OCTOBER 2004 - Finn

OCTOBER 2004
Athens Olympic Regatta
Gold – Ben Ainslie
Silver – Rafael Trujillo
Bronze – Mateusz Kusznierewicz

Congratulations to all SEVEN of our
customers who collected medals in Athens
FINN
Ben AINSLIE
Rafael TRUJILLO
Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ
Yngling*
Shirley ROBERTSON, Sarah WEBB, Sarah AYTON
Star**
Torben GRAEL, Marcelo FERREIRA
Ross MACDONALD, Mike WOLFS
Xavier ROHART, Pascal RAMBEAU
built or prepared boats have
now won 13 medals over the last 3 games
including a clean sweep of the Finn class.
+44 (0) 1621 782603
www.devotisailing.com
* Devoti prepared Abbot built hull ** Devoti Lilla hull built in partnership with Lilla

Opening shot: last race of the 2004 Olympic Regatta in Athens, Greece
GOLD – Ben Ainslie (GBR)
After a shocking start with a DSQ on day
one, Ben channelled his frustration and
found his pace to post a devastating score
line that left his fellow competitors agape
in wonder. A string of fours wins, two
seconds, a third and a fourth catapulted
him into the Gold Medal position, which
he managed to keep hold of in the scrappy
last race. As with Iain Percy four years
earlier Ben was coached by David Howlett.
SILVER – Rafael Trujillo (ESP)
A solid performance from Rafa saw him
as one of the few consistent sailors in
Athens with a string of top five positions.
He moved into the silver medal position
after day two, and he never let go despite
collecting an OCS. Keeping his famous
cool temperament in the tense final race,
Rafa surprised himself as much as
anyone by winning the Silver medal.
BRONZE – Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL)
After the disappointment of fourth place in
Sydney, Mateusz’s joy at winning the
Bronze was there for all to see. Leading
for the first few days, an 11th-OCS-17th
dropped him down to 6th, but he fought
back like the champion he is to win two
more races, including the final deciding
race to claim his second Olympic Finn
medal.
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

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Cover photos: Action from the Olympic
Regatta, Athens, Greece, August 2004.
Photos: François Richard
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President
Philippe Rogge
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President of Honour
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4

FINN NEWS – FINN NEWS – FINN NEWS
International Finn Asociation
ISAF
Useful web links
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2004 Olympic Sailing Competition – ISAF Official Film
400 sailors representing, 61 nations, 126 races over 15 days for 11
sailing events and 54 athletes receiving medals – relive the excitement
from the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition of the XXVIII Olympiad,
Athens, Greece and order the ISAF Official Film.
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www.geocities.com/finnbelgium/
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www.finn-sailing.nl
www.finn-france.com
www.finnwelle.de
www.telnet.hu/finn
www.nzfinn.org
www.finnejolle.nu
www.finn.ch
www.usfinnclass.org
Devoti Sailing Ltd
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Pata Willetts Marine
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Lemieux Boats
webhome.idirect.com/~lemieux
North Sails UK www.northsails.co.uk/one-design/finn.htm
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www.nz.northsails.com
Sea-nergy Sails
www.sea-nergy.com
Victory Sails
www.victorysails.com, www.intervela.com
Marina Dellas
www.dellas.de
High Performance Wetsuits NZ www.hikingpantsnz.com
All major Finn gear suppliers will get a free listing. All advertisers will
get one year’s inclusion on this list.
Finn - Single-Handed Dinghy Men
Issue Date : 2 September 2004
Pos Helm Nation Prev Points
1 Mateusz KUSZNIEREWICZ POL 1 5761
2 Rafael TRUJILLO VILLAR ESP 2 5746
3 Karlo KURET CRO 3 5680
4 Ben AINSLIE GBR 4 5611
5 Sebastien GODEFROID BEL 5 5446
6 Jonas HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN DEN 6 5430
7 Guillaume FLORENT FRA 9 5298
8 Anthony NOSSITER AUS 11 5241
9 Joao SIGNORINI BRA 12 5205
10 David BURROWS IRL 16 5074
11 Michael MAIER CZE 13 5062
12 Jaap ZIELHUIS NED 15 5002
13 Gasper VINCEC SLO 14 4991
14 Emilios PAPATHANASIOU GRE 20 4905
15 Ali Enver ADAKAN TUR 18 4881
16 Andrew SIMPSON GBR 7 4827
17 Michael FELLMANN GER 19 4741
18 Soren HOLM DEN 8 4713
19 Marin MISURA CRO 10 4611
20 Dean BARKER NZL 29 4550
Available on DVD in VHS or NTSC format, the ISAF Official Film will
present the ‘Olympic Story’ of the eleven sailing events contested in
Athens in 70 minutes of sailing highlights and commentary. It will bring
you all the action from the race course, together with fascinating facts
and figures and interviews with the Gold medalists, who recount their
campaign for Olympic glory.
The film will look at the infrastructure behind the Olympic
SailingCompetition, the different organisations www.classefinn.it involved and the
background to competitors and personal sacrifices made in pursuit
of the honour of representing their nation at the Olympic Games.
Compiled as an historic and educational film, in addition to the ‘Olympic
Story’, the DVD will contain further racing footage from each of the
eleven events providing an excellent coaching tool on racing techniques
and tactics.
The DVD will link back to the comprehensive information on the ISAF
website, including results, mark by mark roundings, event reports and
images. The DVD available in VHS or NTSC format can be ordered
direct from the ISAF Secretariat at a cost of £25 plus postage and
packing. DVDs will be dispatched in the week commencing 11 October
2004. ISAF is offering preferential rates for multiple orders of the DVD.
Sydney International Regatta 2004
For this year only Yachting NSW will run the Sydney International
Regatta (SIRs) over three days; from the 18th to the 20th of December.
Olympic, Paralympic, Youth, and invited classes will hit the harbour
for the renowned series, which will again be conducted from Woollahra
Sailing Club with the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron hosting the
keelboat classes.
The 2003 Regatta was a great success, drawing a range of high
profile sailors from 21 countries. With an average fleet size of over
150 boats, this regatta will provide valuable training for those crews
working towards competing in their State, National and World
Championships in December and January. This year will be the 13th
year Yachting NSW has organised the Sydney International Regatta,
which is part of the Sail Down Under series. The NOR will be available
on the Yachting New South Wales website in early September at
www.nsw.yachting.org.au
Give your campaign a little more support
3
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FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

Olympic Regatta 2004 – Athens, Greece
Ben Ainslie has carved himself a reputation in recent years of being able to
make dramatic comebacks in races. However in Athens he was set the task
of making his most awesome comeback yet. A 9th and a DSQ on day one left
him in a lowly 19th overall, and the chances of a third Olympic medal were a
dim prospect. But the comeback kid focussed and refocussed and went on to
win three of the next four races to drag himself back into contention. The rest,
as they say is history. Reports by ISAF and Gus Miller
Day One
Race one – Emilios leads all the way
Following a general recall in the first start that
saw a bunch of around five or six boats over
the line at the starboard end, the second start
was all clear and Emilios Papathanasiou
came off the port end with Ali Enver Adakan
ahead of the bunch. Playing the shifts well
the two rounded clear ahead of the chasing
pack, and were never challenged.
Mateusz Kusznierewicz started his 2004
quest well, finishing third after rounding third
at the first mark. Ben Ainslie suffered from
his known first race nervousness and after a
bad start, rounded the first top mark in 14
place, eventually picking up to finish ninth.
Race two – 1996 gold medalist leads
The light, six knot southerly gradually crept
left as the sea breeze established and by the
time the second race started, it was blowing
from the south-east at about 11 knots. Ben
and Mateusz took a risk and set off on an
epic and close battle for first and second.
The Pole got to the first mark a matter of
seconds ahead of Ben, who got through on
the downwind leg to round ahead at mark
two. Of the chasing pack it was Karlo Kuret
who came through to finish behind Ben. Jonas
Hoegh-Christensen had an amazing
comeback. Rounding the first mark in 12th
place he climbed boat by boat to eventually
finish fifth.
It proved not to be a great day for Ben
however. After a port starboard incident with
the French sailor, who subsequently lodged
a protest, Ben was disqualified from race two,
leaving him in 19th place overall.
Day two
Race three – Ben bites back
The wind was 10 knots from the north-west
at the start. Dean Barker started at the pin,
tacked onto port and took the lead from Kevin
Hall. Ben pulled back from 20th at the first
mark to fifth on the run, and the race was
abandoned after the fleet compacts at the
leeward mark. The restart was in 13 knots
from NNE, but this race was also abandoned
at the first weather mark. The fleet was not
happy!
On the third restart, the wind was 13 knots
from north-east. David Burrows, Dean,
Michael Fellmann and Sebastien Godefroid
start well and led at the weather mark. Ben
was 16th but soon passed three boats. On
the run he passed 11 more boats to round
second behind David. On the next beat the
wind built to 20 knots and Sebastien passed
Ben. On the run both pass David and then
fought it out for the rest of the race to finish
with a big margin over the next boats. David
faded to 9th after capsizing on the run when
the wind gusted to 29 knots.
Race four - double win for Ben
With the wind now at 25 knots from NNE,
and at five o’clock, everyone was tired. David
started well and lead at the first mark with
6

FINAL RESULTS – SINGLE-HANDED DINGHY MEN
Place NOC Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total Net
1 GBR Ben Ainslie 9 DSQ 1 1 4 1 2 3 2 1 14 64 38
2 ESP Rafael Trujillo 8 3 3 6 2 3 OCS 4 5 4 13 77 51
3 POL Mateusz Kusznierewicz 3 1 6 4 11 OCS 17 1 7 2 1 79 53
4 CRO Karlo Kuret 6 2 10 8 12 (18) 7 5 3 3 5 79 61
5 GRE Emilios Papathanasiou 1 5 17 13 15 6 8.4(RDG) 2 1 (22) 4 94.4 72.4
6 AUS Anthony Nossiter 18 8 4 7 8 13 1 8 20 6 (25) 118 93
7 BEL Sebastien Godefroid 19 12 2 5 6 5 3 11 (24) 18 15 120 96
8 FRA Guillaume Florent 7 7 5 16 3 9 9 15 13 12 (19) 115 96
9 DEN Jonas Hoegh-Christensen 16 4 23 DNF 1 8 11 13 10 8 11 131 105
10 BRA Joao Signorini 15 9 (21) 15 21 4 5 6 12 9 17 134 113
11 USA Kevin Hall 11 6 13 (17) 16 14 13 9 9 17 7 132 115
12 IRL David Burrows 17 14 9 3 18 2 OCS 10 11 10 22 142 116
13 NZL Dean Barker 5 10 7 11 7 16 OCS 12 19 20 10 143 117
14 SWE Daniel Birgmark 12 13 11 14 14 10 4 7 17 16 (21) 139 118
15 CZE Michael Maier 13 17 19 9 (20) 12 15 18 4 7 6 140 120
16 TUR Ali Enver Adakan 2 15 8 10 22 11 10 21 16 (24) 9 148 124
17 GER Michael Fellman 14 11 12 2 9 17 19 19 (25) 21 3 152 127
18 CAN Richard Clarke 10 18 15 22 19 15 OCS 14 8 11 2 160 134
19 NED Jaap Zielhuis (22) 19 18 12 13 7 12 16 14 13 12 158 136
20 SLO Gasper Vincec 4 24 14 19 DNF 19 8 17 18 5 23 177 151
21 RUS Vladimir Krutskikh (23) 22 22 21 10 23 16 22 6 23 8 196 173
22 ARG Alejandro Colla 20 21 (25) 18 5 20 14 20 21 19 16 199 174
23 HUN Balazs Hajdu (24) 16 16 20 17 22 20 23 15 14 20 207 183
24 ITA Michele Marchesini 21 20 20 24 24 24 6 (25) 23 15 24 226 201
25 EST Imre Taveter (25) 23 24 23 23 21 18 24 22 25 18 246 221
© 2004 IOC • Official Results powered by Atos Origin • Timing and results management by SWATCH • www.olympic.org • www.athens2004.com
Ben, Sebastien and Karlo right behind. On
the run David swamped his boat and dropped
to 6th. Ben took the lead with Sebastien and
Mateusz right behind. Ben went on to win the
race with Sebastien sometimes taking the
lead. Mateusz and David battled it out behind
them.
On the second run Sebastien threw away a
150 meter lead after rolling it in, recovered
to 3rd, passed Ben to regain the lead and
going into the finish he rolled it in again. He
wasn’t the only one capsizing. Mateusz
capsized and lost eight boats. Jonas got a
control line in the mainsheet block and
dumped as well.
After racing Ben commented, “Today was a
better day for me. Yesterday was merely a
disaster. What happened yesterday, made
me angry and more determined. I now have
my back to the wall, I have to make no
mistakes and it will be a great challenge for
me to overcome myself and claim a medal.”
Karlo said, “It was a very hard day today. I
am very tired, but very satisfied. The wind
shifts were very unpredictable. One minute
I thought I was in control of things and the
next I thought I had lost it. Today I did well,
but I still made many mistakes.”
Mateusz said, “I am very, very tired. These
are definitely not my favoured weather
conditions. I wish they change very soon. But
I am very happy. I managed to do well and
stay at the top of the fleet. This gives me
great hope and expectations for the future.”
Day three
Race five – Jonas runs away with it
On the third day the Finn class was one of
only two fleets to be sent out onto the Saronic
Gulf in the blustery Meltemi conditions.
Conditions for the start of race five, were a
moderate to fresh 22 knot northerly with the
prospect of some big swell. The breeze was
enough for the race committee to raise flag
O before the start, altering RRS to the class
rules and allowing body kinetics and pumping.
Jonas came off the port end well and
continued towards the left hand side of the
course whilst Ben, having to luff to avoid the pin
end boat, tacked early onto port into clear air.
Halfway up the first beat it was looking good
for Ben as he led the fleet by some 10
PHOTOS: All the wonderful photos in
the Olympic reports in this issue of
FINNFARE were taken by François
Richard. If anyone wants copies or prints
please contact François direct on
francois.richard.photo@wanadoo.fr
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

Day five
Race seven – OCS galore
After the lay-day, race seven was sailed in a
building sea breeze from the southerly
quadrant, which was still quite shifty. Things
were crowded on the start line and this
resulted in no fewer than five sailors being
scored OCS.
At the top of the first beat Sebastian led from
Anthony Nossiter. In a light shifty breeze, the
lead changed a couple of times and after the
first downwind leg, Ben had pulled through
from sixth to third.
boatlengths from Dean. David and Sebastien,
along with a couple of others, took another
early hitch towards the left whilst Ben and Dean
and four or five others continued on port.
Halfway up the first beat, a 25-degree shift
to port allowed Jonas to lead into the first
mark and he set off at speed across the top
reach. He was never seriously challenged
and eventually won the race by a little under
a minute, but there was still plenty of action
behind him as breeze continued to shift and
build and Rafael moved up into second place
ahead of Alejandro Colla. In a last gasp
attempt to gain places, Ben, who had come
back into the race place-by-place, sneaked
into the port end of the finish line in fourth.
Race six - third win for Ben
For the start of race two the breeze had
steadied at 20 knots of breeze with around
15 degree shifts. The first casualty of the start
was overnight leader, Mateusz, who picked
up an OCS at the pin.
David actually made the best of conditions
on the start line and headed off on starboard
towards the left. Building up a significant first
beat lead, he rounded the first mark 19
seconds ahead of Ben, who had made a fast
but conservative start a little down from the
starboard end. Heading down the run, Ben reeled
in David and by the leeward mark had taken the
lead. Both sailors continued to build on this lead
and eventually Ben won his third race.
Medal prospects
There was no coaches poll taken this time
as at previous games. The consensus was
that Ben (GBR) and Mateusz (POL) would
fight it out for Silver and Gold unless one
of them had a catastrophic early failure.
The coaches’ candidates for Bronze
included BEL, CRO, DEN, ESP, FRA, GRE,
IRL, NZL and TUR.
Following race five, the first discard kicked
in with Ben now leading the fleet after six
races, followed by Rafael and Mateusz. Ben
filed a request with the International Jury to
reopen the protest hearing that saw him
disqualified in race two, but this request was
denied and the decision stood.
As the breeze dropped, Ben continued to
take places to lead at the second windward
mark, which he held until the last leg. Behind
him though, things were rocking around as
Sebastien had dropped to third, whilst Joao
Signorini was reading the shifts well, pulling
a fantastic comeback into fifth.
Then Anthony pulled his best move of the
event by overtaking Ben on the final downwind
leg to finish first. He commented on the win.
“I was quite lucky towards the end, I was
happy to be third but I passed Ben and
Sebastian on the last leg. It was fantastic.”
Race eight – second win for Mateusz
The second day of the race, race 8 for the
fleet saw the comeback of both Mateusz,
who led from start to finish, building on a slim
lead at the first windward mark to win, and
Emilios just over a minutes behind.

The breeze had been building all day and it
was in a still increasing 12 knot wind that the
fleet started. Although the top two retained
and pulled out their lead, from third backwards
shifted positions enormously. Rafael went
from third down to fourth as Ben recovered
from a bad start to finish third by the gun.
at the top of the race became an enjoyable
trip for me. [In race eight] After a while they
raised the pumping flag so I could work my
way up. In general the second race was
better, yet for me it was a nightmare. I had a
good start and was going pretty well but
suddenly I was too slow. Everybody started
to pass me and I ended up in the middle of
the fleet making one mistake after the other.”
Day six
The results of race eight mean that Ben took
an eight point advantage over Rafael into the
final three races, with Mateusz’s victory
allowing him to retain a slim lead over
Sebastian.
Ben commented, “It was a tough day today,
with this tricky light sea breeze in the morning.
I was second in the first race. In the second
race, I didn’t have a very good start, I was
tenth so finally finishing third was another
solid result. Mateusz had a good race in the
last one too. With three races to go I have to
make no mistakes and see how it goes.”
Rafael commented, “I am happy only for the
second race, there were nice conditions. The
sea breeze was really nice. In the first race
I made a mistake and I was OCS. The Finn
class has a very high level, Ainslie,
Kusznierewicz, Godefroid and I will fight it until
the last leg. It’s a surprise but it’s good for me.”
Mateusz said, “A difficult race for me as I was
over the line, so I had to go back because I
couldn’t risk receiving an OCS. Hence, I
stayed behind and during the race I couldn’t
bounce back. The problem is that Ben is so
far in front that unless he makes some
mistakes, he is bound to win the gold.
Sebastien agreed, “...each one of us has a
lot of ups and downs, except Ben who only
has ups. Sailing in these wind conditions,
means that once you are up front or behind,
there is not much you can do. I was lucky
because I had a very good start; thus being
Trivia: 2004 is the first year ever that the
reigning World Champion has won an
Olympic Gold and the first time the
reigning World Champion has won any
Olympic medal since André Nelis won
bronze in 1956
Race nine – local hero wins again
Race nine started in the southerly sea breeze
that was pretty unstable and it was local sailor
Emilios who took full advantage of the shifts
early on in the race. By the first windward
mark he had already established a slim lead,
and whatever happened, he maintained
composure to take the race win. Following
his request for redress to the International
Jury and the examination of video evidence
after being scored OCS the previous day, he
was granted average points for race 7.
Ben started conservatively and rounded the
first mark in fifth place, 39 seconds behind
the leader, but in true form, he slowly chipped
away at those in front and eventually did
enough to score a second place finish.
Pushing Emilios right to the wire, he closed
the gap to a mere nine seconds.
Behind Ben, the race was turning into a game
of snakes and ladders. Karlo and Michael
Maier swapped third and fourth places
between them all race, with the battle
eventually being won by the Karlo.
Race ten – Ben wins again
Mateusz had a blip to his quest for a medal
during the middle of the schedule, when an
OCS and a bad race dropped him from first
to sixth overall, but he redeemed himself in
race ten.
Starting conservatively he rounded the first
mark in fourth and worked the shifty breeze
well, first of all picking off Gasper Vincec
before overtaking Karlo to claim second place.
In front of him his only view was the familiar
transom of Ben, who led from start to finish
to claim a fourth race win.
Setting themselves up for a good final race
on Saturday, second placed Rafael scored
good fifth and fourth places. To prevent Ben
securing his second Gold medal he had to
finish 14 places ahead of him. All of the medal
prospects have at least one high score in
their results so there is no room for error.
Following racing today Ben spoke about
facing a lay-day at this time in the competition.
“Obviously tomorrow it will be difficult to relax,
but I just have to prepare myself for the final
day on Saturday.”
He continued, “I am happy with the day but
there’s still one more race to go so I can’t get
too excited. I’ve got to keep an eye on Rafa
as he is sailing really well. There’s still a long
way to go.”
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

Rafael commented, “It was a very difficult
day as the winds were shifting throughout
the race. However, I tried hard to win a race
but it was impossible due to Ben. He is from
another planet.”
Mateusz commented on his strategy for the
final race, “I’ll have probably decided by the
time I round the first mark. In the beginning
I’ll definitely try to win the race but will also
look at Karlo and Rafa. It depends on the
weather conditions. If it’s going to be tricky,
then it will be really interesting.”
Day seven
Race 11 – Ainslie does the double
On the final day, Ben Ainslie won GBR’s
second Gold medal in emphatic style, carving
his name on the slate of Olympic history with
his third Olympic Medal. Going into the final,
deciding race of the series, Rafael, was a
mere 14 points behind Ben. So to break into
the Gold medal position he had to finish at
least fourteen places ahead of Ben.
The final race started in a steadily building
sea breeze and off the port end of the line,
in true style, Ben and Rafael were close
together. In the early part of the first beat Ben
looked to have done half the job. But Rafael
pulled back through by sailing to the righthand
side, and he rounded the top mark
seven places ahead of Ben.
The race was being led by Kevin Hall from
Emilios. By the top of the first run Rafael had
retained his sixth place, whilst Ben pulled up
to tenth. With a long way to go in the tricky
conditions, anything the Saronic Gulf could
throw at the pair could change the result.
Ben caught up to Rafael down the first run
and a furious gybing duel ensued as the pair
negotiated traffic in the lightening pressure.
At mark three chaos ensued. It seemed that,
bar the front three, the entire fleet rounded
at the same time (see page 3).
Mateusz made the best of the situation,
picking up first place in the melee to lead by
the next windward mark, but behind him in
the pack, Ben rounded just two places behind
Rafael. On the early part of the second beat
Rafael dropped behind Ben, leaving Ben the
easy job of covering for the rest of the race.
At the finish it was Mateusz who took the
race win and a jubilant leap out of the boat
confirmed that he was to be the recipient of
the bronze medal. Ben let Rafael past on the
final run, but the Gold medal was in the bag.
Oh what a night – medals and honour
The atmosphere was electric in the auditorium
as it filled to a capacity with team mates,
family, friends, spectators and support
personnel ready to honour the sailors
receiving medals.
Enter stage left, the medalists who had their
medals presented by past Finn sailor and
Olympian and now IOC President, Jacques
Rogge. The flowers were presented by ISAF
Treasurer Brian Southcott. Bronze went to
Mateusz his second Olympic medal, with
Rafael taking the silver. Keen followers and
participants in sailing, Her Majesty Queen
Sofia of Spain and daughter were in the
auditorium cheering on Rafael. But the biggest
cheer was reserved for Ben who averted
disaster by fighting back from his DSQ in
race 2 to overall victory in the final race.
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

David Burrows (IRL) sailing
his Finn off Howth Head in
Ireland in June 2003
Photos: David O’Brien/Ireland
Afloat

Gus Miller’s Olympic diary
Each day during the Olympics, Gus Miller sent a report from Athens to the US Finn
website www.usfinnclass.org. What follows are extracts from that diary which can be
found in full in the forum section. As always, it makes for interesting reading.
Start minus two
Who would be here Who would find
themselves here The first sailor I met was
Dean Barker with whom I stayed for ten days
in 1994 in Auckland. Focus of mind and effort,
luck and the support of many others has
brought athlete competitors from villages and
cultures scattered all over the planet. Each
will test themselves to see how well they can
perform. At this level, each has themselves
as the greatest challenge. This is the root
bond that each will take home to share and
teach.
Respect for yourself and for your competitors.
How many ways will this value be corrupted
by media hype, drugs, greed and other ways
of cheating With this much money and
prestige it is hard to keep mindful of this basic
value.
Training weather has been great but now the
weather is changing. The practice race saw
Karlo in the early lead, then Mateusz with
David close. Ben got the lead later after a
bad start. No one completed the course. The
wind kept moving left as the sea breeze built
and one had to play for the pressure rather
than the angle.
Start minus one
The Opening Ceremony was a meditation on
an evolving mandela. So many powerful
images to ponder. To be there in person, to
feel the presence of so many thousands can
not come across on TV. First there was the
sky and the water filled infield. In the field of
myth came the earth and to the earth came
life in a small child’s boat. From myth to the
reality of the classical period, then Alexander
the Great, then the Hellenistic and Byzantine
periods. The revolt from the Turks brought
Modern Greece, the rebirth of the Olympics
and the Greek Music. In a swirling mist were
hints of something, pieces of light that evolved
into the Double Helix.
From the Helix came the tree of life, the
drained infield filled with 10,000 athletes from
all the world. Each entering country was
shown on the world’s map with its area and
population.
Then the Female chief of the Greek Olympic
organisers was followed by the Finn’s own
Jacques Rogge. He was President of the IFA
1979 - 81 when I was VP Sailing and the
qualities he had then were just beginning
their journey to his place before the Tree of
Life. He spoke of the Olympic Truce and all
that it means for Countries who send athletes
to the Games. Refuse Drugs and Fair Play.
This was backed by a video of Nelson
Mandella saying that the UN asks to extend
the Olympic Truce to the world and that it be
a time of reconciliation.
I see four Groups. Group I is GBR and POL
who are in a class by themselves. The others
will be lucky to read their numbers when they
finish. Group II is CRO, ESP, FRA, GRE, NZL
and TUR. Group III is AUS, BEL, CAN, CZE,
DEN, GER, IRL and USA. Group IV is ARG,
BRA, EST, HUN, ITA, NED, RUS, SLO and
SWE. Guys in Group III will be able to
challenge Group II on occasion. The guys I
am coaching are all in Group IV which is why
IFA has me here. EST (Imre Taveter) I’ve
known since 1978 when he was sailing an
Opti in the Opening Ceremony of the
preOlympics where I was 3rd.
Day one
Racing started today. Race 1 in 6 to 8 knots
at 185. After a general recall there was a right
shift just before the start. GRE got the pin
and was gone with TUR right behind him
followed by POL and SLO. Next was NZL
fighting with CRO and FRA. GBR blew the
start and after bailing out pulled up a long
way. ESP also sailed up through the fleet.
Race 2 in 8 to 11 knots from 165. POL and
GBR are gone. GBR passes POL on the first
run and POL returns the favour on the second
run. GER has a great first half and then fades
badly. CRO is 1.5 minutes back at the finish
and ESP is 2.5 back. After them the pack is
tight between 5 and 19.
Day two
The Meltemi arrived on the Saronic Gulf today
with cooler North winds. Spent the day viewing
the racing from George Andreadis’ boat with
IFA President Philippe Rogge and President
of Honour Gerardo Seeliger. GBR lost the
Port and Starboard protest with FRA and so
has a DSQ for Race 2.
Race 3.1 Wind 10 knots from 335. NZL starts
at the pin, goes over to port and has the lead.
GBR starts at the RC, goes right and is in
the back of the pack. USA is having a great
race and is 2nd behind NZL at the top mark;
GBR is 20th. On the run the wind is in shafts
and veers so the fleet compacts at the leeward
mark. GBR passes boats up to 5th when the
RC abandons the race.
Race 3.2 Wind 13 knots from 010. USA again
is having a great race when the RC abandons
at the first weather mark.
Race 3.3 Wind 13 knots from 040. IRL, NZL,
GER and BEL start well and are top at the
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

weather mark. USA is again doing well in 6th.
GBR is 16th. On the reach USA gets a RR42
yellow flag and has to do a 720. GBR passes
three boats. On the run GBR passes 11 boats
to be second behind IRL. USA is 12th. On
the next beat the wind builds to 20, BEL
passes GBR. On the run both pass IRL and
then duke it out the rest of the race to finish
with a big margin over the next boats ESP
and AUS. IRL fades to 9th after capsizing on
the run when the wind gusts up to 29 knots.
Race 4 Wind 25 knots from 025. It is now
five o’clock and everyone is tired. IRL starts
out well and is leading at the first mark with
GBR, BEL and CRO right behind. On the run
IRL swamps his boat and drops to 6th, GBR
takes the lead with BEL and POL right behind.
GBR goes on to win the race with BEL
sometimes taking the lead. POL and IRL
battle it out behind them.
As one wanders around the Finn yard one
learns things that race course security keeps
us from seeing. On the second run of the
race where BEL was 5th, it turns out he had
a 150 meter lead and rolled it in, recovered
in 3rd, passed GBR to regain the lead and
going into the finish BEL rolls it in again. He
wasn’t the only one capsizing. POL dumped
and lost 8 boats. DEN got a control line in
the mainsheet block and dumped.
Today, the same strong Meltemi and more
losses of control. Only the Finn and Yngling
were sent racing because it was their media
day on live coverage. All other classes were
kept ashore. Why, when the elite sailors of
the world are here, were their no other races
Real sailors (read Finns) went sailing.
Day three
Race 5 Wind 20 to 25 knots from 000 but
there are lulls and 30 degree shifts. The real
Jonas Christen from DEN we all got to know
in Lauderdale finally showed up, picked up
an early lefty and was gone, extending his
lead on every leg. Behind him ARG, FRA and
ESP had a great duel for the whole race.
GBR was 10 in the early legs but moved up
on the last legs and actually took 20 meters
out of ARG in the last 150 meters before the
finish. The real BEL also showed up again
with another solid race. It is interesting that
there are 20 sailors here who could win any
given race by a good margin but the mental
pressures keep them from their potential.
Many of them admit they don’t know which
of their beings will show up in any given race.
POL was way back but he had CRO to
contend with which made life difficult for POL.
At the end of the fleet EST and ITA were 600
meters back and were locked in a hammer
and tongs battle that the TV focused on. SLO
had lost his mast on the first run right in front
of EST who had nowhere to go and dumped
in order to avoid a high speed crash.
Race 6. Wind 15 to 25 knots from 015 with
30 degree shifts. GBR starts at the RC end
and POL goes for the pin. POL is a foot early,
learns that he was over midway up the beat
and sails in early. The real IRL shows up and
takes the early lead. GBR passes him on the
run and then opens up more on every leg.
BRA and GRE get among the leaders and
have good races for a change. The real BEL
is also racing in this race and moves more
toward a medal. I didn’t think his mind was
there but he is proving me wrong although
he says the other not so hot BEL is still there.
DEN is not quite as hot as in race 5 but is
going well.
Tomorrow is a lay day so I’ll sleep and then
come in to repair the EST rudder and tiller
which are badly bent. Then to see ancient
Athens and some of the other events.
Day four
After yesterday and today everyone is tired
and in need of a rest day. It is far from over:
GBR is leading but has a DSQ and a 9th.
ESP has a worst 8th. POL has an OCS and
an 11th. BEL has a 19th and a 12th. As a
guess either GBR or POL will win but never
underestimate BEL. I’m not sure ESP can
stay with the experience or toughness of BEL,
GBR and POL.
Day five
When I arrived at the venue, all the classes
that were held ashore yesterday were out.
Their only problem was the wind. The old
Meltemi was fighting with the seabreeze
mechanism and the live TV feed showed
lessons in patience.
Carl Eichenlaub, the US Team boatwright
helped repair the EST rudder and tiller. By
the time it was done EST (Imre Taveter who
also slept late) showed up.
The four Groups need some adjustment. BEL
is back and goes from GIII to GII; if he
continues the same form as the last two days,
he’ll go to GI with GBR and POL. NZL and
TUR go from GII to GIII as they don’t show
the ability claw their way up the fleet. FRA
and ESP are at the head of GII; they spent
a lot of time training together and it shows.
FRA has only been sailing the Finn for two
years which is an impressive performance.
He is an engineer and is still disturbed by
heavy air downwind.
Day six
“It is easy to loose respect for yourself as
well as the opposition in this place.”
“I’m sailing as if it is my fourth day in a Finn.
I hadn’t capsized all year and now twice in
this regatta.”
Two good races today in a light pre-seabreeze
and a moderate real seabreeze. The kind of
micro Meltemi of the last three days has gone;
it wasn’t the real Meltemi which can blow
hard for weeks.
With today’s results, the Olympic Regatta is
taking shape. GBR is moving toward the Gold
with an ability to sail up through the fleet.
ESP is moving toward the Silver with a
consistent mistake free series. Six have a
medal chance: POL, BEL, AUS and CRO
have a shot at Silver or Bronze; FRA and
GRE have a shot at Bronze. Tomorrow will
sort this out. Membership in the four Groups
has to be modified again. AUS is solid in
GroupII with today’s first race. POL is again
solid in GroupI with today’s second race. BRA
and SWE both move from GroupIV to
GroupIII.
Race 7. 6 knots building to 8 and backing
from 220 to 180. There was a cluster
something at the pin end and POL and GER
restarted. CAN, ESP, GRE, IRL and NZL
neglected to restart and were OCS. GBR had
a conservative start at the RC and had to bail
out right in a backing wind. BEL had the early
lead until GBR overtook him on the second
beat. AUS picked off a righty toward the end
of the last beat and went on to win the race.
USA was 9th until he had to do circles after
the second weather mark. ARG had a great
race going in 4th until he lost concentration
and lost 10 boats.
Race 8 The seabreeze kicked in at 1500 with
11 knots from 175. This built to 17 knots and
backed to 160. POL got a clear start and was
14

gone into another universe, extending his
lead on every leg to win by 600 meters. GRE,
ESP and CRO followed. GBR climbed boat
by boat from 10th to 3rd and BRA went from
15 to 6. FRA had problems and fell from 7th
to 16th.
Day seven
“It is really hard out there but then this is the
Olympics.” DEN. “The Olympics is a lot of
great sailors having a difficult time.” AUS. “It
is the pressure that you put on yourself.”
Glenn Bourke, AUS.
It is hard to find yourself here. There are team
officials micro managing, coaches on ego
trips and the media hyping things out of
recognition. There are many sailing
professionals here and when things aren’t
going well they sit around and commiserate
with tales about their Volvo, America’s Cup
and rich owners adventures.
GBR’s performance today gives him the best
shot at the Gold but will have to sail the last
race with a finish better that 16.
BEL and AUS took themselves out of the
Medal contention in race nine. BEL had to
bail out of a reasonable start, looked as if he
were headed for the Greek Islands and was
DFL until he passed GER on the final beat.
GRE got back in Medal contention by winning
race nine going away and then destroyed his
chances with a very poor job in race ten.
Race 9 Wind 5 to 7 knots from 195 backing
to 160 at times. It was a difficult course with
the good angle on the left and the good
pressure on the right. DEN hit the pin anchor,
had to do circles and then went up the middle
where he got neither a good angle or
pressure. POL came out well from the pin
with GBR on his weather hip with equal speed.
GRE, CRO, CZE, ESP, RUS, BRA, IRL and
CAN went right into the pressure. GRE in the
lead was gone. CZE, CRO, ESP, GBR and
RUS were next. GBR passed ESP on the
reach, CRO on the run and CZE on the next
beat. EST who has been improving each race
came out of the right and was 12th for his
best mark position yet.
Race 10 Wind 7 knots from 185 building to
14 knots as the seabreeze backed to 160.
GBR got the lead early and held it comfortably.
CRO was right behind but was passed by
POL on the first run. ESP was 10th at the
reaching mark, passed NZL and IRE on the
run, passed Can and SLO on the second
beat, passed FRA and AUS on the run to
finish 4th and keep his Silver possibility alive.
DEN was up and down going from 24 at the
first mark to 10 on the second beat, dropping
to 19 on the run and back to 10th on the next
beat to finish 8th.
Tomorrow is a reserve day and Finns will rest
and worry. ESP will have to pick up 15 points
on GBR for Gold. POL will have to pick up
15 points on ESP for Silver. CRO will have
to pick up 5 points on POL for Bronze.
Day nine
This Olympic Finn Regatta is history. Race
11 Wind between 5 and 9 knots from around
175, swinging right to 185 and backing to
160. For this race the pressure was off and
the general area of finish already determined.
USA and CAN cut loose and were 1, 3 at the
top mark. POL was 5th at the top mark, moved
up into first on the run and kept it all the way
to the finish as he had to do. When he got
the winner’s horn he visibly relaxed, stood
with a whoop and leapt into the water for a
swim. USA couldn’t keep pace offwind and
dropped to seventh. CAN finally could keep
pace offwind, moved up to second and held
it to the finish. CRO who needed to get four
boats on POL was 7th at the top mark and
moved up to finish 5th for the Leather Medal.
GBR had a bad/conservative start and was
13th at the top mark to ESP’s 6th. GBR caught
and passed ESP on the second beat and
then covered to push ESP down in the fleet.
Going into the short reach to the finish GBR
was a boat length ahead when he relented
and let ESP pass to keep the Silver Medal.
The Medal Ceremony occurred just after
sunset. IOC President Jacques Rogge came
just to present the Finn Medals. When he
was finished, they took a few pictures and
then whisked him off.
Why did GBR win the Finn Ben was better
prepared in every way. He was the most
physical. His rig and kit (mast and sail) was
far more developed to his style than anyone’s.
He had better training partners. He had more
training sessions on the water in Athens than
anyone. He had better coaching; there is no
other Finn or Star coach as good as David
Howlett. He had better confidence with three
successive FGC wins. His concentration is
better than any others; a Tibetan Monk would
love to have him as a student for this reason.
His success hasn’t gone to his head; when
Percy needed help preparing his Star, there
was Ben with a polisher in his hands helping.
I’ve never seen a team with the kind of spirit
and mutual support the Brits have and that
is part of the story.

Finn Gold Cup – Rio de Janeiro
February 2004
Photos: Marco Antonio Rezende/
COB, John Doerr

Charles Currey and Iain Percy in conversation
British Finn Medalists 1952 and 2000
by Tim Jeffrey
Iain Percy (second right) was one of British
sailing’s ‘three tenors’ in Sydney, one of trio of
gold medalists in an outstanding Olympics that
garnered five medals in all and near misses in
two other class.
Britain has been a habitual medal winner in
sailing but think of great British Olympians
from previous times and Rodney Pattisson
and Reg White come to mind. Only one other
man has won a medal in Finn singlehander
before Percy and that was Charles Currey
(top left, next to Paul Elvström and Rickard
Sarby) in Helsinki, a full 52 years ago.
Until Ben Ainslie succeeded Percy in the Finn
and won three successive Finn Gold Cups,
the class' world championship, Britain’s long
association with the Finn had produced only
two other Gold Cup winners: Vernon Stratton
and Chris Law.
Stratton was one of those beaten by Currey
in the 1952 trials, later to become British team
manager and remains a leading light in
Bembridge sailing. Law’s great rival in the
1970s was David Howlett (top right), the man
who has been the continuous thread running
through British Finn sailing since then.
Pioneering metal masts from David Hunt’s
Needlespar Howlett was there. The move
to carbon rigs and Mylar sails 10 years ago
Howlett was there. The man behind Percy
and Ainslie Howlett.
The backroom team of British Finn sailing is
envied around the world. When Ainslie moved
across from the Laser to the bigger, heavier
singlehander, Polish 1996 gold medalist
Mateusz Kusnierewicz expected the younger
Briton to both be a threat to the dominance
of the class that he and Belgian Sebastien
Godefroid enjoyed because of his talent. And
because, the Pole, added: “He’s got Sid.”
(Howlett’s nickname).
Percy had a leading part in this, a tuning partner
to Richard Stenhouse in 1996, and bringing
along the likes of Andrew Simpson and Charlie
Cumbley as his trial jockeys for 2000, a role they
are playing for Ainslie now. Such support was
absent, anathema even, in the Currey era.
To find out just different things were, Yachting
World brought the two British Finn medalists
together.
18
Iain: People talk about eras in sailing: the
Kiwis dominated for a while, the Americans,
now perhaps the Brits, but for a long time it
was the northern Europeans, particularly the
Danes and men such as Paul Elvström.
Charles: The extraordinary skill of Elvström
was that just at the gun he had the knack of
getting way on. People would line up at the
start, and he was never early, and he'd shoot
out of the ruck.
Iain: Ben Ainslie’s a bit like that! (Laughter)
Charles: Every time... tonk! Elvström was
away. There he was. Perfect acceleration.
Iain: What about Helsinki In Sydney, we
sailed both in the ocean and close to the city
in the harbour. It was very changeable.
Charles: We were all mixed up amongst the
islands. I used to talk to Elvström a lot. The
winds and the tides were very complex. I said
‘Paul, I sit and look at the chart and imagine
the water as molten lead flowing around the
islands.’ I used to sit and look at the water
and think ‘what’s the lead going to do today’
Iain: That’s like the flow diagrams we use
now. Water’s always got to go somewhere.
There were some great Elvström stories
weren’t there What about when the tide
went out Didn’t he go ashore or something
Charles: That was a Gold Cup at Whitstable.
No one thought of the obvious solution which
was to pick up the mark and take it out to the
boats!
Iain: So your Games in 1952 was the first
the Finn was used in
Charles: It was designed by Rikard Sarby.
We were given the boats and the masts just
didn’t bend at all. There were a fir tree! They
just stood upright like a Christmas tree.
Iain: Really! So they were all completely
different.
Charles: Elvström spent a long time with a
hand draw-knife making his mast so that it
would bend. He was quite good at chippy work!
Iain: Carbon masts don’t bend much either,
but the sails are designed for it.
Charles: They bend exactly as you want
them to.
Iain: I remember we did something like that
in ‘96 when we were helping Richard
Stenhouse. The difference there was that we
had an oven and were cooking carbon on
the side. It was a little more efficient where
one strip of carbon on the side could make
a mast 10% stiffer.
Charles: That must have worked pretty well.
You could control the amount of change.
Iain: And you could sand it too, to get even
more precise a control. You could get very,
very exact, but the principal is just the same.
And you are still trying to make the mast fit
the sail.
There’s a wonderful photograph on the
podium (above), you one side of Elvström
and Sarby the other side.
Charles: I was the smart chap with his thumbs
going down the seams of his trousers. Navy
training! Rikard didn’t know how to hold the
bouquet of flowers we were presented with.
‘Hold it like a baby!’, I said. ‘But I don't have
a baby!’ he replied.
Iain: How were your trials Our system is
now very complicated though it produces a
strong squad.
Charles: We had a one week competition in
Torbay. Vernon Stratton was there, he was
very good. So was his wife, Pepe, in light
winds. A lot of evil things went on in the
selection. I knew about it. I had the most,
beautiful old fashioned Finn which was just
perfect, but I wasn’t allowed to use it. We
couldn’t sail our own boats; the boats were
supplied. I knew even before we went racing
who had the best boat and who had the worst
boat and that was me. I wasn’t worried about
it. It only took one tack after the start of the
first race for me to sail through the chap who
had the best boat. The whole thing was fixed
up, but I knew about it.
Iain: It says in this newspaper report that you
were 5th in the first race and won the second
Vernon Stratton, Stuart Jardine, Ian Butlerthey’re
all mentioned.
Charles: I didn’t want to make it too obvious!
It may have been a different then, but there
was still all the devilment that goes on today.
Iain: I see this was the first time the Germans
were at the Games since the War. Did that
cause controversy
Charles: A little. But there wasn’t much hoohah
about it.
Iain: And the USSR came for the first ime .
Did people think it was cheating combining
all those countries!
Charles: There was some politiciing of that
but I don't think anyone cares any more about
that sort of thing. It’s the sport that matters.
Iain: I heard that even during the height of
the Cold War, sailors would still chat. Russian,

American, it was never an issue. But you
were still amateurs then
Charles: It’s a job now, a job that lasts
quite a few years.
Iain: That’s the lucky thing about the sport
now. But you were having to work
Charles: I worked for Fairey Aviation. The
money enabled me to buy breakfast and
they were very good with time off. In a
way it was a form of sponsorship.
Iain: You needed to have a company that
understood because the likes of Elvström
were sailing everyday weren't they
Charles: He certainly went sailing in the
winter. That’s were he learnt to get tough!
Really tough, sailing in the winter in
Denmark.
Iain: Did you do physical training or was
sailing enough
Charles: We hadn’t got the stage where
we had a sexy female physical trainer...
Iain: I wouldn't mind one of those! I might
try and find one.
Charles: I’m sure you can. Everything
else is provided!
Iain: Did you have a coach
Charles: Just a team manager, Alan
Wright. Bobby, my wife, went with the
class.
Iain: But there weren’t many classes then
Charles: Just the 6-metre, Finn, Star,
Dragon and 5.5 metre.
Iain: We got five medals in Sydney. Mind
you, that was with 11 classes.
Charles: The big change has been the
women’s classes. I’m not sure I favour
that.
Iain: It wouldn’t be as much fun if the
women weren’t there though!
Charles: Well, in Helsinki, all the girls
there were sitting starkers on the rocks.
Iain: Really We must go back there!
Charles: Yes. It was a very satisfactory
situation. I remember once that there were
so many guests on the French Dragon
one day, looking at the girls who were
really very nice, I thought it was going to
sink! It was all good fun. Excellent! We
weren’t slow in those days.
Iain: What about Elvström’s regime
Charles: He go out in snow, rain and ice.
He said ‘it’s rotten, but I’ve got some decent
gloves now!’
Iain: Your clothing would have been
different to ours
Charles: The only thing we had was
ordinary golf slippers, things like that. Wet
suits were high tech. We had waxed
cotton, nothing waterproof.
Iain: In this picture you’ve got a collar, a
proper collar! Look at my top now. It’s
nylon, doesn’t weigh a thing. And the
shorts have battens in for hiking. Didn't
your legs hurt
Charles: Those battens would help. Are
they allowed now No one was clever
enough to think of things like that. We
didn’t have weight jackets either, though
I did used to get wet on purpose
Iain: Nor can we now. They’re banned.
Charles: So you can’t have a nice
absorbent clothing jacket
Iain: No, you can’t bend the rules. It’s so
hot you just want to keep cool and not
wear anything that weighs 2kg. Were the
sails cotton too
Charles: Yes. And the sails we were
dished out with a Helsinki were a terrible
shape. Awful.
Iain: Could you change them
Charles: No, what I did was much better!
I had an accomplice in the little dock
where we were with a nail standing proud.
Someone on the dock waved his arms
like a landing officer on an aircraft carrier
and I got it just right. We ripped that sail
one side to another! And Franklin
Woodruffe of Ratsey’s fixed it. It was quite
a good sail after that.
Iain: You got permission to repair it
Charles: It was entirely above board!
Iain: I notice you didn’t sheet the boom
right down to the deck
Charles: Not quite. You always left a little
bit in hand.
Iain: We actually crush it into the deck
now and then you adjust the mast rake.
Charles: Can you do that underway
Iain: Not in races. You’ve got to get it right
ashore.
Did Elvström invent the self-bailer. Is that
true
Charles: We used to have circular ones,
a bit like a venturi. But the wedge shaped
one we called Elvström bailers. They
weren’t too bad for drag.
Iain: What do you think of the modern
Olympics. In 2000, they were 10,000
athletes and probably as many 20,000
coaches, administrators, team leaders,
media etc
Charles: I watched Sydney on the
television and it looked pretty good to me.
It was a very good idea to have the races
right inside the city.
Iain: It was very well run, but it was huge.
We were lucky with some races inside
the harbour and others outside in the
ocean. It was a perfect, a mixture of
everything.
Charles: That was a very good idea. I’m
glad you thought that was sensible.
Iain: They are not doing it this time. I like
it, though. It tests different skills.
Charles: It’s very different now.
Iain: But the principals are the same.
We’d better pop out of the line just like
you said Elvström used to do!
Reprinted with kind permission of Yachting World
Charles Currey
Born in 1916, Currey’s career in the Royal Marines
was interrupted by pneumonia, yet he proved
precisely the kind of unconventional and
resourceful individual who blossomed in war time.
Currey knew about boats, fast boats. At the
instigation of
Dennis Boyd,
Captain of HMS
Vernon in
Portsmouth,
Currey jointed a
volunteer unit
for target
towing. Rain,
fog or snow, he
was content to
be shot at by
the allied navies
off Scapa Flow.
“It was great
fun!” Currey’s
links with the
British Power
Boat Company at Hythe – “the only 40 knot boats
that seemed to work” – saw him put in charge of
procurement and crew training. With 3,000hp and
vast amounts of fuel crammed into 60ft, these
boats needed skifull handling. “They were
absolutely lovely!” After the War, Currey joined
Fairey Aviation and started Fairey Marine and set
about their famous hot moulded plywood boats:
sailing boats such as Firefly and Albacore dinghies,
and cruisers such as the Atlanta. And of course
there were the famous powerboats – Huntsman,
Huntress, Swordsman.
Iain Percy
Born in 1976, Percy’s racing career was via the
Optimist route. He started sailing aged four, with
the family at Weston SC, Southampton, progressed
to the children’s singlehander, winning the
Nationals, before outgrowing the boxy little pram.
He added two more national titles in the Laser,
before
placing 3rd
behind his
great friend
Ben Ainslie
in the 1995
British
Olympic
trials, plus
5th in the
Worlds.
He polished
off his
Economics
degree at
British University after that, unsure of the conflicting
callings of professional sailing or a City career.
Percy chose the former, his growing frame
prompting a move to Finn where he won bronze
at his first major event, the 1998 Europeans. Since
then he’s won the European and Olympic Finn
titles, and joining Steve Mitchell, the World and
European Star Championships. Italy’s +39
America's Cup team have signed him on as
helmsman.

Medalists speak out
Just after the dust had setled in Athens, FINNFARE spoke
with Ben and Mateusz about their thoughts immediately
after the Olympics and their plans looking forward.
Mateusz
What are your immediate sailing plans No sailing until beginning
of the next year!
What are your long term sailing plans I’m working on that now.
I’m going to make a decision about my future plans by the end of this
year. I would love to move to professional sailing and join one of the
teams preparing for the America’s Cup or some other big boat project.
It only depends of how happy and satisfied I would be with offers and
further negotiations. The second option is my fourth Olympic Campaign,
this time in the Star Class.
Will we see you in a Finn again and when The last race in the
Olympics in Athens, one of my greatest in career, was also my last
one in the Finn. I achieved my aim: two Olympic medals in the Finn.
After 12 years of sailing in that great boat, I’ve decided to move on
and change class. Now Rafal and Wacek are going to strongly
represent Poland in the Finn Class.
What do you think were the greatest deciding factors in winning
a medal in Athens Being prepared for all-around conditions. Knowing
the wind systems and various sailing schemes helped a lot. Very
strong and very light wind races were hard, and managing to hold the
pace and pressure in those ones helped a lot. And in the end I reckon
the starts in most of the races played a big role on the results in each
race.
What preparation did you do before the regatta I started working
hard in November 2003. I sailed most of the international regattas
until SPA. In the last 2 months before the Games I focused on my
individual training plan, a little in Athens and a lot in Poland where
I’ve sailed a lot with my training partners.
What did you do the week before sailing started I took a break
to refresh myself 10 days prior to departure to Athens with the rest
of Polish Olympic Team. I arrived there 5 days before the regatta and
sailed nearly every day to feel the boat, wind and waves in Athens.
What did you do the week after the Finn sailing finished I had
a lot of fun. Endless parties and celebrations. One day I even finished
up in hospital :)
What did you do on the final lay day I went to watch the tennis
tournament, watch some movies and in the evening have a 1 hour
easy, relaxing swim in the swimming pool.
What was your plan before the final race I had two plans for the
final race. Both considered watching Karlo and Emilios. I knew that
it was going to be very hard to pass Rafa in the final standings. My
goal was to secure my medal. Plan A was prepared for the situation
when in the early stages of the race I would be sailing in front of them;
plan B, if I was behind. I had many options prepared for different
scenarios. I have to say though, that mostly I knew very well what to
do, and that helped me to win a medal and achieve great success.
Your joy at winning the Bronze was there for all to see. How
much more important to you is the four year cycle with the
Olympic medal at the end, than all the countless events and
world championships in between To you, is winning an Olympic
medal the overriding reason that you sail an Olympic class, or
is winning a Gold Cup just as satisfying I wasn’t happy that for
the last 4 years I did not win any Gold Cup. I’ve made this up a little
this year, when I won Europeans and SPA. But only a little. This year
the Olympics were my main goal and winning the medal in Athens is
above all the rest.
Photos: Second right: Ben receives his medal from IOC President Jaques
Rogge. © François Richard. All other photos© Getty Images.
Ben
What are your immediate sailing plans I will be sailing with
Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) in Valencia for acts 2 and 3.
What are your long term sailing plans Long term I am looking to
the next AC as part of ETNZ and I would also like to compete in
Beijing if I have time to be competitive.
Will we see you in a Finn again and when If I go for Beijing it will
be in the Finn but when I sail the boat again depends on how things
go with ETNZ.
What do you think were the greatest deciding factors in winning
a medal in Athens The deciding factors was who dealt with the
pressure best. Thanks to some extra help I made all my mistakes on
the first day and then could only get better.
What preperation did you do immediately before the regatta I
went to Cyprus for three days with the rest of the sailing team and
then trained up until the measurement date.
What did you do the week before sailing started I kept sailing all
the way up to the first race and maybe took two days off in the last
week.
What did you do the week after the Finn sailing finished After
the racing I went to a few partys, watched some athletics and tried
to support the rest of the team that were still racing.
Do you think the lay day before the final race is a good idea or just
frustrating to competitors and observers alike I always think the last
lay day is hard work whatever your situation. If you’re in the medal zone
you’re very nervous and if you’re not doing so well you just want it to end.
What about the current format The current format is okay. I think
one discard worked and I still believe there should still be at least one
discard. It would be good to see some more decent reaching in the
Olympic courses.
Do you plan to be in Beijing and in what class I would like to
race in Beijing in the Finn. I have really enjoyed the last three years
and think the Finn is a great class. A lot depends on how much time
is taken up with ETNZ, that is now my main priority.
What was your plan before the final race – same as usual or to
stay with Rafa I just wanted to stay with Rafa, the conditions were
so light that anything could have happened. I tried not to influence
what happened between Rafa and Mateusz but it was hard not to
have an effect.
Are you going to defend your World Title in Moscow It would be
intereting to go to Moscow. Who knows, maybe I can persuade Dean
and Kevin that it’s a good idea!

Runners and riders
Before the first race got underway, many spectators were trying to predict the medal positions
and those likely to be in with a chance. For once, the pundits were not far wrong.
Mateusz has a point to prove in Athens. After
winning Olympic Gold in Savannah in 1996,
he was shunted out of the medals into fourth
in Sydney and will be looking to bounce back
this time around.
The 29-year old Polish athlete from Warsaw,
who started sailing an Optimist at the age of
10 has had a string of successes over the
years and recently returned to pretty awesome
form in order to peak when it matters in
Athens.
This year he won the ISAF Grade 1 SPA
Regatta as well as the European
Championship in La Rochelle. Kusznierewicz
has over the last couple of years been living
in the shadow of three time World Champion
Ben Ainslie, but with recent form now leads
the ISAF World Sailing Rankings and must
rate as one of the strongest medal contenders
in a competitive fleet in Athens.
The Finn fleet, as well as being full of veteran
campaigners who will be looking to push their
ability to the limits in the difficult Athens
conditions, includes a number of athletes
making their Olympic debut in Athens. Of the
strong fleet of 25, ten athletes have never
before competed in an Olympic Sailing
Competition.
First time contenders include the familiar face
of Americas Cup skipper Dean Barker.
Following time out from the Team New
Zealand syndicate, in which Ben will be joining
him shortly after the Olympic Games, Barker
returned to his dinghy sailing roots and
successfully won the right to represent New
Zealand at the Olympic Games.
The fleet certainly has its share of champions
around the different facets of the world of
sailing. No fewer than six athletes have
represented their country at the ISAF Youth
Sailing World Championships over the years,
and two of those, Ben and Dean, have both
won Gold medals at the event. Other
representatives include Jonas Hoegh-
Christensen, Mateusz, Richard Clarke, Kevin
Hall and Alejandro Colla.
Kevin is a prime example of the depth of
talent in the fleet. Having won the ISAF Youth
Sailing World Championship in 1986, he
continued his efforts and Olympic aspirations.
A first campaign in the Finn Class for the
1992 Olympics did not result in selection but
was the start of his Olympic path. It was then
onto the Laser Class for 1996, but he again
missed US selection, before swapping classes
to the 49er. Having won the bronze medal
three times at the 49er World Championships
(99, 98, 97), Kevin and helm Morgan Larson
seemed to be onto a sure thing, but with the
‘do or die’ single event trials, despite a top
performance throughout their Olympic
campaign the pair missed out for the 2000
Olympic Games. After a stint of Americas
Cup sailing, Kevin returned to the Finn last
year, and earlier this year won the US Trials
with a race to spare. His first Olympics, his
fourth Olympic campaign - and a phenomenal
pool of talent and experience from which he
will draw when he gets to the start line in
Athens.
Since his migration from the Single-handed
Dinghy Open after winning the Gold Medal
in Sydney, Great Britain’s Ben Ainslie jumped
into the shoes of long time friend and team
mate Iain Percy, who has himself moved into
the Star Class. With much to live up to, but
with the legacy of Percy’s campaign giving
him an initial boost, Ainslie took the class by
storm and has won the last three World
Championships on the trot. This feat
immediately puts him somewhere near
legendary status, but proof will be in his ability
to cope with the renewed pressure of another
Olympic Sailing Competition, an event unlike
any other.
Rafael Trujillo will be making his Finn debut
Photo © François Richard
in Athens next month and following his third
placed finish at the ISAF World
Championships in Cádiz in 2003, he has
looked strong and consistently fast. A victory
at Kiel Week this year and a third place in
Hyéres has confirmed his position as one of
the world’s best and he’ll be fighting the top
two of Mateusz and Ben all the way.
Local hero Emilios Papathanasiou will be
sailing on his home waters in the Saronic
Gulf and for that reason he is considered a
real chance for a medal. After an indifferent
2003 season, he has settled into a pattern
this year and in winning the ISAF Grade 1
Semaine Olympique Francaise and finishing
fifth at Kiel Week has shown that Greece has
a good shot at medal. Emilios currently lies
18 in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings but
with the home support things could well go
his way.
Croatian Sailor Karlo Kuret will be at his fourth
Olympic Games when he arrives in Athens,
the only sailor in the fleet to hold this accolade.
The 34-year old athlete from Split on the
Adriatic Coast, has improved in every
Olympics. In his first, Barcelona in 2002 , he
finished 22, before a good tenth place finish
at Sydney in 2000. A regular within the top
ten over the last 12 months, he will be looking
for a solid performance in Athens.
2001 World Champion Sebastien Godefroid
has seemed a little off the pace in recent
months. After the silver medal he won behind
Mateusz in 1996, he could only finish seventh
in 2000. A disappointing result by his own
standards, a 17 at the 2004 World
Championship in Rio, Brazil earlier this year,
has pummelled him to pick up his game. With
performances that go in peaks and troughs,
Godefroid looks to be on the way up and the
potential for inconsistent conditions in Athens
could well be to his liking.
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

Finn sailing from
around the world
UNITED KINGDOM
British Nationals 2004
Royal Torbay Yacht Club
June 2004
By Phil Laycock
The Torbay Nationals was the first without the UK
squad for some time as they were out in Athens
preparing. This made it wide open and for very
competitive sailing.
Torquay was a great venue and the Royal Torbay Yacht
Club a very helpful club supplying the Finns with a
race officer who did not put a foot wrong and despite
the occasional general recall he managed to keep his
black flag in it's bag.
The winds were up and down and very variable all
weekend with a force 4/5 on Friday, 2/3 on Saturday
and 1 / 2 on Sunday. There were some very big shifts
and every beat required a crucial decision in terms of
right or left. To get it wrong was to lose big style.
Ed Greig showed his potential as a future Olympian
winning 5 of the 7 races showing excellent boats speed
and with the ability to rescue his position sometimes
from mid fleet starts. His knack of spotting the shifts
and to consistently pick the right side of the racecourse
both upwind and downwind gave him a substantial
lead in the races that he won and his only slip was a
2nd in race 2.
The next three places were a battle between Allen
Burrell, Mark Andrews and Tim Carver, which went
right down to the wire with the last day's light and fluky
conditions proving costly for Tim. Mark had been
involved in a protest which led to him being thrown out
of race 2 for a collision with Tim and this and a bad
result in the last race cost him second place to Allen
who was dynamite when it blew but less consistent
when it went light.
Behind these three the battle for the next 5 places was
again very close with Russell Ward, Justin Chisholm,
Robert Deaves (the last race winner) and Tony Lock
all being narrowly beaten by Dave McGregor who at
his first nationals was very consistent and deserved
his 5th place.
FINAL RESULTS – BRITISH NATIONALS 2004
1 GBR 6 Ed Greig 1 2 1 1 1 1 33 7
2 GBR 2 Allen Burrell 3 1 4 3 4 3 5 18
3 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 2 33 3 2 2 4 10 23
4 GBR 8 Tim Carver 4 3 2 13 8 7 2 26
5 GBR 40 Dave McGregor 6 10 8 5 11 10 7 46
6 GBR 23 Justin Chisholm 9 5 18 7 10 8 12 51
7 GBR 611 Tony Lock 17 15 13 4 12 2 6 52
8 GBR 10 Robert Deaves 8 6 15 8 17 15 1 53
9 GBR 4 Russ Ward 7 12 9 6 3 17 33 54
10 GBR 5 Graeme MacDonald 33 18 5 15 5 9 3 55
11 GBR 51 Phil Laycock 62
12 GBR 572 Mark MacDonald 65
13 GBR 77 Howard Sellars 76
14 GBR 15 Alistair Evans 86
15 GBR 599 Andy Dennison 92
16 GBR 598 Stuart Glover 96
17 GBR 1 Sander Kooij 98
18 GBR 595 Ed Thorburn 99
19 GBR 33 Graham Page 101
20 GBR 617 Andrew Wylam 109
21 GBR 603 Grant Simmons 113
Ed Greig – new UK National Champion
All photos by www.fotoboat.com
22 GBR 596 Keith Fedi 114
23 GBR 58 Nick Daniels 119
24 GBR 61 Matthieu Du Verdiere122
25 GBR 44 Gordon Watson 124
26 GBR 100 Matthew Walker 125
27 GBR 612 Lawrence Maudsley 138
28 GBR 536 Dave Ludgate 140
29 GBR 493 Mark Petty-Mayor 146
30 GBR 14 Ian Kay 198
30 GBR 55 Nick Bridges 198
30 GBR 576 James Wyburd 198
22

The winds were such that many other faces
had their moments for a time but such was the
shifting breeze that it was difficult to maintain.
The race officer was on the ball and occasionally
moved the windward mark to maintain a proper
beat; he set good long courses in the middle of
the bay. The lines were often tinged with port
bias with Phil Laycock claiming the pin on most
occasions however Ed Greig managed to win
from a series of mid-line starts demonstrating
that clear wind and getting the first shift right
was the more consistent tactic.
Without exception, the sunshine and
camaraderie in the fleet left everyone with a
good feeling about the event and there is no
doubt that we will be back in the near future.
Torbay is a lovely venue and the view shared by
most was that the 2004 Finn nationals was one
of the closest and most enjoyable for many years.
HUNGARY
Hungarian National Championships 2004
Lake Balaton
Balazs Hajdu
This year's Hungarian Finn Class Nationals were
hosted by the Olympic Sailing Centre of the Hungarian
Yachting Association (HYA) at Lake Balaton from 10-
14 July. As the HYA celebrates this year the 75th
anniversary of its foundation, all Olympic classes
gathered to be part of the jubilee regatta.
MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Company sponsored
the event, so fantastic prizes including a one-week
use of a sports car with free gas, specially
manufactured medals and trophies were at stake.
The regatta saw 32 Finns at the start and seven
races in mainly medium to heavy wind conditions.
Hungary's Olympic Finn hopeful Balazs Hajdu
dominated racing by winning all seven races and
collecting the major prize, a double cabin on board
Queen Mary 2 during the Olympic Games in Athens
kindly donated by Corelia Limited. As a result of that
Balazs' parents had the opportunity to watch their
son live in Athens.
1 HUN 1 Hajdu Balazs (below) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6
2 HUN 6 Pal Gaszton 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 16
3 HUN 7 Szakely Antal 2 2 8 2 5 5 3 19
4 HUN 5 Pallay Tibor 7 5 10 4 4 2 5 27
5 HUN 71 Kertasz Gabor 9 26 2 5 6 4 4 30
6 HUN 11 Lovas Peter 6 15 6 6 3 6 6 33
7 HUN 18 Beliczay Pater 4 19 5 13 10 9 8 49
8 HUN 2 Sipos Peter 11 9 7 17 7 8 11 53
9 HUN 4 Varga Lajos 13 7 4 9 11 DNF 12 56
10 HUN 8 Beliczay Morton 12 10 9 8 13 10 14 62
11 HUN 75 Nemeth Ors 66
12 HUN 711 Bisztray Frigyes 71
13 HUN 17 Keresztes Gabor 74
14 HUN 41 Bartos Zoltan 74
15 HUN 99 Doromby Barnabas 87
16 HUN 21 ARV Sipos Bence 89
17 HUN1111 Lovas Samu 94
18 HUN 61 Gera Andras 96
19 HUN 81 Szendrai Marton 97
20 HUN 479 Gol Dezsa 108
21 HUN 15 Gulyas Gabor 120
22 HUN 175 Payr Egon 124
23 HUN 171 Biszkat Peter 136
24 HUN 300 Farkas Jozsef 138
25 HUN 275 Vincz Tibor 150
26 HUN 70 Vas Gyorgy 153
27 HUN 151 Szoll Peter 169
28 HUN 112 Zlinszky Andras 182
29 HUN 20 Mucs Mihaly 192
30 HUN 55 Tamasi Lajos 192
31 HUN 281 Nagy ¡kos Laszlo 193
32 HUN 303 Szili Karoly 198
Second placed Gaszton Pal showed consistency
during the week by finishing in the top three in all
races and coming second overall and winning the
Junior title as well. The bronze medal went to 1988
Seoul Finn Class Olympian, Antal Szekely who
showed the rest of the fleet that age is not preventing
one from being a good Finn sailor.
As Hungary won the organisation of the 2006 Masters
Worlds, local masters sailors have already started
focusing on the big event in less than two years.
Among them are Moscow, Seoul, Barcelona and
Atlanta Olympians.
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

NEW ZEALAND
Christine Heady writes:
“NZFA Rules Clinic with Ralph Roberts
In order to get the new sailing season off on the right track, the Waiuku
Yacht Club and NZFA are hosting a ‘Racing Rules of Sailing’ clinic on
Sunday 3rd October 2004. We are very fortunate indeed to have
Ralph Roberts hosting this clinic for us. Ralph is an accomplished
international Finn sailor and current international sailing judge. He
has represented NZ at six Olympics, first as a competitor in 1960, ‘64
and ‘68, taking gold in the Flying Dutchman class in Tokyo in ‘64.
Athens was Roberts’ third Olympics as an official. Ralph has just
returned from the Athens Olympic regatta where many of the races
were determined in the protest room, leading to Ralph spending 13
hours a day on duty. Some of the decisions that affected the NZ sailors
will no doubt feature in the clinic.
Yachting New Zealand & NZFA Training Weekend
I am very pleased to announce that Peter Fox, coach to Dean Barker
during his Olympic Finn campaign for Athens, will be leading a joint
YNZ and NZFA training weekend at Thames SC on 9th and 10th
October 2004. This training weekend is open to all NZ Finn sailors
or those wishing to take up Finn sailing. Emphasis will be on
encouraging future Olympians into the Finn, promoting the class,
bettering our general sailing skills and an excuse for lots of fun and
socialising in the evening.”
ITALY
Reports by Marco Buglielli
Coppa Italia Finn 2004
This year saw another increase in participation in the Coppa Italia,
a series of 7 regattas held during spring and summer weekends
in Italy. With only 1 regatta missing, the traditional Malcesine Finn
Cup in October, 28 races were held with 90 Italian competitors.
The provisional leaders are now the two young hopes of the Italian
Finn class, Riccardo Cordovani and Jacopo Tacchino, followed by
the emerging master Nicola Menoni.
Italian Championship
Imperia June 28 - July 4
The Italian Finn
championship was
held as usual
together with all the
other Olympic
classes in Imperia.
The overall winner
was Michele
Marchesini (right),
very well trained in
preparation for the
Olympics in Athens,
who dominated the
fleet with a very
consistent series (1-1-1-2-2-1-1-DNF). Runner up was the young
local Jacopo Tacchino, while Riccardo Cordovani confirmed last
year’s third place. The first master was Claudio Bosetti who came
fourth, just a small 0.7 points in front of his elder brother Roberto.
Bracciano
Finn activity is blossoming again on Bracciano lake, in preparation
for the 2005 Finn World Masters. In September the traditional
‘Settembre sul Lago’ regatta, organised for almost 40 years by the
ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS
1 ITA 15 Michele Marchesini 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 dnf 7
2 ITA 890 Jacopo Tacchino 2 2 3 6 1 2 2 2 11
3 ITA 101 Riccardo Cordovani 5 7 2 1 7 9 3 1 19
4 ITA 38 Caludio Bosetti 13 3 6 5 6 3 4 3 24
5 ITA 82 Roberto Bosetti 3 OCS 4 3 4 4 rdg 8 24.7
6 ITA 872 Nicola Menoni 12 4 7 4 5 5 7 7 32
7 ITA 72 Andrea Guida 6 5 8 10 3 7 8 dnf 37
8 ITA 37 Paolo Visona 8 9 9 17 8 10 6 4 44
9 ITA 111 Bruno Catalan 9 10 5 9 9 6 9 6 44
10 ITA 52 Franco Martinelli 10 6 10 11 10 11 13 16 58
11 ITA 47 Maurizio Grati 61
12 ITA 76 Lorenzo Marchetti 63
13 ITA 911 Simone Mancini 65
14 ITA 99 Andrea Sandini 77
15 ITA 88 Umberto Giugni 78
16 ITA 59 Marc Arata 82
17 ITA 43 Pietro Piram 86
18 ITA 102 Guido Salvi 88
19 ITA 762 Domenico Aiello 92
20 ITA 62 Georg Plazotta 112
21 ITA 0 Emilos Bianchi 116
AVVV yacht club, was the final act of the annual Finn championship of the
Rome region. A record fleet of 31 Finns was present, and 6 races were run
over 3 days. First was Fabrizio Antolini Ossi, a strong Finn sailor in his
young days, now back in the Finn after several years on the Star and other
classes. Second was the veteran Bruno Catalan and third Andrea Guidi.
Rome Regional Championship
Final results (after 16 races - 33 participants)
1 ITA 727 Marco Buglielli 22
2 ITA 72 Andrea Guidi 40
3 ITA 54 Fabrizio Antolini Ossi 61
4 ITA 763 Agostino Scornajenchi 70
5 ITA 48 Daniele Passani 79
6 ITA 1 Franco Maria Rao 84
7 ITA 866 Angelo Cuccotti 121
8 ITA 107 Francesco Cuccotti 125
9 ITA 51 Paolo Trambaiolo 131
10 ITA 78 Bruno De Angelis 138
24

SWITZERLAND
Swiss Championship 2004
Franz Bürgi writes: “The Finn Swiss
Championship 2004 was hosted by the
German sailing club ‘Jollensegler Reichenau’
on the beautiful Reichenau Island in Lake
Constance. The 66 competitors from 6
countries experienced the best a national
championship can offer – 7 races in perfect
conditions and incredible hospitality from the
organising club.
but could not recover from two bad races early
in the series. Jürgen Eiermann showed great
speed, fine tactics and secured the title in fine
style. Third of the dominating trio was Christoph
Christen who also sailed a very consistent
championship.
The organising club with its very active
promoter for this event, Andreas Bollongino,
put up an incredible program both on shore
and on the water. Perfectly set starting lines
and marks and of course the excellent wind
conditions (force 2-6) on one side, and an
absolutely impressive social program on shore
made this event clearly unforgettable. Thank
you Jollensegler Reichenau!”
From the very beginning Jürgen Eiermann
showed his determination to win this
championship. After a tie at the German
Championship (2nd with equal points) just
hours before the start of the Swiss
Championship, this time nobody was going
to stop him with his perfect score of
1,1,3,2,3,1,2. Peter Theurer stayed in touch
The winners of the Swiss Championship
2004 from left: Andreas Bollongino (GER
19), the promotor - made this wonderful
championship happen Christoph Christen
(SUI 5), 3rd place Jürgen Eiermann (GER
8), Swiss Champion 2004, Peter Theurer
(SUI 467), 2nd place
SWISS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
1 GER 8 Eiermann, Jürgen 1,1,3,2,3,1,2 10
2 SUI 467 Theurer, Peter 6,12,2,1,1,2,1 13
3 SUI 5 Christen, Christoph 2,4,4,3,2,3,4 8
4 GER 10 Bieberitz, Eberhard 23,3,6,5,5,10,5 34
5 NED 66 Meijer, Ewout 12,5,5,7,18,4,9 42
6 NED 804 Scheurwater, Cees 36,7,13,6,4,7,11 48
7 SUI 6 Wälchli, Dominique 8,2,11,15,9,17,8 53
8 SUI 8 Benz, Nick 3,9.14,14,8,16,6 54
9 GER 81 Dellas, Jan-Dietmar 54,11,7,8,7,9,15 57
10 SUI 99 Brack, Thomas 13,17,9,17,10,5,16 70
11 SUI 12 Bürgi, Franz 79
12 GER 266 Eller, Michael 82
13 GER 121 Finke, Thomas 84
14 SUI 4 Brun, Dani 89
15 GER 151 Miller, Mathias 91
16 GER 300 Zopfs, Dr. Eggo 91
17 GER 19 Bollongino, Andreas 100
18 SUI 50 Rickert, Wolfgang 114
19 GER 31 Wühn, Horst 132
20 SUI 11 Fatzer, Hans 135
21 SUI 486 Kilchenmann, Peter 141
22 GER 112 Vincke, Egbert 144
23 GER 310 Wehrle, Daniel 148
24 SUI 475 Huck, Frederik 150
25 FRA 6 Limare, Francois 152
26 GER 155 Gast, Edwin 153
27 ITA 96 Turchetto, Alessandro 155
28 SUI 15 Upazzoli, Roberto 155
29 AUS 231 Mayjor, James 162
30 SUI 65 Kruisheer, Mark 164
31 SUI 22 Geisser, Harry 169
32 SUI 60 Kurz, Peter 175
33 GER 88 Sibbert, Carsten 180
34 GER 1 Beuck, Werner 182
35 FRA 865 Rochet, Josef 190
36 FRA 800 Zoccola, Yves 200
37 GER 89 Kellermann, Günter 201
38 GER 2068 Greis, Jürgen 208
39 GER 701 Bötz, Klaus-Dieter 209
40 GER 102 Böhl, Siegfried 216
41 GER 183 Steib, Franz 232
42 GER 131 Schlick, Horst 238
43 GER 808 Frowein, Heiner 259
44 SUI 57 Baumann, Ruedi 262
45 SUI 477 Huracek, Jiri 274
46 GER 225 Kühner, Konrad 275
47 GER 222 Emde, Wilhelm 284
48 GER 154 Wenz, Roland 290
49 GER 92 Guminski, Detlev 295
50 SUI 76 Grandjean, Alain 296
51 GER 2016 Rinkenbur, Dieter 300
52 SUI 531 Schneider, Roland 305
53 SUI 96 Lehmann, Hans 306
54 GER 477 Leissner, Harald 322
55 NED 48 Kortbeek, Boudewijn 326
56 GER 32 Spring, Felix 332
57 SUI 10 Locher, Peter 337
58 GER 161 Kratz, Ralf 342
59 SUI 463 Leuch, Martin 344
60 GER 168 Larsen, Jack 349
61 GER 43 Spory, Ingo 358
62 GER 2035 Magirus, Stefan 365
63 GER 2083 Kleiner, Willi 367
More pictures at: http://www.finnsm2004.ch/Bilder/leosBilderkl/Thumbnailsleokl.html
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

GERMANY
Reports from Friedrich Müller
Int. Nesselblatt Steinhude
May 7-9 2004
This is a traditional international landmark race in the German calendar,
sailed on the lake of Steinhude, north of Hamburg. This year we had
76 starters from five nations. Six races were sailed with one discard.
There were ideal sailing conditions with a strong committee from the
SLSV club, which made for a very good regatta. Next year the German
Championship will be held at the same club from July 21-24. André
Budzien dominated the regatta. He won all six races, showing a
fabulous start from the lee end of the line every time.
1 GER 711 André Budzien 1 1 1 1 1 1 5
2 GER 8 Jürgen Eiermann 3 4 3 10 12 6 26
3 GER 10 Eberhard Bieberitz 2 8 2 12 4 11 27
4 GER 310 Ralf Behrens 4 3 11 15 7 3 28
5 GER 263 Hartmut Duisberg 8 9 6 7 3 8 32
6 NED 804 Cees Scheuwater 5 7 10 29 8 5 35
7 GER 91 Kai Falkenthal 9 5 20 2 11 10 37
8 NED 66 Ewout Meijer 13 2 17 13 15 2 47
9 GER 13 Wolfgang Tamm 16 10 18 3 6 13 48
10 GER 3 Walter Mai 7 6 13 21 22 12 59
Warnemünde Week 2004
Warnemünde Week 2004 was sailed at the limits on the Baltic with
force 5 to 7 winds and high waves. Walter Mai capsized and injured
his head, by three stitches by Ecke Vincke repaired it!
Results (31 entries)
1 GER 711 André Budzien 5 1 3 1 1 4 10
2 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 4 4 1 4 2 2 13
USA
Finn North American Championship
August 2004, North Cape YC
Chris Cook won the North Americans in tough conditions. He was
very consistent in mostly light and shifty conditions at North Cape YC
where 24 boats gathered for the Finn Class North American
Championships.
1 Chris Cook CAN 41 2 1 4 1 1 1 2 (25) 12
2 Skip Dieball USA 10 4 (7) 6 2 2 3 6 2 25
3 Derek Mess USA 303 3 2 5 8 3 2 5 (9) 28
4 Andy Kern USA 78 6 8 3 6 4 4 1 (14) 32
5 Darrell Peck USA 4 7 6 (8) 4 5 7 8 5 42
6 Jeremy Pape USA 1211 5 3 2 7 6 11 (14) 10 44
7 Michael Honey CAN 31 8 5 11 3 8 (13) 4 7 46
8 Rob Linden USA 110 9 (16) 7 13 10 5 7 1 52
9 Henry Sprague USA 74 1 4 10 (25) 7 9 3 21 55
10 Bill Upthegrove USA 7 (25) 9 1 14 13 6 13 3 59
11 Lou Nady USA 150 73
12 Christopher Kent USA 1 80
13 David Branch USA 3 86
14 Phil Tate USA 1202 89
15 Ed Steeves CAN 5 93
16 Evan King CAN 111 98
17 Charles Heimler USA 32 113
18 James Hynes CAN 6 119
19 Ian Bostock CAN 3 119
20 C S Burke USA 76 123
21 Paul Phelan CAN 220 124
22 Peter Frisell USA 101 128
23 Wayne Myers USA 996 161
24 Art Diefendorf USA 1145173
Other news
Dave and Sue Branch hosted the 4th Annual St Helen’s Finn Regatta on
the Columbia River. Six races were run in 8-10 knots on Saturday, and one
drifter on Sunday. Dave Branch won followed by Tom Willson and Bob
Smith The 2004 Finn New England Championship was sailed under clear
blue skies and the watchful eyes of a great race committee. Day one was
light and shifty and kept everyone on their toes. Day two was a different ball
game with 10 to 15 knots and the occasional slalom course downwind. Derek
Mess won ahead of Dave Powlison and John Audley. The Toilet Bowl turned
into a bit of a washout with just one light air race completed on Saturday
and 2 cancelled attempts. Sunday was no better as the boats remained on
the trollies but it took Art 30 minutes to calculate the results. Dave Powlison
won, followed by Darrell Peck and Dave Branch. 21 boats made the trip for
the 35th running of this event. The Inaugural Lake Champlain Regatta was
a great success. Dave Powlison did a superb job of getting out the boats
to his hometown Finn regatta on Lake Champlain. 22 Finns and five Europes
showed up for the event. After five races in 1-6 knots, Chris Cook won,
followed by Derek Mess, Dave Powlison, and Mike Honey.
3 GER 10 Eberhard Bieberitz 6 3 2 2 3 6 16
4 GER 125 Paul Kessler 2 5 6 3 9 1 17
5 GER 91 Kai Falkenthal 1 15 4 6 4 3 18
6 GER 203 Hartmut Duisberg 20 8 5 5 5 5 28
7 GER 13 Wolfgang Tamm 7 9 7 7 6 dnc 36
8 GER 27 Matthias Wolfe ocs 11 8 8 11 7 45
9 GER 3 Walter Mai 3 2 21 9 13 dnc 48
10 CZE 70 Vaclav Cintl 21 6 17 13 7 8 51
German Championship 2004
September 6-10, Chiemsee
On the large lake Chiemsee south of Munich, the Seebrucker Regata
Verein organised the International German Championship. A record
number of 86 Finns from 7 nations were racing. Warm and sunny
days with light to medium easterly winds with lots of shifts made it
difficult for everyone. The first race was won by Roman Babicki from
the Czech Republic. On the second day there were 4 long races in
medium to strong winds. André Budzien dominated with 3 wins and
a 6th. Jürgen Eiermann was also always in the front pack. On the last
day, the 6th race decided the issue. Again there were light winds
which made it a lottery. Karl-Heinz Erich won with a remarkable lead,
but on the very last leg Roman came from 11th up to finish 4th to win the
event, while Jürgen made it to 2nd and André couldn’t climb above 13th.
1 CZE 22 Roman Babicki
2 GER 8 Jürgen Eiermann
3 GER 711 André Budzien
4 SUI 465 Christoph Christen
5 GER 10 Eberhard Bieberitz
6 AUT 11 Bernd Moser
7 GER Matthias Miller
8 CZE 318 Martin Plecity
9 GER 146 Friedrich Müller
10 GER 310 Ralf Behrens
11 GER 22 Martin Mitterer
12 HUN 5 Tibor Pallay
13 HUN 6 Pál Gaszton
14 GER Jens Raben
15 CZE 8 Jiri Outrata
FINAL RESULTS – KIEL WEEK 2004
1 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo 1, 8, 1, 3, 1, 4 10
2 GER 79 Michael Fellmann 15, 1, 10, 1, 3, 3 18
3 CRO 11 Karlo Kuret 5, 2, ocs, 4, 2, 9 22
4 NED 78 Jaap Zielhuis 9, 7, 3, 2, 4, 10 25
5 CZE 1 Michael Maier 3, 9, 5, 7.50, 6, 13 30.5
6 HUN 1 Balazs Hajdu 4, 5, 9, 13, dns, 2 33
7 SWE 736 Johan Tillander 8, 3, 2, 10, 14, 11 34
8 SLO 5 Gasper Vincec 2, 6, 13, 15, 8, 8 37
9 SWE 11 Daniel Birgmark 6, 4, dnc, 18, 5, 5 38
10 BRA 10 Joao Signorini 14, 12, 12, 6, 9, 1 40
11 GER 9 David Mellor 12, 10, 8, 12, 10, 17 52
12 SWE 7 Kristian Adermann 7, dnc, 21, 5, 15, 7 55
13 RUS 1 Vladimir Krutskikh 13, 13, 7, 9, 13, 15 55
14 POL 7 Rafal Szukiel 18, 17, 11, 7.50, 7, 19 60.5
15 NED 6 Stefan De Vries 10, 11, 4, 24, 12, bfd 61
16 NED 80 Sander Willems 11, 15, 6, 16, 16, 22 64
17 CZE 9 Michal Hruby 16, 16, 14, 23, 18, 6 70
18 IRL 10 Aaron O'Grady 17, 14, 19, 14, 11, 23 75
19 ITA 15 Michele Marchesini 20, 19, 18, 11, dnc, 12 80
20 UKR 1 Aleksey Borisov 23, 20, 16, 21, 19, 14 90
21 CZE 3 Rudolf Lidarik 29, 18, 25, 20, 17, 20 100
22 ITA 890 Iacopo Tacchino 22, 25, 15, 19, 22, 27 103
23 DEN 9 Thomas Laursen 21, dnc, 17, 30, 20, 18 106
24 FIN 216 Tapio Nirkko 19, 21, 23, 22, 21, 25 106
25 NED 64 Wietze Zetzema 33, dnf, 21, 17, 24, 16 111
26 GBR 88 Mark Andrews 25, 22, 21, 26, 23, 33 117
27 GER 203 Hartmut Duisberg 26, 24, 24, 36, 25, 31 130
28 HUN 6 Pal Gaszton 28, 28, 29, 33, 26, 21 132
29 GER 91 Kai Falkenthal 30, 27, 30, 31, 27, 24 138
30 GER 165 Dirk Meid 34, 26, 26, 25, 29, 34 140
31 GER 81 Jan-Dietmar Dellas 27, 23, 27, 28, dnc, 36 141
32 HUN 11 Peter Lovas 31, 29, 31, 32, 31, 26 148
33 DEN 22 Per Cederberg dnf, dnf, 28, 27, 30, 28 148
34 NED 804 Cees Scheurwater 24, 32, 33, 35, 32, 30 151
35 DEN 231 Kenneth B¯ggild 32, dnf, 32, 34, 28, 32 158
36 GER 27 Matthias Wolff 36, 30, 34, 29, 33, 38 162
37 GER 190 Alexander Gensch 38, 33, 37, 38, dnf, 37 180
38 GER 173 Jan Hartmann 41, dns, 38, 39, dnf, 29 182
39 GER 307 Jan Schoepe dnc, dnf, 35, 37, dnc, dnc 225
40 AUS 231 James Mayjor 37, dnc, 36, dnc, dnc, 35 226
41 GER 225 Konrad Kuehner 42, dnc, dnf, dnf, dnc, dnc 241
42 GER 108 Sebastian Munck 35, 31, dnc, dnc, dnc, dnc 243
43 GER 127 Andreas Kliver 39, dnc, dnf, dnc, dnc, dnc 256
44 GER 188 Michael Klügel 40, dnc, dnc, dnc, dnc, dnc 276
26

Australian Finn sailors enjoying the conditions
during Sail Melbourne 2004
Photos: Sport the Library/Sail Melbourne

Future events
Over the horizon
As another Olympiad beckons, Finn sailors are looking ahead with
eager anticpation to some great events in 2005. This includes the first ever
Finn Gold Cup in Russia – on waters near Moscow – and the Europeans
in Kalmar. Meanwhile the Masters retutrn to the ever popular Bracciano.
Finn Gold Cup: Dates: 4 to12 June. Acommodation will be available
on the site. Coaches boats will be available. 100 Finns are being
provided by the organisers. A charter flight will operate from Hamburg
to Moscow. More information will appear on www.finnclass.org and
the event website as it becomes available. The event website is
www.finngoldcup2005.ru (only in Russian at present, but will be in
English soon.) Entries will to go through each National secretary, who
will need to request all the places for their country to IFA no later than
the 15th of March 2005.
Progress Report on the Regatta Format for FGC 2005
The Finn Gold Cup 2005 is scheduled for Moscow, and due to the
restricted size of the sailing water, it has been agreed that it is essential
to sail the fleet of approximately 100 boats in groups. Nobody wants
a system of selection races followed by a short series for Gold and
Silver fleets, and at Corinne’s request, Bill Bell and Richard Hart have
been considering better ways to run the races in groups. The Finn
Masters do this by splitting the fleet into groups A, B, C and D, then
racing AB, AC, AD etc throughout the regatta. A variation proposed
to the AGM at La Rochelle was to use the group system as do the
masters until the last day, when there would be a final shootout in
Gold and Silver fleets. The AGM was not satisfied with this, and in
particular wanted regrouping to be carried out on several occasions
during the process.
Bill and Richard went back to the drawing board, and Bill had a brain
wave leading to a far simpler system that we think is better, and
satisfies the requirements of AGM.
At the start of the regatta, the top ten sailors would be seeded into
‘Odd’ and ‘Even’ groups according to their places in the ISAF rankings.
Other sailors from each country would be placed into the Odd and
Even groups alternately.
The two groups would race separately until the final day. After each
day’s racing, the overall places would be worked out as usual, using
the low points system. The sailors would placed into Odd and Even
groups for the next day, depending on their position in the overall
points (with discard etc).
For the final day, the groups would be arranged into Gold and Silver
Fleets, based on their overall points. For the Gold Fleet, the points
scored would be half the points scored in the group races, so that
there would be not more than 0.5 point bonus on the last race result.
Consider two top sailors each winning separate group races: they
beat everybody else and get 1.0 points each. In the final they again
beat everybody else and one of them gets 0.5 point, the other gets
1.0 point.
On the final day, the Silver Fleet would also score in steps of 0.5
point, but a winner would have 0.5 more than the last of the Gold
Fleet (if they all finished). In a 100 boat fleet, a Gold Fleet winner
would score 0.5, the 50th could be on 25.0. A Silver Fleet winner
would score 25.5. At the back, a sailor finishing last in a group race
would score 50.0. If he then persevered to finish 50th (and last) in
a Silver Fleet race, he would score 25.0 + 25.0 = 50.0 points.
The details are still being worked out, but we are confident that we
are getting to a system that is fair and workable, without spoiling the
traditional Finn type of regatta where we are all in it together.
Finn World Masters 2005
The Finn World Masters 2005 will be held in Bracciano, a lake
located 40 km north of Rome in a nice country landscape. The
organising yacht club, Amici Velici Vigna di Valle (AVVV) has
already hosted the Finn Masters in 1985 and 1993 and is actively
working on organising the 2005 event.
The preliminary schedule for the championship is measurement:
May 13-May 15 followed by the practice race on May 15 and the
racing itself from May 16 to May 21
A web site is already active (www.avvv.it) and will be constantly
updated with the Notice of Race, and all the information on
accommodation, travel, etc.
Another useful source of information is the Finn Masters class
web site, available on line at www.finn-world-master.com..
28

INTERNATIONAL RACING CALENDAR 2004
OCTOBER
October 1-3 Malcesine Finn Cup Malcesine Italy www.fragliavela.org
October 2-3 Canadian Nationals Kingston Canada www.cork.org
October 22-24 US Nationals San Mateo USA
October 24-28 Tzeni Grammalidou Cup Thessaloniki Greece www.ncth.gr
NOVEMBER
November 6-7 International Gingerbread Regatta Thun Switzerland franz.buergi@freesurf.ch
November 26-28 International Opatija Cup Opatija Croatia www.jk.opatija.hr
DECEMBER
December 2-5 St Nicholas Race Pula Coratia www.vega.hr
December 18-21 Sydney International Regatta Woollahra Australia www.nsw.yachting.org.au
December 26-30 Chrismas Race Palamos Spain www.chrsitmasrace.org
2005
JANUARY
January 10-15 Sail Melbourne Melbourne Australia www.yachting.org.au
January 24-28 Rolex Miami OCR Biscayne Bay USA www.ussailing.org
FEBRUARY
February 4-7 Sail Auckland Regatta Auckland New Zealand www.sailauckland.org.uk
February 16-19 Semaine Internationale De Cannes Cannes France yccannes@wanadoo.fr
MARCH
March 25-2 Athens Eurolymp Week Athens Greece webmaster_eio@eio.gr
March 9-13 Split Olympic Sailing Week (TBC) Split Croatia www.jklabud.hr
March 11-13 Adriatic Grand Prix Split Croatia hjs@st.htnet.hr
March 11-15 XI Barcelona Olympic Sailing Week Barcelona Spain www.bosw.otg
March 19-25 Princess Sofia Trophy Palma de Mallorca Spain www.trofeoprincesasofia.org
March 24-28 Izola Spring Cup 2005 Izola Slovenia www.jadralniklub-burga.si
APRIL
April 23-29 Semaine Olympique Francaise Hyeres France www.ffv.fr
MAY
May 10-14 Olympic Garda Riva Del Garda Italy www.fragliavelariva.com
May 12-20 FINN WORLD MASTERS Bracciano Italy www.finn-world-master.com
May 13-15 Rijecka Regatta Moscenicka Croatia fiumanka@fiumanka.hr
May 19-22 Polish Yachting Association Trophy Puck Poland www.pya.org.pl
May 26-29 SPA regatta Medemblik Netherlands www.sparegatta.org
JUNE
June 4-10 FINN GOLD CUP Moscow Russia www.finnclass.org
June 18-26 Kieler Woche Kiel Germany www.kyc.de
JULY
July 2-11 68 Warnemünder Woche Warnemünde Germany www.wscev.de
July 13-16 55th Intervela 2005 Riva del Garda Italy www.fraglievelariva.com
July 21-24 German Championship Steinhude Germany www.finnwelle.de
AUGUST
August 2-6 Idea Gdynia Sailing Days Gdynia Poland www.sail.gdynia.pl
August 5-10 Saronikos Gulf Regatta Athens Greece webmaster_eio@eio.gr
August 6-14 FINN EUROPEANS Kalmar Sweden www.finnclass.org
SEPTEMBER
September 2-4 Lipno Cere Regatta Lipno Lake Czech Republic kozelsky@cere.cz
OCTOBER
October 26-30 Tzeni Grammalidou Cup Thessaloniki Greece www.ncth.gr
DECEMBER
December 26-30 Christmas Race Palamos, Spain Spain www.christmasrace.org
2006
January 23-27 Rolex Miami OCR Biscayne Bay, ... USA www.ussailing.org
April 22-30 Semaine Olympique Francaise Hyeres France www.ffv.fr
For further information on any event, to check the latest information on dates and venues or to add events and contact numbers to this list contact the IFA Office or see the
IFA or ISAF website. Please check all details with organisers before travelling.
FINNFARE OCTOBER 2004

With Age...
...Comes Wisdom
Contacts
Sales: Tel: + 33 (0)2 43 05 69 21
Fax: + 33 (0)2 43 05 43 47
Email: finn@suntouched.co.uk
Manufacturing: Tel: + 36 27 538310
Germany & Scandinavia
Handelsagentur DREIPUNKT
– André Budzien
Fon +49 (0385) 3924378
Fax: +49 (0385) 3925786
Email: budzien@t-online.de
Mobile: +49 (0178) 2184971
North America
Lemieux Boats
Tel: 1 905 331 0817 Fax: 1 905 331 8081
email: Lemieux@direct.com
Congratulations
Larry Lemieux
1st place
André Budzien
2nd place
Using Pata
Lemieux boats
and Pata Willetts
masts at the Finn
World Masters
in Cannes
The Boat in Front’s a Pata Lemieux
Website: www.suntouched.co.uk
INTERNATIONAL FINN ASSOCIATION 2003 ACCOUNTS - English Pounds GBR
Revenue 2003 2002 Expenses 2003 2002 Assets 2003 2002
Memberships 16,782 16,315 Payroll 9,601 10,200 Stock ISAF plaques 5,803 -
Sail labels 5,317 7,150 Office expenses 1,863 2,131 Petty Cash 295 -
Mast labels 2,424 2,957 Regatta expenses 3,432 1 653 Accounts receivable 3,302 4,025
Rule books 2,711 6,413 Bank Charges 241 292 Working Account 19,747 18,498
Interest 386 496 Finnfare expenses 6,725 7,885 Capital Account 31,434 31,048
Advertising 1,547 3,579 Postage 163 173
Finnatic, Finnlog 505 746 ISAF Building fee 2,144 4,586 60,581 53,571
Other # 8,212 30 Stickers & RB 1,863 2,837
Development 3,904 -
Masters admin. 671 669 Liabilities
Website 178 706
Various* - 1,198 Salary owing 1,031 1,120
Profit for the year 7,099 5,356 Capital 59,550 52,451
37,884 37,686 37,884 37,686 60,581 53,571
# Cadiz GC entry fees * new Lamboley

Photos: Getty Images, ISAF
Official photographer for the 2004
Olympic Sailing Competition