All to play for

A difficult penultimate day at the Finn Gold Cup has left the leaderboard wide open

The Bura, a northerly wind, came on Saturday to add some excitement to the crucial penultimate race of the 2006 Finn Gold Cup. Renown for being shifty and inconstant the local wind from the mountain delayed racing until five pm. The racing committee and the 99 Finn sailors were patiently waiting for the wind to gain in stability in order to start a race.
 
Sailors from Split had probably been waiting for the Bura all week and the results proved that the locals and their training partners made the most of this tricky wind. Nicknamed Bambi, Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic current European and World Junior Champion, mastered the conditions to win his first race in a World Championship climbing into tenth place overall.

Few among the favourites for the title dealt with the conditions well. Emilios Papathanasiou finished in third and Ed Wright in seventh an were easily the higest placed of the top boats. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Rafael Trujillo both had a terrible race, following each other across the finish line in 33rd and 34th place respectivly. “I would have had more chance playing lottery” declared the regatta leader from Denmark.
 
The first beat was crucial, and unlike the other days it didn’t pay to sail conservatively in the middle. Both sides gave better speed with more pressure. Ivan Kljakovitch Gaspic was the first around the top mark. Tapio Nirkko from Finland threatened the young Croatian on the run where they shared the lead but not for long. The two ex-Juniors stayed ahead of the fleet managing the shifts and the pressure. Emilios Papathanasiou came up to third followed by Guillaume Florent from France in fourth and Alberto Vadell (ESP) in fifth.
 
Using this last race as their discard, Jonas Hoegh-Christensen and Rafael Trujillo are only 5 points apart in first and second position overall. Emilios Papathanasiou is only three points behind the Spaniard. Ed Wright who is the only one among the top four with no bad race could also win the title.
  
Only one race is scheduled for the last day of the championship and with the Bura still in action, anything can happen!