Going for gold

We take a look at the form book going into the Finn Gold Cup

Next week the Finn Gold Cup will begin in Melbourne, Australia. Currently many of those due to compete at the event are already there taking part in the Sail Melbourne Regatta. This gives us a good indication as to who exactly is on form at present. With the Olympic Games just a matter of months away this will be the biggest event for the class prior to Qingdao in the summer.

What will be most interesting to consider is that with most having confirmed their spot at the Olympics, a significant number of competitors at the Gold Cup will be already well into a weight reduction plan in preparation for the light wind Olympic venue. With this in mind and the fact that this Gold Cup in Melbourne is likely to be a reasonably windy one, we may well see a surprise victor.



Ben Ainslie (GBR):

When talking about Finn sailing in general and the Finn Gold Cup in particular it is essential to discuss Ben Ainslie. The Brit won the Cup four times in a row between 2002 and 2005 - a staggering achievement. Ainslie did not attend the Gold Cup in 2006 due to his America’s Cup commitments, nor was he present last year.

Taking time out from Emirates Team New Zealand, Ainslie has made two returns to the Finn class in the last couple of years, for the 2006 and 2007 Olympic Test Events in Qingdao. In 2006 he won the regatta counting straight first places, and in 2007 he took a similarly convincing victory. Surprisingly it was only most recently he was officially selected to represent Britain at the Games in 2008, after a short selection series - consisting of Sydney International Regatta - against Ed Wright.

Much has been spoken about Ainslie’s prodigious talent. He has the ability to win in all wind strengths in a class where many sailors have their favourite conditions. Before the start of the Sydney International Regatta fellow Finn sailor, Australian Anthony Nossiter commented that: “Ben [Ainslie] can, and has been, beaten in races. Beating him for gold at an event? That’ll be difficult, but it can be done. In heavy weather, me and Big Raffa [Trujillo] who won the Gold Cup in 2007, have a chance. In light weather, you would have to say Emilios [Papathanasiou]. Unlike most, Ben is great in all conditions and a great sailor.” This usefully sums up just how good the Brit is.

The down side to all his success is that Ainslie hits the water at big events as ‘the man to beat’ for literally ever other competitor out on the water and this must make life tricky. As another, unnamed, Finn sailor noted recently with regard to Ainslie “Did you ask him how he feels about the target on his back?”



Rafael Trujillo (ESP):

Trujillo comes to this event as the reigning Finn World Champion after taking victory last summer in Cascais. The Spaniard was second to Ainslie at the Athens Olympics so will be looking to even the score at both this event and at the Games this year. In 2006 Trujillo scored a disappointing seventh position in the light winds at the Olympic Test Event where Ainslie took victory but went four worse in 2007, ending up 11th.

Trujillo is said to be up around the 105kg mark which puts him on the heavier side of the Finn spectrum. This, combined with his well noted skill in the windy weather, means he will be looking strong if the breeze is up. However, if light winds are dominant he may struggle a little. Having said this, the last Olympics in Athens in 2004 were a largely light wind affair so the Spaniard has shown he, like Ainslie, has what it takes to do well when it matters most irrespective of the conditions.

Jonas Hoegh Christensen (DEN):

Currently ranked number one in the ISAF World Rankings, Jonas Hoegh Christensen is set to be a force to be reckoned with in Melbourne.

Christensen is another past Gold Cup winner, having sailed to victory in 2006 which he followed up with a third at the 2006 Olympic Test Event. He is one of the more consistent Finn sailors and is usually seen in the top five. At the World Championships last year the Dane just missed out on the podium, placing in fourth position and was fifth at the 2007 Test Event in Qingdao. However, aside from the occasional win, victory often seems to elude Christensen, something he will want to right this season.

Currently Christensen looks to still be on form as he sits in fourth position at the Sail Melbourne Regatta at present.



Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE):

Although not a past winner of the Gold Cup, Papathanasiou is a fairly good bet to do well at the event. In fact he must be gagging for a Worlds victory after a number of seasons finishing on the podium. Last year he took fifth at the event in Cascais, echoing his fifth position in Athens at the Games in 2004.

The Greek has had a number of ISAF Grade 1 wins in his time but victory on the World stage has always remained elusive. This has led to him being referred to on many occasions as one of the best sailors never to have won a world championship. Certainly his record is a frustrating one having won nine medals in Finn Gold Cup and European Championships in the last 12 years, including claiming the European title in 2001.

Much like Ainslie, Papathanasiou is a master of all conditions, theoretically making him at his deadliest when the wind is variable throughout an event. Having said this Papathanasiou stated at the World Championships last year that he would be working hard at losing weight as soon as that event was over. He commented there is not enough time to lose weight between January and the Olympics in the summer so will be attending this regatta underweight, in preparation for the Games.



Pieter-Jan Postma (NED):

‘PJ’, as he is known on the circuit, comes to the Gold Cup following a second position at the event last year in Cascais. He followed this silver with a second position at the 2007 Olympic Test Event and is duly ranked second on the ISAF World Rankings.

A very consistent sailor this season has seen a number of high profile top five results including the Breitling Regatta and the Princess Sofia Trophy. However, since transfering from the Laser in late 2004 Postma has struggled for the most part at World Championships with a 28th and a 12th leading up to his second last year. This season he will be out to prove it was not a one off last year, scoring highly again.



Ed Wright (GBR):

Despite recently losing out to Ainslie for the British Olympic Finn berth, Wright is still one of the World’s top Finn sailors. He has a long string of top results and has certainly quickly got to grips with the class since he transferred from the Laser in late 2005.

In 2006 Wright took victory at the European Championship and has since been regularly finishing at the very top of the results table at events. It is fair to say were Wright from almost any other country he would definitely have booked his place at the 2008 Olympic Games some time ago. Unfortunately, of course, he herards from same country as Ben Ainslie.

Not being selected for the Olympics does not seem to have put paid to Wright’s ability in the Finn. While we write this he is in first just ahead of his main competition, Ainslie, at Sail Melbourne.

Things to watch:

In addition to the usual battles at the front of the fleet, the middle of the fleet looks set to be hotly contested as the final six national places at the 2008 Olympic Games are up for grabs. “The most interesting person to watch in terms of the final Olympic positions will be Eduard Skornyakov [RUS],” explains Robert Deaves of the International Finn Association. “It is amazing to think that he won the European Championships last year but has not managed to qualify his country for the Games.”

As ever the Finn Gold Cup has attracted some of the biggest names in dinghy sailing, past and present. “Interestingly Luca Devotti is entered into the event. I am not sure at the moment exactly what his plans are. It is odd to see him back in the boat. After the Europeans in 2004 he finished the event and said he would never sail the Finn competitively again,” Deaves comments.

As normal the race format is fleet racing on a mix of offshore windward/leeward and windward/leeward-triangle courses. The ten boats ranked highest in the series at the end will contest the double-points medal race for the Championship medals.

Nine race days are scheduled from 23 January, with one day reserved for re-sails, following days for registration, measurement and a practice race.

Entries:

Nationality	Helm
AUS	Warwick Hill
AUS	Michael Williams
AUS	Brendan Casey
AUS	Anthony Nossiter
AUS	Christopher Pratt
AUS	Nik Burfoot
AUS	Dirk Seret
AUS	Rob McMillan
AUS	James Paterson
AUS	Brian Reynolds
AUS	Anthony Wood
AUT	Florian Raudaschl
BUL	Mihail Kopanov
CHN	PENG ZHANG
CHN	LEI GONG
CHN	TIANYU REN
CHN	BO LIU
CHN	AIMING CHEN
CRO	Ivan Kljakovic Gašpic
CRO	Marin Misura
CRO	Josip Olujic
CYP	Haris Papadopoulos
CZE	Michal Hruby
CZE	Michael Maier
DEN	jonas Högh-Christensen
ESP	rafael trujillo villar
ESP	luca de voti
ESP	Diego Fructuoso
EST	Harles Liiv
FIN	Tapio Nirkko
FRA	Guillaume Florent
FRA	Jonathan Lobert
FRA	Ismael Bruno
GBR	Ben Ainslie
GBR	Andrew Mills
GBR	Ed Greig
GBR	giles scott
GBR	mark andrews
GBR	edward thorburn
GBR	Henry Bagnall
GER	Uwe Barthel
GER	Matthias Bohn
GER	Jan Kurfeld
GRE	AIMILIOS PAPATHANASIOU
HUN	Gaszton Pál
HUN	Tibor Pallay
IRL	Timothy Goodbody
ITA	Marko Kolic
ITA	Riccardo Cordovani
ITA	michele paoletti
ITA	Giorgio Poggi
ITA	Francesco Lubrano
NED	Bas de Waal
NED	Pieter Jan Postma
NOR	Peer Moberg
NZL	Dan Slater
POL	PIOTR KULA
POL	RAFAL SZUKIEL
POL	WACLAW SZUKIEL
POR	Frederico Melo
POR	Rodrigo Quina
RUS	SKORNYAKOV Eduard
RUS	Dmitrii Tereshkin
RUS	Egor Larionov
SLO	Gasper Vincec
SVK	Robert Poor
SWE	Daniel Birgmark
SWE	Johan Tillander
TUR	Ali Kemal Tüfekci
TUR	Akif Muslubas
UKR	Oleksiy BORYSOV
UKR	Andriy GUSENKO
USA	zach railey
USA	Ian Cook