors have enjoyed their time in Rio." The Finn Junior World Championship had a reduced entry this year, perhaps due to the costs of getting here, but the IFA are delighted that the Brazilian Olympic Committee has presented the class with 'The Jorg Bruder Silver Cup', a perpetual trophy to be presented to the winner of the junior event, as a memorial to the late great Finn sailor from Brazil. The leading junior here is Tapio Nirkko (FIN), who finished in 40th place in this Gold Cup just four places ahead of Brazil's Henry Raul Boening. Nirkko did himself a favour in this morning's race with a 5th, as he was black-flagged in the second race as a premature starter, but still maintained a big enough points difference on the Brazilian. Talking about the championship after the race, Ben Ainslie put his success here down to consistency, and agreed the conditions have been difficult. He commented, "This gives me a good confidence boost for Athens, but it is still six months away and there is a lot that can happen and a lot of hard work to do in that time." Ben said, "I am really elated about this win. It's really special for me to win the Gold Cup a third time and to do it in Brazil as well is really good. It was a very tough regatta and I really am chuffed to bits to come out on top. It's always special to win a big championship like this but to win this for the third time in Brazil", Jorg Bruder's home country - the only sailor before today to win three consecutive Finn Gold Cups, "makes it very nice for me. It makes all the time and effort training worthwhile." And after Athens. "Well I am probably getting involved in the America's Cup again, but nothing has been firmed up yet." And what about going for a fourth title in Moscow? "Well I'm not saying I'm never sailing a Finn again after Athens, so I'm not ruling out going to Moscow next year..." An enormous number of people contributed to the success of the event including the ever present Nuno Caminada, Kadu (Richardo Baggio) - Sailing Manager of the Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro, Marco Aurelio sa Ribeiro and the Brazilian Finn Association as well as the hard working PRO, Pedro Paulo Petersen. Marco Aurelio commented, "I think it has been a very successful event. Although the conditions were tricky, I think the sailors who did the right thing on the water were the winners. It was a fair championship and we are very pleased with the organisation." North Update:
For more information about the Gold Cup:
Photos Marco Antonio Rezende/COB
For more information on Finn sails, contact the North Finn experts.
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What are your plans after the Olympics? Are you planning on be involved in a big campaign like the Volvo or America's Cup?
You’ve sailed all around the world in the Finn (and other boats). Where is your favorite place to sail? 
You recently switched to North Sails. Your results at the Europeans and SPA have been quite impressive. What have you noticed since making the switch to North? 
Other than sailing what do you do in your spare time (hobbies)? 
Kevin: 
Milestones in sailing don't come along every day, but today in Rio
de Janeiro, there was a very special milestone. Winning the Finn Gold
Cup for the third time in a row, Ben Ainslie (GBR) has equaled Jorg
Bruder's record set between 1970 and 72. Overcoming very challenging
conditions and a very deep field of talent, Ainslie has now won all
five major championships since he entered the class in 2001. With the
Olympic Games just 6 months away, is there anyone who can stop this
man?
When the fleet finally got away, again the majority tacked and headed
to the right, although for a while both sides looked good. Then a
shift to the right brought those who had gone far right to the front
and Rafael Trujillo Villar (ESP) led round the first mark followed
by Gasper Vincec (SLO), Karlo Kuret (CRO), Babicky Roman (CZE) and
Michael Maier (CZE). With the wind picking up to around 12 knots,
Rafa held his lead throughout the race. Chris Cook (CAN) pulled through
on the downwind leg and ended up third at the finish just behind
Kuret.
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