The toughest trial

We speak to Ed Wright about the imminent British Finn Trials

Sydney International Regatta kicks off this week and although this regularly draws top Olympic international sailing names, the Brits will be watching the outcome closer than usual. The event, getting underway on Saturday 15 December, marks the start of the Finn British Olympic Trials between Ben Ainslie and Ed Wright.

Back at the start of their premier Olympic sailing event, Skandia Sail For Gold, the British Olympic selection panel decided to continue trials for the Finn. Presumably this was due, as much to the impressive results Ed Wright had posted in the class over the last couple of years as to Ainslie’s absence due to his America’s Cup commitments.

The events making up the British trials for the Finn are the Sydney International Regatta and, if required, the Finn Gold Cup in January in Melbourne, the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma and French Olympic Sailing Week at Hyeres, both in April 2008. The selection committee also reserves the right to disregard results of individual regattas if they deem the fleet quality inadequate for a trials regatta. The trials are expected to encompass at least two events, i.e. Sydney International Regatta and the Finn Gold Cup, but it also seems clear from the way the system works that the selection committee are looking to select their sailor sooner rather than later. Specifically this is evident by the announcement that, apart from Sydney International Regatta, other events will only be counted ‘if required.’

For most Ben Ainslie is the clear favourite to win the trials (and indeed Sydney International Regatta and the Gold Cup themselves). One of the most successful Olympians ever, Ainslie currently has three medals winning Gold in both Sydney and Athens, and walking away from Atlanta with silver. Ainslie has gone from strength to strength and time away from the dinghy sailing world, seems not to have dulled his skill. In fact after a year away from the class in 2006 he won the effective pre-pre-Olympics in Qingdao, counting straight firsts. This year, after being selected by Skandia Team GBR as the sole Finn representative for the pre-Olympics, he did much the same, taking victory at the event counting only firsts, seconds and one fifth.


Above: Ainslie following his victory in Qingdao 2007.

With this track record and the media appeal Ainslie brings to the British sailing team (he is one of the few names likely to be known outside of the sailing world) you can almost feel the selection panel willing the Brit on to victory so they can select him. However, it is by no means a done deal yet. Despite the David and Goliath feel to these trials Wright is still in with a decent chance. This season he has been third at the Breitling Regatta, sixth at the World Championships in Cascais as well as taking the European crown back in 2006 and in recent weeks has been doing a great deal to try and maximise his chances of victory. “I got [to Sydney] in November so have been here for quite a long time training on these waters,” Wright said to TheDailySail. He is fully expecting the trials to go beyond the Sydney International Regatta and so has been varying his training venue. “I have just been out on Sydney Harbour most of November, but I have spent some time in Melbourne where the Finn Gold Cup is going to be. I have not done as much there, but have done a bit of training so I am prepared.”

Obviously the big question for Wright is how you go about preparing to face someone as good as Ainslie. “I have been working quite hard on trying to get the boat up to speed,” Wright explains. “Recently we have been doing quite a lot of work on the mast, trying to get that better, just trying to get everything prepared for the big day. I am not ill at the moment which is very handy. Sometimes you get ill when you are away and I was not well in the middle of November. Thankfully that has gone away.”

With the Finn allowing different mast, sail and hull combinations, spending time focussing on equipment is an important part of life for any sailor in the class. Perhaps, though, with Wright having spent more time in the boat than Ainslie over the last cycle he will be more on top of this subtle tweaking and in a better position to get the most out of his boat. However, as is typical within Skandia Team GBR, any great knowledge gleaned tends to be shared out among the team.

Below: Wright at Skandia Sail For Gold Regatta.


It has long been said that a competitive home fleet is of primary importance in achieving success at the Olympics. Probably because of this mentality there is little of the aggressive, competitive attitude you would expect to see at such an important time between the two sailors. In fact Ainslie and Wright have both been out in Sydney for quite a while and have been training together. “I have been training with Ben [Ainslie] but I have also spent a lot of time with the Australians and recently Jonas [Hoegh-Christensen] who has arrived here recently,” Wright comments.

If beating Ainslie in itself weren’t hard enough Wright also has to contend with the fact that Sydney Harbour is a venue Ainslie is not only used to, but has been proven to be successful in. In fact the organisers of the Sydney International Regatta have made a point of stating how close to the Olympic sailing competition of 2000 this event is going to be, even down to the course areas being exactly the same. Clearly this is only going to be a good thing for Ainslie and he must be feeling confident about emulating his Scheidt-slaying success from 2000. Wright, however, remains resolute he has a good chance. “I am pretty confident that I have done all the preparation and that everything is coming together. I just have to wait until the race starts now,” he comments. “Obviously the biggest thing is trying to beat Ben at the trials. Clearly though the best way to do that is to prepare properly for the regattas.”

Although Ainslie probably has the edge in terms of time in the water, Wright has been focussing hard on Sydney in recent months and feels he has a good grasp on the difficulties involved with the venue. “Sydney is a very tricky place to sail because you are sailing in the harbour so the breeze actually comes off the land and over the buildings, no matter what direction you get. Because of that the weather can be very shifty. It can also be quite breezy here though as well so I have been preparing for all conditions really,” he comments.


Above: Wright at th Semaine Olympique Francaise

What will make the event different to the Olympics themselves is that the fleets will be less protected from the vast amount of marine traffic out on Sydney Harbour. This is obviously something sailors have to watch out for and through no fault of their own it would be easy to lose a race getting stuck on the wrong side of a ferry. ”And there are loads of other sailing boats as well, so you need to keep your head out of the boat,” Wright confirms.

Obviously although the Trials themselves are a two horse race, most of the top Finn sailors in the World are turning up to the regatta partly due to the close proximity of the Finn Gold Cup, but also to get a chance to eye up Ainslie’s form and see how they are doing compared to the 2008 Olympic favourite. “Outside of the trials I think it will be Jonas [Hoegh-Christensen] and Rafael [Trujillo] pushing for the win,” Wright muses. “It is going to be a good event, quite a lot of fun and pretty interesting as well.”

Certainly Wright has it all to do particularly with the odds so firmly stacked in Ainslie’s favour. It will definitely be great following this battle royale between the two Brits and one thing is for certain; whoever wins the trial will come out a better medal prospect after such a close competition for the Olympic berth.