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International Finn Association

2001 Finn Gold Cup - Marblehead, USA

 

 
1
BEL 7
Sebastien GODEFROID
2
3
10
[14]
9
1
1
2
28
2
POL 17
Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ
[17]
6
8
10
2
2
3
1
32
3
GRE 6
Emilios PAPATHANASIOU
1
10
6
[34]
3
4
4
7
35
4
GBR 541
Chris BRITTLE (JR)
3
14
14
3
[17]
13
7
11
65
5
TUR 6
Ali Enver Adakan
[25]
24
15
12
11
3
2
3
70
6
CAN 41
Chris COOK
13
21
7
2
5
[dns]
15
12
75
7
NED 701
Martijn Van Muyden
27
[dns]
3
20
4
6
12
5
77
8
CRO 11
Karlo KURET
[36]
9
22
17
6
5
13
8
80
9
GBR 15
Charlie CUMBLEY(JR)
18
1
2
8
[23]
17
23
14
83
10
AUS 221
Anthony NOSSITER
22
[26]
13
9
14
14
11
4
87
11
52 FRA 11
Mathieu DEPLANQUE
6
5
11
[29]
10
18
21
25
96
12
NED 785
Jaap ZIELHUIS
8
17
12
[31]
16
15
14
16
98
13
NZL 27
Clifton WEBB
9
[25]
16
11
18
16
16
23
109
14
USA 40
Russ SILVESTRI
14
[ocs]
4
4
13
11
ocs
6
110
15
GBR 6
Andrew SIMPSON
37
20
26
15
1
[dnf]
6
9
114
16
CAN 1
Larry LEMIEUX
7
30
5
1
22
28
28
[dnf]
121
17
FRA 1
Xavier ROHART
16
22
27
28
7
[dns]
9
15
124
18
USA 1176
Greg SKIDMORE
15
[ocs]
18
6
26
20
22
19
126
19
CAN 4
Mike MILNER
20
4
[30]
19
25
10
27
22
127
20
NED 765
Stefan De Vries(Jr)
28
18
[38]
33
20
12
8
10
129
21
GBR 550
Ian CLINGAN
4
27
17
24
[39]
24
20
18
134
22
GBR 577
Dave MELLOR
40
13
23
22
19
[dnf]
5
13
135
23
SUI 471
Christoph BURGER
[39]
15
37
18
15
9
25
21
140
24
USA 1170
Geoff EWENSON
19
36
1
7
[38]
26
26
26
141
25
SUI 1
Othmar Muller Von Blumencron
24
34
32
23
8
7
17
[dnf]
145
26
DEN 7
Soren HOLM
[38]
8
9
27
30
27
24
20
145
27
SWE 7
Kristian ADERMAN(JR)
23
23
25
13
29
23
18
[dnf]
154
28
UKR 21
Sergey KOTOV(JR)
5
12
21
[36]
31
36
33
27
165
29
GBR 537
Sergey Cowling Adam
[33]
7
28
25
33
25
30
29
177
30
AUS 222
Paul Mckenzie
26
[42]
40
35
28
19
19
17
184
31
USA 1140
Brian BOYD
11
41
31
16
21
32
34
[dns]
186
32
IRL 10
Aaron O'GRADY(JR)
31
11
[39]
38
32
30
31
24
197
33
POL 12
Waclaw SZUKIEL
10
33
24
21
34
21
[dnf]
dns
201
34
TUR 7
Akif MUSLUBAS
21
29
20
5
12
[dnf]
dns
dns
203
35
USA 1161
Mo HART
42
19
33
[43]
36
22
32
28
212
36
USA 1151
Darrell PECK
47
39
52
46
24
8
10
[dnf]
226
37
USA 78
Andrew KERN
29
28
19
39
41
31
[dns]
dns
245
38
CAN 7
Matt JOHNSTON(JR)
44
35
36
26
37
[dnf]
36
31
245
39
USA 1169
Andrew PIMENTAL
12
2
35
30
52
[dns]
dns
dns
247
40
GBR 8
Tim CARVER
51
48
29
41
27
34
29
[dnf]
259
41
IRL 5
Youen Jacob
30
32
47
37
44
42
35
[dnf]
267
42
USA 975
August MILLER
48
31
44
[49]
48
35
37
30
273
43
USA 1009
Louie Ady Louie
35
50
34
40
42
38
40
[dns]
279
44
GBR 9
Tim TAVINOR
49
16
49
51
40
29
[dns]
dns
292
45
NOR 1
Petter FJELD
50
38
50
48
35
33
39
[dns]
293
46
USA 11
Patrick WEAVER
45
40
45
42
46
40
38
[dns]
296
47
USA 1172
Fred SERAFIN
34
44
55
52
55
43
[dns]
32
315
48
NED 80
Sander WILLEMS(JR)
43
43
42
47
51
39
[dns]
dns
323
49
USA 74
Henry SPRAGUE
32
37
51
44
47
[dns]
dns
dns
327
50
CAN 44
Ross EMMANS
41
47
48
32
45
[dns]
dns
dns
329
51
USA 17
Tim SLATER
46
46
41
54
49
41
[dns]
dns
335
52
USA 151
Johnny GREENE
53
53
46
53
43
37
[dns]
dns
343
53
CAN 61
John AUDLEY
55
54
43
50
54
[dns]
dns
dns
372
54
USA 1087
Janusz PURWIN
57
49
56
45
[dns]
dns
dns
dns
381
55
USA 7
Bill UPTHEGROVE
52
45
54
56
[dns]
dns
dns
dns
381
56
CAN 1111
Dariusz IWANICKI
54
51
53
57
50
[dns]
dns
dns
381
57
USA 115
Joseph BURKE
56
52
57
55
53
[dns]
dns
dns
389
 
 
2001 Finn Gold Cup
Marblehead, USA
 
It took a lot of effort and determination from the organisers and sailors to make this Finn Gold Cup happen but finally after a week of indecision and struggle, the 2001 Finn Gold Cup produced a new World Champion and Junior World Champion after a testing week of variable conditions.
 
Indecision, as with the previous week's terrible events, the organisers and the class were balanced between safety, the unknown political future, the logistical problems due to transport of people and material and on another hand, half of the fleet already in the US for the National Championship, and the well-known optimism and focus of the Finn sailors.
 
Struggle as Stephen and Rogina Jeffreys, the organisers, Gus Miller and a few European sailors had to deal night and days with customs related problems, rescheduling flights, requesting special visas to Embassies, and trying to get equipment, sailors and officials in Marblehead before the regatta!
 
For some, it proved to be very easy, for others like Ukrainian, Sergey Kotov, nearly a miracle. It took numerous phone calls from the organisers and the help of US Sailing to obtain a visa on time for the young Ukrainian who arrived in Boston on the second day of measurement. His mast, lost on the way by the air company was recovered late on the Saturday night. For some other sailors, it was the generosity of Finn friends, lending masts, booms and other pieces of equipment, which made racing possible. Once again, and more than ever the true Finn spirit was operating!
 
And as a result, the 2001 Finn Gold Cup is counting 60 sailors from 18 countries!
 
The regatta officially started on the 21st of September with registration and measurement carried out by Juri Saraskin, John Koopman and their team. It rained all day, the Lamboley took next to an hour per sailor but everyone was happy to be finally here. The next day, the Lamboley was just a formality, the sun was out and more unexpected sailors arrived in Marblehead.
 
Day one
 
The first start was scheduled at 11 am on the Monday morning. A thick fog welcomed the sailors at the Yacht Club and stayed all day. Sailing was therefore postponed then cancelled by Peter Reggio, the P.R.O.
 
Finnsters took this opportunity to show their diverse skills. The British team kicked the soccer ball while some American sailors were reinventing 'Petanque' using Baseball rules on the Club front lawn. As for the Canadian sailors, they decided to entertain everyone with a Keg of beer. With big waves, strong winds and two races expected the next day (compliments of hurricane 'Humberto'), some other sailors decided to play it safe and have an early night!
 
Day two
 
When the sailors arrived at Eastern Yacht Club, there wasn't much hope of any sailing. The wind was good, the waves not too big, but the fog had decided to stay. Around the club the visibility didn't exceed 200 meters. Very wisely, the racing committee decided on a two hours postponement. The fleet was sent out at around noon after the sky lifted enough to see the surrounding coast. After a couple of attempts to start a race, the bad weather settled in with a fog thickening and walls of waters falling from a menacing sky stroke by lightning. Racing had to be cancelled for the day.
 
The spirit of sailors was lifted by a warm welcome, back at Eastern Yacht Club. Hot chocolate, pasta and M&M's made up for a frustrating day. It was a frustrating day in term of sailing but a very special day as well because Gus Miller was inducted into the Finn Class Hall of Fame.
 
Day three
 
The 57 sailors and the race committee showed their eagerness to go racing and everybody was ready well before starting time on the racing area, 1.5 miles offshore. The sea was flat with a little chop and swell. A very shifty wind between six to eight knots and a cross current made racing tricky.
 
Race one, scheduled at 11 am started with no delay or recall. Emilios Papathanasiou, coming from the right side of the course, rounded the top mark in front of Canadian, Larry Lemieux , Sebastien Godefroid, Mathieu Deplanque and Sergey Kotov. While the wind dropped to four knots on the downwind legs, the Jury started to discipline the fleet and penalise a couple of sailors for pumping and/or rocking. At the end of the run, Emilios had increased his lead to one minute over Sebastien Godefroid, now placed second in front of Larry Lemieux (the only sailor to bring his coach "Dooly" and his dog "Rusty" on the water!!).
 
The second beat again offered some chances and while Sebastien bet on the right side to win enough ground to take the lead, Emilios had gone to the left but had still enough speed to place second. The run was a real duelling for first place, under the careful eye of the Jury. Just behind them another battle for 3rd place opposed Chris Brittle to Ian Clingan. The contest was won by Emilios just before the leeward mark. The reach to the finishing line was just a formality. Sebastien took second in front of Junior sailor Chris Brittle.
 
For race two the starting line was a bit more biased and the committee boat was soon crowded with half of the fleet. A first general recall was followed by an individual recall that penalised Russ Silvestri, Greg Skidmore and Martijn van Muyden. Sebastien took a rocket start at the Committee boat while Emilios, in doubt, decided to come back and restart. Canadian, Mike Milner sailed up in the middle of the course to lead the fleet at the top mark. Sebastien was second in front of Charlie Cumbley and Andrew Pimentel.
 
Charlie Cumbley, played safe in the middle and right side of the course, but the winner of the beat was undoubtedly Andrew Pimentel. First at the top mark, Andrew had not sailed a Finn for the last 15 years! Charlie, in second place, took the lead on the run to win the race. Andrew Pimentel remained in second place in front of Sebastien Godefroid and Mike Milner.
 
Day four
 
Sailing was extremely difficult on day four. The sea was flat but the wind evolved from two to six knots, with lots of shifts and very localised pressure. The current played a big role as well. "What was hard out there," explained Mateusz Kusznierewicz, "was to be able to anticipate the shifts. There were no obvious signs." The very light wind didn't provide many chances either to make up for early bad choices.
The shifts seemed to be favouring the left side on the first beat and the right on the second. Those who didn't follow this pattern, had no chance of coming back!
 
Race three started after one general recall. After a pin end favoured start, Geoff Ewenson took the left side option to round the top mark in first position, closely followed by Andrew Simpson, Soren Holm, Emilios Papathanasiou, Greg Skidmore and Charlie Cumbley. While Geoff was sailing into a bigger lead to comfortably win the race, other positions were slightly upset on the run, where the fleet spread out to find more air. With more pressure coming from the right side of the course, places were gained and lost. Danish sailor, Soren Holm, second at the second windward mark lost 8 places on the last run while Larry had major gains. Across the finish line, Geoff took the gun with a one minute lead over Charlie Cumbley and Martijn van Muyden.
 
Race four started after a short postponement due to a major shift. Canadian "Rookie" Chris Cook, took the lead after hitting the left side. He was closely followed by Chris Brittle, Russ Silvestri. Akif Muslubas, and Larry. Chris Cook, remained in front until the second beat when Larry passed him. "I was between the centre of the course and the right. I knew the right side was favoured but I didn't want to play safe so I tried to control both sides. Larry went further to the right and gained enough ground to pass me." Chris finished the race in second position.
 
The top five sailors after four races show the diversity in the Finn class. Charlie Cumbley, first overall, and team mate Chris Brittle, in third, are both Juniors. Sebastien Godefroid in second place won an Olympic Silver medal in 1996. Mateusz Kusznierewicz in fourth place has an Olympic Gold medal and two World Championships, while Larry "The Legend" Lemieux in fifth place is 20 kilos lighter than his competitors and 25 years older than the regatta leader.
 
Day six
 
"Finally a day of sailing," declared Sebastien Godefroid who enjoyed two windy races on day six. The wind that didn't exceed 8 knots in the first 2 days of the Finn Gold Cup, came in force today with gusts up to 25 knots and big steep waves.
 
Not everyone enjoyed these gruelling conditions. While the fitter and stronger guys capitalised on this tough day, the "light weight" sailors suffered a bit. The wind took his toll hurting many legs and breaking a few masts!
 
The racing Committee postponed the first start for an hour waiting for the wind to strengthen and settle. After setting a triangular course, Race 5 started under 15 knots.
 
Andrew Simpson, took a rocket start from the middle of the line, port tacked the fleet, hit the right corner, rounded the top mark with a good margin to win the race. Second at the top mark was Chris Cook from Canada who finished the race in 5th place. The Canadian, with only 8 months of Finn racing, is now 7th overall, despite braking his mast in the second race of the day. Second and third across the finishing line were Mateusz and Emilios:
 
Sebastien easily won the second race: "I know that I have good speed in this kind of weather. So I planned on a conservative start and caught up on the fleet." In second position was Mateusz and Ali Enver Adakan fin 3rd. Othmar Mller von Blumencron, a Swiss sailor living in the US, had his best day of the regatta. After scoring a 8th in the first race of the day, Othmar, led the fleet around the course up to the second windward mark. "As in race 5, my legs got tired towards the end of the race and the fittest guys started to pass me." He still managed to finish in 7th place.
 
With the wind increasing to 20 knots and gusts of 25, many sailors capsized and masts started to brake. British sailor David Mellor was in second when the tip of his mast broke on the second beat. Chris Cook lost his mast on the reach while Xavier Rohart didn't have a chance to start the second race of the day with his mast snapping 3 minutes before the start. A total of 14 boats (25 per cent of the fleet) didn't start or finish race six. A special mention goes to Gus Miller and Louie Nady who finished both races today.
 
Day seven
 
It came down to the last day of racing to decide on the 2001 Finn Gold Cup Winner (World Champion) and Junior World Champion. With only four points separating the top three, the final day promised some interesting action. The wind was  averaging 18 knots when the first race started, increased to a steady 25 knots with gusts reaching 28 knots in the second race. The sea was a two meters steep swell.
 
"Like yesterday, I was planning on a conservative start," explained Sebastien." I stayed with the others on the first start and decided not to push too hard." Sebastien rounded the top mark in 8th place, then gained a lot of ground on the reaches to place 3rd at the bottom mark behind Mateusz and Ali Enver, who had led from the start. "I was fresh on the second beat, as I had not hiked too much on the first one, and was then able to pass Mateusz," commented Sebastien. Once in second position, Sebastien started to go for Ali, while still controlling Mateusz. He passed Ali Enver just 50 meters before the finishing line. In the Junior contest, Chris Brittle got an advantage over Charlie Cumbley by finishing 7th, while Charlie finished 23rd.
 
The wind increased to 25 knots by the second race and 10 boats headed home! Mateusz gave it all in the final race, knowing it was his last chance to make it providing Sebastien would finish six places behind. The current World Champion and 1996 Gold medalist led the fleet to the top mark and conserved his lead until the second beat. In the meantime, Sebastien, 6th at the top mark, was gaining ground on the Pole to place 3rd at the leeward mark. Emilios Papathanasiou was 7th at the top mark and getting closer as well. On the second beat, Sebastien went more to the right of the course than Mateusz and Ali, in second position, to round the top mark ahead. The second downwind was a hard call between speed and control of the boat. The two leaders were often on the verge of capsizing. "When I passed Mateusz at the second top mark, I knew that I would have to try hard to stay in front of him on the run, we kept pushing each other to the limit until I decided it was better to come second in the race and win the Championship than risking a capsize and lose everything," commented Sebastien after the race.
 
Although Mateusz won the last race, the Pole could not add a third World title to his collection and had to be satisfied with a Silver. Sebastien Godefroid in 2nd position was declared World Champion! Emilios Papathanasiou, 2001 European Champion, finished in 7th place to get Bronze. "I am satisfied with my result as I know that I have tried my best" declared Emilios. "With a bad race early in the regatta, I couldn't take too many risks. Also I didn't have my own boat and the feeling was very different."
 
Chris Brittle finished in 11th place in this last race. The young British sailor not only won the Finn Junior World Championship title but also performed well by taking 4th place overall. First master is Canadian Larry Lemieux in 16th place.
 
Thank you to Eastern Yacht Club for a great Championship. We had a hard start with some sad events and two days without racing. Luckily we had a very efficient racing committee who made the most of a wide range of conditions. The work of the Jury and measurers was first class and all the sailors were happy with their decision to come and race in America.
 

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