Finn Gold Cup - Top form from Ainslie on day 5 + Video

by Robert Deaves on 18 May 2012 On day five of the Finn Gold Cup, an awesome performance was given by Ben Ainslie (GBR). In the toughest, roughest conditions that much of the fleet have sailed in for many years, he took three race wins and is now within a whisker of his sixth Finn World title. Ed Wright (GBR) remains in second while Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) moves up to third.

The morning forecast was somewhat daunting as the fleet set out under the threat of 30 knots winds and big seas by the afternoon. Three races were scheduled to make up for those lost on Wednesday, and though 85 boats made the first start, by the third race there were only 53 boats left on the water. The wind rose from 15-16 knots for the first race of the day to 20-25 knots in the third, and the wave also built to reach 2-3 metres in height, providing for some stunning downwind sailing so even those who were having a bad day were also having a fantastic day.

Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) obviously liked the conditions and had his best day yet, rounding the first mark in race seven in the lead from Greg Douglas (CAN) and Mark Andrews (GBR). Tapio Nirkko (FIN) rounded in fifth and moved up on the downwind to round level with Postma, but at the opposite gate. Postma still led at the second upwind mark, while Ben Ainslie (GBR) had moved up to second. Then on the final run to the finish, there were lots of position changes. Ainslie stormed through to the lead to win the race from Ed Wright (GBR) and Daniel Birgmark (SWE).

The conditions worsened (or improved depending on your viewpoint) for the next race with big rolling waves coming down the course. Matts Coutts (NZL) was the clear leader at the top mark from Douglas and Andrews. Wright had moved to third at the gate and then took the lead up the beat to lead down the first reach.

Ainslie had recovered from a poor first beat to third place, but was handed his second victory of the day on a plate when Wright capsized on the gybe and Douglas went wide. Ainslie slipped through the gap and screamed off to the finish. Douglas crossed in second with Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) in third. Wright righted his boat and crossed in 14th.

The final race of the day was an epic of big winds, big waves and downhill sleigh rides that needed nerves of steel. Ainslie now had the measure of the day and rounded the first mark with a nice lead which he extended on every leg to win by 200 metres at the finish. Wright was again in second for much of the race but slipped on the final reaches to fourth. Kljakovic Gaspic crossed in second with Zach Railey (USA) sailing his best race of the regatta into third to grab the final place in Friday's medal race.

Ainslie described the day, 'It was a pretty big day, amazing conditions. There were massive waves. It was an amazing day's sailing for everyone I think. It is not often we race in conditions like that so it was great, I think there will be a lot of tired sailors but I think most people had a smile on their face most of the time.'

'It has been a good week and this event is important but really the main focus this year is the Olympics coming up. It is good with that in mind but of course it is a great achievement to win a Finn Gold Cup. This fleet is very tight, there are a lot of good sailors so I've still got to keep pushing and making improvements. Obviously I am very happy with the way this week has gone.'

Wright summed up his day, 'Today was probably the craziest days sailing I've had for a long time. It was enormous waves, really windy and it built all day. It was really exciting probably my favourite day. I wasn't really sailing just trying to keep control, it was quite a nice feeling.'

'Today was even more about survival than Tuesday. Downwind was just survival, there were quite a few capsizes and in my second race on the last couple of reaches I was winning by quite a way relaxing in survival mode. I went in for the gybe and capsized. It was hard because I went in the water and after that pretty difficult to get yourself back up and into the boat so I probably lost about 10 places there. The good thing is I can discard that race. Going into medal race tomorrow it's going to be close racing but we will just have to wait and see what happens.'

Kljakovic Gaspic said, 'It was a lot of fun out there. To be honest it was great rounding the mark and watching the other guys capsize behind and get in trouble on the downwind, watching as you pass them by it was a good feeling to be fast but cautious. Today was quite a good day for me I had two really unlucky moments today, the first and third start a really big wave broke on my deck and flooded my boat with water, so about 30 seconds after the start my boat was totally sinking and I was trying to get it out as quick as possible.'

'Tomorrow will be good experience for the future and for the Olympics. I hope it will be windy to take advantage of the guys that are tired from today's racing, maybe I am a bit fresher than the rest. It has been quite a tough week but I'm fit and strong and I have confidence in myself. I don't doubt my fitness.'

For Douglas, this event forms his Olympic trials and had a great day to move up to 14th overall, while his main rival Chris Cook (CAN) unfortunately fell ill and didn't complete the last two races, to drop to 27th and now too far back to catch up.

Douglas said, 'I saw the forecast this morning and put a little post on Facebook that I was going to teach the old boys how it’s done today and the wind picked up, the waves got big, it was a really good one out there today. In the second race coming around the reach Ed capsized at the gybe and then Ben got inside me at the gybe, but getting passed by Ben Ainslie was not the worst.'

Oleksiy Borysov (UKR) is the only dinghy sailor from Ukraine to qualify for the Olympics and his week hasn't gone quite to plan. He sits in 21st place. 'To my mind it’s the most difficult start to this season. I was ready to take the challenge physically, yet in conditions I didn’t reach my target. Having said that, I’m quite happy with the outcome and my results. My aim and the most important thing was to finish in the top 20 regardless, so I had pretty consistent results in today’s races.

'It’s quite important for me to get down to Weymouth as soon as possible. Because of lack of financial support I didn’t have a chance to compete in last year’s Skandia’s Sail for Gold, nor in the Pre-Olympic test event'

In Friday's medal race Ainslie just has to finish cleanly to win a sixth Finn world title. Wright also has to just finish to win the silver. The real interest is the bronze, where technically any of the next six boats can take it out of the hand of Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN).

Following the medal race, the 11th and final race will be sailed for the rest. For some this is an important race as will determine the final places at the Olympics. Poland has already qualified. Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, China and Norway currently occupy the next six places, though some are dependent on National Authority requirements.

The medal race will feature GoPro stern cameras on each of the 10 boats, so hopefully by the end of the day we will have a idea what it take to be a world class Finn sailor.

Finn Gold Cup website

Full Results:

	Bow No	Sail No	Helm name	Junior	R1 final	R2 final	R3 final	R4 final	R5 final	R6 final	R7 final	R8 final	R9 final	Total	Nett
1st	29	GBR 3	AINSLIE Ben		1.0	(3.0)	1.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	13.0	10.0
2nd	01	GBR 11	WRIGHT Edward		2.0	1.0	5.0	7.0	5.0	4.0	2.0	(14.0)	4.0	44.0	30.0
3rd	17	DEN 2	HOEGH-CHRISTENSEN Jonas		14.0	9.0	4.0	6.0	2.0	8.0	4.0	(18.0)	17.0	82.0	64.0
4th	02	CRO 524	KLJAKOVIC GASPIC Ivan		(26.0)	16.0	3.0	12.0	3.0	20.0	13.0	3.0	2.0	98.0	72.0
5th	24	FIN 218	NIRKKO Tapio		6.0	(22.0)	9.0	8.0	16.0	2.0	5.0	17.0	9.0	94.0	72.0
6th	106	POL 17	KULA Piotr		9.0	10.0	8.0	15.0	12.0	5.0	9.0	12.0	(18.0)	98.0	80.0
7th	27	GBR 88	ANDREWS Mark		(33.0)	23.0	12.0	10.0	7.0	6.0	7.0	5.0	11.0	114.0	81.0
8th	14	GBR 85	MILLS Andrew		4.0	8.0	2.0	11.0	19.0	3.0	(30.0)	20.0	15.0	112.0	82.0
9th	03	NED 842	POSTMA PieterJan		22.0	14.0	11.0	4.0	(95.0 DSQ)	14.0	6.0	6.0	8.0	180.0	85.0
10th	09	USA 4	RAILEY Zach		15.0	15.0	10.0	(32.0)	8.0	13.0	18.0	11.0	3.0	125.0	93.0
11th	07	EST 2	KARPAK Deniss		5.0	5.0	20.0	26.0	4.0	7.0	(95.0 OCS)	15.0	13.0	190.0	95.0
12th	12	SWE 11	BIRGMARK Daniel		(24.0)	17.0	17.0	14.0	10.0	19.0	3.0	10.0	10.0	124.0	100.0
13th	53	AUS 1	CASEY Brendan		13.0	25.0	7.0	9.0	17.0	18.0	8.0	4.0	(95.0 DNC)	196.0	101.0
14th	32	CAN 5	DOUGLAS Greg		(34.0)	7.0	15.0	13.0	22.0	26.0	15.0	2.0	7.0	141.0	107.0
15th	10	FRA 112	LOBERT Jonathan		25.0	2.0	6.0	2.0	15.0	(27.0)	25.0	25.0	12.0	139.0	112.0
16th	81	NZL 1	SLATER Dan		12.0	24.0	13.0	27.0	9.0	(32.0)	10.0	7.0	14.0	148.0	116.0
17th	21	RUS 9	SKORNYAKOV Eduard		20.0	(42.0)	24.0	19.0	11.0	10.0	17.0	13.0	5.0	161.0	119.0
18th	05	ESP 100	TRUJILLO Rafael		31.0	(39.0)	14.0	5.0	6.0	15.0	12.0	24.0	30.0	176.0	137.0
19th	33	POL 7	SZUKIEL Rafal		3.0	20.0	22.0	16.0	27.0	22.0	(41.0)	28.0	22.0	201.0	160.0
20th	101	GER 151	MILLER Matthias		23.0	13.0	30.0	(54.0)	20.0	11.0	23.0	27.0	16.0	217.0	163.0
21st	30	UKR 1	BORYSOV Oleksiy		30.0	4.0	26.0	18.0	18.0	29.0	(32.0)	21.0	19.0	197.0	165.0
22nd	45	NZL 8	COUTTS Matt		(45.0)	35.0	36.0	22.0	32.0	25.0	11.0	9.0	6.0	221.0	176.0
23rd	26	AUT 3	RAUDASCHL Florian		29.0	11.0	21.0	(35.0)	33.0	28.0	16.0	16.0	28.0	217.0	182.0
24th	20	CZE 1	MAIER Michael		10.0	(37.0)	31.0	30.0	21.0	24.0	19.0	30.0	27.0	229.0	192.0
25th	87	CAN 41	COOK Christopher		8.0	12.0	16.0	1.0	13.0	12.0	40.0	(95.0 DNS)	95.0 DNC	292.0	197.0
26th	18	SWE 6	ALLANSSON Bjorn		(64.0)	26.0	19.0	42.0	28.0	31.0	21.0	8.0	26.0	265.0	201.0
27th	23	USA 619	PAINE Caleb		37.0	27.0	27.0	20.0	(95.0 DSQ)	16.0	20.0	36.0	20.0	298.0	203.0
28th	34	NED 83	HAGOORT Timo		35.0	21.0	28.0	25.0	31.0	(40.0)	14.0	22.0	35.0	251.0	211.0
29th	40	TUR 21	KAYNAR Alican		32.0	30.0	25.0	(64.0)	40.0	9.0	26.0	32.0	29.0	287.0	223.0
30th	90	CHN 1226	GONG Lei		21.0	31.0	33.0	38.0	26.0	17.0	28.0	(48.0)	33.0	275.0	227.0
31st	37	CZE 85	VIKA Tomas		17.0	19.0	39.0	(44.0)	25.0	35.0	34.0	38.0	21.0	272.0	228.0
32nd	47	NED 841	VAN EGMOND Hein		11.0	41.0	(42.0)	17.0	34.0	33.0	29.0	40.0	32.0	279.0	237.0
33rd	42	UKR 5	GUSENKO Andrii		43.0	18.0	40.0	21.0	30.0	36.0	(47.0)	26.0	24.0	285.0	238.0
34th	41	BRA109	ZARIF Jorge	J	50.0	6.0	35.0	31.0	35.0	23.0	(95.0 OCS)	34.0	25.0	334.0	239.0
35th	57	CRO 11	OLUJIC Josip		36.0	(55.0)	34.0	23.0	39.0	21.0	36.0	19.0	36.0	299.0	244.0
36th	86	CAN 110	ROBITAILLE Martin	J	18.0	33.0	29.0	45.0	24.0	(95.0 DSQ)	31.0	23.0	44.0	342.0	247.0
37th	103	NOR 1	PEDERSEN Anders	J	44.0	46.0	18.0	(55.0)	20.0 RDG	34.3 RDGa	24.0	33.0	34.0	308.3	253.3
38th	58	CRO 671	BILIC Tudor		(48.0)	47.0	38.0	36.0	14.0	37.0	27.0	35.0	35.3 RDGa	317.3	269.3
39th	39	RUS 1	SELIVANOV Alexey		7.0	34.0	52.0	48.0	(95.0 DSQ)	30.0	22.0	53.0	39.0	380.0	285.0
40th	59	CYP 19	PAPADOPOULOS Haris		47.0	44.0	48.0	33.0	(50.0)	38.0	39.0	37.0	23.0	359.0	309.0
41st	117	POL 8	LESINSKI Lukasz		61.0	52.0	(70.0)	40.0	29.0	45.0	33.0	31.0	38.0	399.0	329.0
42nd	38	RUS 57	TERPIGOREV Egor		(95.0 BFD)	60.0	32.0	28.0	48.0	44.0	53.0	39.0	31.0	430.0	335.0
43rd	78	IND 11	JOHAL Nachhatar		38.0	38.0	(62.0)	52.0	43.0	29.0 RDG	48.0	45.0	43.0	398.0	336.0
44th	48	HUN 6	PAL Gaszton		39.0	29.0	43.0	46.0	47.0	34.0	49.0	51.0	(95.0 DNC)	433.0	338.0
45th	62	GBR 18	HADDEN James	J	(70.0)	36.0	47.0	41.0	49.0	60.0	37.0	42.0	37.0	419.0	349.0
46th	67	GBR 29	MCCOY Peter	J	42.0	59.0	37.0	47.0	42.0	47.0	43.0	43.0	(95.0 DNF)	455.0	360.0
47th	113	SWE 89	AXELSSON Andreas		41.0	63.0	60.0	37.0	41.0	41.0	42.0	47.0	(95.0 DNC)	467.0	372.0
48th	79	IRL 4	HAMILTON Ross		(73.0)	40.0	45.0	58.0	38.0	46.0	50.0	56.0	46.0	452.0	379.0
49th	77	HUN 8	BELICZAY Marton		54.0	51.0	(64.0)	29.0	57.0	43.0	45.0	61.0	41.0	445.0	381.0
50th	119	CAN 902	WILTON Brendan		46.0	32.0	55.0	39.0	(95.0 BFD)	48.0	38.0	29.0	95.0 DNF	477.0	382.0
51st	92	DEN 46	ANDRESEN Kaspar		(66.0)	66.0	41.0	62.0	51.0	51.0	35.0	46.0	42.0	460.0	394.0
52nd	65	GBR 23	BRIDDON Harry	J	49.0	53.0	57.0	56.0	36.0	(95.0 DNC)	57.0	50.0	47.0	500.0	405.0
53rd	46	AUS 261	TWEDDELL Oliver		16.0	43.0	23.0	24.0	61.0	61.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	513.0	418.0
54th	110	TUR 35	KUYUMCU Efe		53.0	78.0	50.0	59.0	37.0	42.0	56.0	44.0	(95.0 DSQ)	514.0	419.0
55th	56	CHN 43	ZHEN Li		40.0	45.0	44.0	71.0	62.0	53.0	58.0	52.0	(95.0 DNC)	520.0	425.0
56th	105	POL 13	JODLOWSKI Michal	J	67.0	65.0	54.0	(84.0)	55.0	54.0	44.0	41.0	48.0	512.0	428.0
57th	120	NED 58	MOHREN Thomas		(84.0)	67.0	63.0	34.0	45.0	56.0	60.0	55.0	50.0	514.0	430.0
58th	100	FRA 89	MONTAGUT Benjamin		59.0	54.0	61.0	51.0	59.0	(62.0)	59.0	49.0	40.0	494.0	432.0
59th	82	NZL 9	COUTTS Rob		57.0	58.0	(72.0)	60.0	52.0	50.0	52.0	59.0	45.0	505.0	433.0
60th	55	CAN 7	NICHOLSON Adam		60.0	48.0	58.0	50.0	54.0	57.0	76.0	57.0	(95.0 DNC)	555.0	460.0
61st	109	SUI 84	HOFER Silvan		55.0	74.0	56.0	75.0	44.0	52.0	54.0	(95.0 DNF)	53.0	558.0	463.0
62nd	111	USA 21	LAMPHERE Gordon		69.0	56.0	67.0	68.0	53.0	58.0	51.0	(95.0 DNF)	54.0	571.0	476.0
63rd	61	FRA 99	ALLAIN DES BEAUVAIS Marc		75.0	69.0	69.0	(82.0)	58.0	55.0	63.0	54.0	51.0	576.0	494.0
64th	63	GBR 2	BURRELL Allen		51.0	50.0	49.0	80.0	63.0	49.0	64.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	596.0	501.0
65th	88	CAN 9	HEMMING Rob		58.0	62.0	53.0	67.0	64.0	(95.0 DNC)	46.0	67.0	95.0 DNC	607.0	512.0
66th	54	BUL 77	NEDYALKOV Valentin		56.0	75.0	74.0	(79.0)	72.0	71.0	66.0	64.0	55.0	612.0	533.0
67th	80	LTU 7	RYMONIS Tauras		85.0	77.0	71.0	43.0	46.0	59.0	62.0	(95.0 DNS)	95.0 DNC	633.0	538.0
68th	112	USA 53	LEIBOWITZ Ben		72.0	72.0	80.0	(87.0)	67.0	70.0	67.0	60.0	52.0	627.0	540.0
69th	93	FRA 61	MINOS Mikael		65.0	68.0	83.0	77.0	65.0	66.0	55.0	65.0	(95.0 DNC)	639.0	544.0
70th	85	BUL 855	VANGELOV Dimitar	J	19.0	64.0	65.0	73.0	66.0	(95.0 DNC)	68.0	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	640.0	545.0
71st	52	AUS 8	SERET Dirk		76.0	61.0	(86.0)	85.0	75.0	69.0	70.0	62.0	49.0	633.0	547.0
72nd	60	CZE 11	DEUTSCHER Patrik	J	63.0	57.0	85.0	(95.0 DNF)	68.0	68.0	72.0	58.0	95.0 DNC	661.0	566.0
73rd	75	GBR 7	COOPER George		86.0	82.0	66.0	49.0	56.0	64.0	69.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	662.0	567.0
74th	50	TUR 7	MUSLUBAS Akif		27.0	28.0	51.0	83.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	664.0	569.0
75th	108	SUI 63	GAUTSCHI Thomas		62.0	71.0	68.0	70.0	73.0	63.0	79.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	676.0	581.0
76th	73	GBR 665	SMITH Julian		79.0	85.0	73.0	61.0	60.0	65.0	65.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	678.0	583.0
77th	104	GBR 635	PERCIVAL Simon		71.0	79.0	78.0	63.0	71.0	67.0	71.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	690.0	595.0
78th	51	AUS 2	MCMILLAN Rob		28.0	49.0	46.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	693.0	598.0
79th	91	DEN 210	NIELSEN Henrik Elmer		77.0	92.0	79.0	69.0	74.0	(95.0 DNC)	61.0	63.0	95.0 DNC	705.0	610.0
80th	68	GBR 567	HUGHES Martin		52.0	70.0	59.0	57.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	713.0	618.0
81st	76	GBR 711	PETTIT Simon		78.0	90.0	77.0	72.0	69.0	(95.0 DNF)	73.0	66.0	95.0 DNC	715.0	620.0
82nd	64	GBR 20	DENISON Andy		81.0	83.0	75.0	65.0	70.0	(95.0 DNC)	74.0	95.0 DNS	95.0 DNC	733.0	638.0
83rd	94	FRA 57	BOULAN Damien		68.0	76.0	(95.0 DNF)	53.0	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	75.0	95.0 DNS	95.0 DNC	747.0	652.0
84th	95	FRA 66	LOBERT Philippe		74.0	81.0	82.0	66.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	78.0	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	761.0	666.0
85th	74	GBR 68	MACKIE John		80.0	73.0	76.0	78.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	782.0	687.0
86th	98	FRA 869	BAUMGARTEN Regis		89.0	84.0	89.0	81.0	77.0	(95.0 DNC)	77.0	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	782.0	687.0
87th	97	FRA 86	JEAN Christophe		87.0	91.0	81.0	86.0	76.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	801.0	706.0
88th	71	GBR 631	HART Richard		93.0	86.0	87.0	74.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	815.0	720.0
89th	96	FRA 72	LE FRAPPER Philippe		92.0	88.0	84.0	76.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	815.0	720.0
90th	72	GBR 644	ARNELL Jack	J	83.0	80.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	828.0	733.0
91st	69	GBR 611	LOCK Tony		82.0	87.0	(95.0 DNC)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	834.0	739.0
92nd	99	FRA 880	HOLLIER Cedric		88.0	89.0	(95.0 DNS)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNF	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	842.0	747.0
93rd	66	GBR 24	BARNES Rory		91.0	94.0	88.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	843.0	748.0
94th	70	GBR 617	HARPER Mark		90.0	93.0	(95.0 DNF)	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	95.0 DNC	848.0	753.0