2015 Finn European Championship - Kiwi back in charge + Video

by Robert Deaves on 16 May 2015 2015 Finn European Championship - Josh Junior (NZL) has reclaimed the lead at the Finn European Championship in Split, Croatia after three tough races in winds from 18-24 knots. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) had the best day to climb up to second, while Vasilij Zbogar (SLO) staged a comeback to climb from 15th to third. Race wins went to Ed Wright (GBR), Junior and Deniss Karpak (EST).

It was always going to be the 'big' day in Split, but it wasn't as large as some expected. With some forecasts showing 35 knots and more, racing was held on the inshore course. As it turned out the big winds only arrived after the fleet came ashore, and for the large part the racing was held in an average of 20 knots. Even so the fleet had to contend with big waves and tough racing conditions.

Race five seemed to belong to Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) from start to finish. Favouring the left hand side close to the shore he emerged from the chop with a nice lead at the top mark and blasted away downwind never to be caught. The British pair of Ed Wright (GBR) and Ben Cornish (GBR) were leading the chasing pack some way back. However both Postma and Cornish were judged over the line early and scored UFD, so the race win went to Wright from Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) and Vasilij Zbogar (SLO).

For the next race the wind dropped slightly but followed a similar pattern. Alejandro Foglia (URU) led round the top mark from Josh Junior (NZL). Junior was soon in the lead and went on to win his third race of the championship. Kljakovic Gaspic also passed Foglia to place second in the race.

Junior looked to be heading for yet another race victory in race seven, leading round the top mark from Deniss Karpak (EST), Giorgio Poggi (ITA) and Kljakovic Gaspic. In contrast to the first two races, the middle and right were now paying with those who stuck to the left again trailing at the top mark. Junior led until the final upwind mark when Karpak spotted some incoming pressure and dived low to the left and sailed underneath Junior to take a narrow victory on the line. Poggi crossed in third, with Kljakovic Gaspic ending a great day with a fourth.

Junior said, “Very spectacular day. There were some good close battles with everyone. I need to keep getting good results like that. There are a lot of good sailors here so I just have to keep sailing well, but Ivan is sailing very well.”

On his tactics for the day, “There was close to a knot of current running between the island and the land and I think to start with inshore there was less current and also a geographical effect on the left as you got near the top mark. As the day went on it paid to go left early and then cross to the right.”

Wright wasn't so happy with his day, but climbs two places to fifth “After the first race when the land got hot we had anything from six – twenty five knots which kept the fleet entertained. I managed to win the first which I was extremely happy with and then made some average decisions in the other two.”

Foglia is one of the Finn class sponsored sailors at the Dinghy Academy in Valencia. He led round the top mark in race six. He said of his day, “I am happy with how I am going, but I didn't have a good start to the week and lost a lot of points on the first days. The important things is that I am there with the speed and am up with the top sailors. This is only my second year in the Finn. We are sailing well in Valencia having fun and learning all the time.”

“In the second race today I managed a very good start at the pin and tacked at the right moment to the right, and then came into the mark first from Josh, but he was flying downwind and passed me. On the second upwind I kept my second place but Bambi also passed me on the last downwind. Third is a good result but when you are first and lose some places, you are happy because of the result but also not happy to lose first place because you want to win.”

Karpak has now won two races this week and is up to tenth overall. “In the first two races I started in the middle and all the leaders came from the pin after one tack. In the last race it was more tactical, with the wind going right and left. Myself and Josh and Giorgio went super fast to the right for about a minute and then when we came back we had everyone in the window, so that was nice. I didn't have a good first downwind, but it was an easy second upwind. On the last downwind I saw some more pressure on the left and went for it Laser style with no pumping and took the pressure. When I looked up everyone was behind me. If you have more wind that others, you go faster.” Simple.

Home favourite, Kljakovic Gaspic, is now up to second and looking for his third European title. He said, “It was fun, a windy, breezy day and lots of nice moments for sailing. I was looking forward to today but I wasn't sure whether it was going to be too much. I understand why they put the course inshore because the forecast was showing a really, really breezy day. Normally in that area there is a little less wind, but at least it keeps all the options open, and is the same for everyone.”

“So it in the end it turned out to be a really wonderful day. We had nice surfing downwind, with nice waves. Upwind was fun. It wasn't about banging the corners, it was sometimes left, sometimes right, so fun racing. I'm up to second, so let's see what happens tomorrow.”

The current leader in the Junior Championship, Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS), lost his overall lead in the Seniors, but despite a high scoring day still leads the defending junior champion Jake Lilley (AUS) by nine points. Nenad Bugarin (CRO) also struggled in the higher winds and dropped to 19th overall, but is still the third placed junior.

Lilley described his day, “It's been a pretty tricky week so far in a variety of conditions and I have just been trying to stay consistent. I managed to do that so far until the second race today when I didn't have the best race and didn't really recover from it like I have been able to do most of this week. The first race and third race today were pretty good. The third one was a just a war of attrition. Everyone was pretty tired by then.'

On the defence of his European Junior tile, “I am starting to close the gap on the Russian. Three more races tomorrow before the medal race so still plenty to play for.”

There is just one day of the opening series left and a possible three races to sail on Saturday. Junior and Kljakovic Gaspic have a 30 point gap on the fleet, though the rest of the top ten remain very close on points, especially for those hoping to make the medal race on Sunday.

Forecasts vary for Saturday, from nothing to something sailable. Racing is scheduled to resume at 12.00.

Results after seven races

1. NZL 24 Josh Junior 22
2. CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 28
3. SLO 573 Vasilij Zbogar 56
4. GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 57
5. GBR 11 Edward Wright 63
6. HUN 40 Zsombor Berecz 65
7. RUS 6 Arkadiy Kistanov 66
8. RUS 57 Egor Terpigorev 68
9. CRO 69 Milan Vujasinovic 68
10. EST 2 Deniss Karpak 71





 Complete Results:

Rank	Country	SailNo	Name	BowNo	Division	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	Total	Nett
1	NZL	24	JOSH JUNIOR	56		1.0	1.0	(27.0)	7.0	10.0	1.0	2.0	49.0	22.0
2	CRO	524	IVAN KLJAKOVIC GASPIC	19		(26.0)	3.0	2.0	15.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	54.0	28.0
3	SLO	573	VASILIJ ZBOGAR	32		15.0	12.0	(36.0)	17.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	92.0	56.0
4	GRE	77	IOANNIS MITAKIS	59		5.0	15.0	3.0	14.0	(22.0)	7.0	13.0	79.0	57.0
5	GBR	11	EDWARD WRIGHT	51		10.0	5.0	10.0	18.0	1.0	(20.0)	19.0	83.0	63.0
6	HUN	40	ZSOMBOR BERECZ	35		8.0	6.0	(26.0)	2.0	12.0	19.0	18.0	91.0	65.0
7	RUS	6	ARKADIY KISTANOV	12	Junior	2.0	10.0	5.0	8.0	14.0	27.0	(30.0)	96.0	66.0
8	RUS	57	EGOR TERPIGOREV	8		3.0	2.0	(72.0 dsq)	38.0	5.0	6.0	14.0	140.0	68.0
9	CRO	69	MILAN VUJASINOVIC	25		(29.0)	11.0	8.0	4.0	7.0	11.0	27.0	97.0	68.0
10	EST	2	DENISS KARPAK	53		13.0	13.0	(72.0 ret)	1.0	21.0	22.0	1.0	143.0	71.0
11	NZL	16	ANDREW MURDOCH	43		(24.0)	4.0	1.0	12.0	15.0	17.0	24.0	97.0	73.0
12	ITA	146	MICHELE PAOLETTI	46		17.0	14.0	4.0	5.0	11.0	(24.0)	23.0	98.0	74.0
13	AUS	41	JAKE LILLEY	38	Junior	11.0	7.0	(21.0)	21.0	9.0	21.0	6.0	96.0	75.0
14	GBR	91	BEN CORNISH	2		12.0	8.0	28.0	16.0	(72.0 ufd)	10.0	7.0	153.0	81.0
15	CRO	1	JOSIP OLUJIC	7		18.0	9.0	(58.0)	24.0	16.0	5.0	12.0	142.0	84.0
16	NOR	1	ANDERS PEDERSEN	63		(25.0)	16.0	20.0	6.0	20.0	8.0	21.0	116.0	91.0
17	SWE	6	BJORN ALLANSSON	37		9.0	21.0	(50.0)	33.0	6.0	16.0	8.0	143.0	93.0
18	URU	301	ALEJANDRO FOGLIA	50		22.0	20.0	9.0	(32.0)	25.0	3.0	15.0	126.0	94.0
19	CRO	52	NENAD BUGARIN	54	Junior	4.0	23.0	7.0	27.0	(32.0)	15.0	26.0	134.0	102.0
20	ITA	66	ENRICO VOLTOLINI	55		19.0	26.0	24.0	34.0	13.0	(38.0)	11.0	165.0	127.0
21	ITA	117	GIORGIO POGGI	11		28.0	22.0	37.0	(42.0)	23.0	18.0	3.0	173.0	131.0
22	GER	259	PHILLIP KASUESKE	17	Junior	33.0	33.0	13.0	11.0	29.0	12.0	(41.0)	172.0	131.0
23	TUR	21	ALICAN KAYNAR	42		(45.0)	36.0	17.0	40.0	8.0	14.0	20.0	180.0	135.0
24	CZE	5	ONDREJ TEPLY	13	Junior	27.0	34.0	16.0	3.0	30.0	33.0	(36.0)	179.0	143.0
25	POL	16	MIKOLAJ LAHN	27	Junior	7.0	32.0	(53.0)	31.0	27.0	37.0	10.0	197.0	144.0
26	AUS	261	OLIVER TWEDDELL	71		20.0	(72.0 ufd)	22.0	28.0	26.0	13.0	39.0	220.0	148.0
27	GBR	18	JAMES HADDEN	3		(47.0)	40.0	6.0	22.0	35.0	9.0	47.0	206.0	159.0
28	ITA	123	FILIPPO BALDASSARI	67		(54.0)	27.0	18.0	19.0	31.0	31.0	37.0	217.0	163.0
29	NED	842	PIETER JAN POSTMA	23		14.0	18.0	56.0	36.0	(72.0 ufd)	25.0	16.0	237.0	165.0
30	ITA	147	SIMONE FERRARESE	26		16.0	30.0	12.0	(63.0)	34.0	28.0	48.0	231.0	168.0
31	GBR	96	HECTOR SIMPSON	39	Junior	23.0	38.0	19.0	20.0	(43.0)	40.0	31.0	214.0	171.0
32	RUS	7	ANATOLY KORSHIKOV	9	Junior	37.0	19.0	(49.0)	29.0	37.0	29.0	22.0	222.0	173.0
33	UKR	5	ANDRII GUSENKO	6		41.0	31.0	33.0	10.0	(44.0)	26.0	33.0	218.0	174.0
34	POR	5	FREDERICO MELO	21		34.0	17.0	30.0	(60.0)	33.0	36.0	25.0	235.0	175.0
35	POL	17	PIOTR KULA	44		21.0	(72.0 ufd)	51.0	53.0	17.0	30.0	9.0	253.0	181.0
36	ESP	8	PABLO GUITIAN SARRIA	48		6.0	25.0	(48.0)	43.0	28.0	47.0	35.0	232.0	184.0
37	CZE	1	MICHAEL MAIER	14		(50.0)	41.0	25.0	30.0	41.0	34.0	28.0	249.0	199.0
38	EST	11	LAURI VAINSALU	31		44.0	(72.0 ufd)	14.0	61.0	39.0	35.0	17.0	282.0	210.0
39	NOR	9	LARS JOHAN BRODTKORB	47	Junior	38.0	35.0	44.0	9.0	(54.0)	41.0	46.0	267.0	213.0
40	GER	595	GORGELS SIMON	24	Junior	36.0	39.0	31.0	41.0	36.0	(48.0)	38.0	269.0	221.0
41	FRA	17	PIC FABIAN	49	Junior	(46.0)	29.0	46.0	35.0	40.0	42.0	32.0	270.0	224.0
42	GER	25	MAX KOHLHOFF	18	Junior	30.0	50.0	(54.0)	23.0	42.0	32.0	51.0	282.0	228.0
43	ESP	7	ALEX MUSCAT	22		(72.0 ufd)	24.0	32.0	13.0	19.0	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	304.0	232.0
44	GER	713	HAVERLAND LARS	5		42.0	28.0	35.0	50.0	38.0	(52.0)	43.0	288.0	236.0
45	ESP	717	VICTOR GOROSTEGUI ARCE	57		48.0	46.0	(62.0)	26.0	45.0	39.0	40.0	306.0	244.0
46	CRO	7	TUDOR BILIC	16		49.0	37.0	43.0	49.0	24.0	(50.0)	44.0	296.0	246.0
47	POL	1	MILOSZ WOJEWSKI	65		40.0	42.0	47.0	25.0	49.0	43.0	(54.0)	300.0	246.0
48	ITA	83	MATTEO SAVIO	33	Junior	(52.0)	43.0	11.0	52.0	48.0	44.0	49.0	299.0	247.0
49	ARG	48	FACUNDO OLEZZA	58	Junior	51.0	45.0	15.0	45.0	(72.0 DNC)	45.6 RDGb	45.6 RDGb	319.2	247.2
50	GER	252	MARTENS EIKE	20		31.0	(72.0 ufd)	60.0	48.0	18.0	72.0 DSQ	29.0	330.0	258.0
51	CAN	110	MARTIN ROBITAILLE	60		(72.0 ufd)	72.0 ufd	61.0	68.0	4.0	23.0	34.0	334.0	262.0
52	ITA	175	ALESSANDRO VONGHER	4		35.0	47.0	(64.0)	46.0	52.0	45.0	50.0	339.0	275.0
53	GRE	4	PANAGIOTIS KOTSOVOS	61		39.0	(53.0)	42.0	51.0	51.0	51.0	42.0	329.0	276.0
54	FIN	225	MIKAEL HYRYLAINEN	1		(59.0)	44.0	38.0	44.0	58.0	49.0	45.0	337.0	278.0
55	ARG	1	SANTIAGO FALASCA	28	Junior	(55.0)	54.0	23.0	54.0	50.0	46.0	55.0	337.0	282.0
56	FRA	99	MARC ALLAIN DES BEAUVAIS	68		43.0	48.0	(55.0)	39.0	53.0	53.0	52.0	343.0	288.0
57	FRA	89	BENJAMIN MONTAGUT	62		32.0	49.0	(59.0)	56.0	46.0	54.0	53.0	349.0	290.0
58	USA	11	PHILIP TOTH	30		60.0	(72.0 ufd)	34.0	37.0	47.0	55.0	58.0	363.0	291.0
59	POL	22	JEREMI ZIMNY	29	Junior	(62.0)	58.0	29.0	47.0	55.0	57.0	60.0	368.0	306.0
60	LTU	24	SARUNAS FELENDERIS	52		58.0	57.0	40.0	(65.0)	56.0	59.0	56.0	391.0	326.0
61	RUS	41	FELIX DENIKARV	41		53.0	56.0	41.0	57.0	57.0	65.0	(72.0 DNC)	401.0	329.0
62	ITA	191	ALESSANDRO CATTANEO	15		56.0	52.0	(68.0)	62.0	59.0	56.0	59.0	412.0	344.0
63	POL	14	PIOTR MAZUR	36		57.0	51.0	(63.0)	55.0	63.0	58.0	61.0	408.0	345.0
64	POL	171	PIOTR GIERCZAK	69	Junior	64.0	59.0	39.0	58.0	(72.0 DNC)	66.0	62.0	420.0	348.0
65	GRE	71	PANAGIOTIS DAVOURLIS	66		68.0	55.0	52.0	59.0	60.0	61.0	(72.0 DNC)	427.0	355.0
66	GER	236	ANDREAS LOHMANN	72		63.0	(72.0 dnf)	45.0	67.0	62.0	62.0	57.0	428.0	356.0
67	SUI	63	GAUTSCHI THOMAS	64		(65.0)	62.0	57.0	64.0	61.0	60.0	63.0	432.0	367.0
68	POL	11	KACPER JAROCKI	70	Junior	67.0	60.0	67.0	(70.0)	64.0	63.0	64.0	455.0	385.0
69	TUN	1	KARIM ESSEGHIR	40		61.0	63.0	66.0	69.0	(72.0 DNC)	64.0	72.0 DNC	467.0	395.0
70	POL	2	ANDREJ SKARKA	10		66.0	61.0	65.0	66.0	(72.0 DNC)	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	474.0	402.0
71	ITA	212	LANFRANKO CIRILLO	45		(72.0 DNC)	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	72.0 DNC	504.0	432.0