Please select your home edition
Edition
Hyde Sails 2024 - One Design

Vladimir wins Finn World Masters after dramatic Medal Race turnaround

by Robert Deaves on 10 Jun 2017
2017 Finn World Masters Claire ADB
After trailing the leaders all week, the 2015 Finn World Masters champion, Vladimir Krutskikh, from Russia, turned the tables on the fleet to win the medal race and the title as the 2017 Finn World Masters drew to a close in Barbados. Laurent Hay, from France, had his chances, but ended up second, but also took the Grand Masters title as well, while the leader for much of the week and definitely the best sailor here after winning five of his six races, Rafael Trujillo from Spain, ended up third.

It was another, and the last, day of Finn sailing in paradise. And it was another windy, tough day of challenging sailing in Barbados with big winds, big waves and big wind shifts. It was time for the final showdown. The medal race would define who took home the medals and it turned out to be a dramatic, and for some, calamitous, conclusion to an otherwise perfect week of racing in the Caribbean.



First up was the Final Race for everyone except the top 10. Antonio Poncell, from Chile, dominated the Yellow fleet in tough conditions, with a severe chop upwind and a hairy downwind that makes men out of boys. He was followed over the line by Andre Mirsky, of Brazil, and Michel Audoin, of France, who sailed his best race of the week. The win also elevated Poncell to 11th overall to win the Crutch.

In the Blue fleet, the Scandinavians dominated, with the win going to Johan Wijk, of Sweden, from Lars Hall, of Denmark and Ville Valtonen, of Sweden. The downwind mark had drifted away and was replaced by a mark boat, but several sailors got confused and ended up being disqualified after missing out the final mark.



Then, the ever contentious Medal Race was sailed just off the shore of Carlisle Bay and produced a plethora of wind shifts, overall place changes, mistakes from sailors and general turmoil on the race course with 40 degree shifts and huge pressure changes as the wind pulsated off the shore.

The Swiss got to grips with the first beat with Piet Eckert leading Christoph Burger around the top mark. Laurent Hay was third, enough to win the title, with Rafael Trujillo back in sixth. But Hay fouled Karl Purdie at the top and dropped back. Then three sailors, including Trujillo, picked up a yellow flag for pumping on the first downwind in 16-20 knots as the race committee had failed to raise Oscar flag.



Eckert and Burger led round the gate and back out to the left, while Trujillo picked up a shift on the right to close on the leaders at the top to take back the overall lead. Eckert still led, but Vladimir Krutskikh had also recovered well and just crossed Trujillo at the top. Trujillo ducked him, but made an error and dropped his mainsheet, causing their masts to touch. After doing his turns Trujillo was way back and out of contention. Krutskikh rounded second and found his own private wind down the last run to pass Eckert and take the win and his second Finn World Masters title. Hay crossed fourth to take silver while Trujillo crossed sixth to take the bronze.



It has been an extraordinary week of first-class Finn sailing in Barbados, and the sentiment as everyone departed was that the class wants to come back sometime in the future. Next year the Finn World Masters meets in El Balis, in Spain, for what is expected to be a bumper edition.










Final results (medal race result in brackets):

1 RUS 73 Vladimir Krutskikh, M 12 (1)
2 FRA 75 Laurent Hay, GM 17 (4)
3 ESP 100 Rafael Trujillo, M 17 (6)
4 SUI 86 Piet Eckert, M 19 (2)
5 FRA 99 Marc Alain des Beauvais, GGM 23 (3)
6 CZE 1 Michael Maier, GM 25 (7)
7 SUI 7 Christoph Burger, M 31 (5)
8 NZL 111 Karl Purdie, GM 38 (8)
9 GBR 2 Allen Burell, GM 44 (9)
10 GER 707 Ulrich Breuer, GM 45 (10)

Super Legend:

1. Gerd Bohnsack, RSA

Legends:

1. Henry Sprague, USA
2. David Bull, AUS
3. Charles Rudinsky, USA

Grand Grand Masters:

1. Marc Allain des Beauvais, FRA
2. Rob Coutts, USA
3. David Hoogenboom, NZL

Grand Masters:

1. Laurent Hay, FRA
2. Michael Maier, CZE
3. Karl Purdie, NZL

Masters:

1. Vladimir Krutskikh, RUS
2. Rafael Trujillo, ESP
3. Piet Eckert, SUI

Geest Perseverance Award: Peter Langer-Langmaack, GER
Art of Racing Prize: Uli Breuer, GER
The Crutch (11th): Antonio Poncell, CHI

Sydney Boat Show 2025 - Apply to ExhibitMaritimo M75sMRT AIS Man Overboard Beacons AUS / NZ

Related Articles

GWA Youth Wingfoil World Championship overall
The Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom action rwaps up in Costa Brava The Surf-Freestyle and FreeFly-Slalom action at the the GWA 2025 Youth Worlds wrapped up after a week of intense action at San Pere Pescador, Spain, with the teenage champions chosen in the U14, U16 and U19 age groups.
Posted today at 7:24 am
A dream realised for Litchfield's Hound
The Nielsen 59 Hound finished the Transatlantic Race 2025 on July 5 Dan Litchfield's classic Nielsen 59 Hound, co-skippered by Tom Stark, finished the Transatlantic Race 2025 on July 5 in an elapsed time of 16 Days, 08 Hours, 49 Mins and 22 Secs.
Posted today at 7:08 am
OK Dinghy Europeans at Warnemünde day 1
Race wins for Daniel Björndahl, Andy Davis, Charlie Cumbley and Steen Christensen The 2025 OK Dinghy Europeans got under way in Warnemunde, Germany, on Sunday with race wins for Sweden's Daniel Björndahl, Britain's Andy Davis and Charlie Cumbley and Denmark's Steen Christensen.
Posted today at 4:52 am
Gran Canaria Gloria Windsurf World Cup Day 2
Philip Köster triumphs again in Pozo Izquierdo Köster survives a late scare to earn an eighth Pozo event title, and first 5-star victory since 2022, in even windier conditions than Saturday.
Posted on 6 Jul
Grae Morris Takes on the iQFOiL Worlds
Shifty conditions on the first day in Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus, Denmark is serving up everything but predictability as the iQFOiL World Championships get under way, and Australian Olympic silver medallist Grae Morris is ready to assert his place at the top of the new Olympic cycle.
Posted on 6 Jul
A perfect start to the 5th annual AEGEAN 600
Cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind At the very southern end of the Greek mainland at Cape Sounion in Attica, today's start to the 5th edition of the AEGEAN 600 was perfect: cloudless blue skies, crystal clear waters and perfect 12-15 knots of northerly wind.
Posted on 6 Jul
29er Europeans at Lake Garda day 4
One race, one storm, and one big lay day vibe With qualification wrapped and the fleet now split into six groups—Gold, Silver, Bronze, Emerald, Purple, and White—Day 4 of the 29er Europeans kicked off with early optimism and an earlier-than-usual launch in pursuit of the morning breeze.
Posted on 6 Jul
iQFOiL Worlds a Aarhus day 1
Full foiling conditions launch the World Championship with four high-intensity races for both fleets The iQFOiL World Championship kicked off today in Aarhus with dynamic and demanding conditions that truly tested the world's top foiling windsurfers. The wind was anything but steady, shifting in both direction and intensity throughout the day.
Posted on 6 Jul
Rolex TP52 Worlds in Cascais overall
American Magic Quantum Racing win Rolex TP52 Worlds after breezy week in Cascais. Doug DeVos' American Magic Quantum Racing crew were crowned 2025 Rolex TP52 World Champions today in Cascais, Portugal.
Posted on 6 Jul
Red Bull Sailing Academy Opens
A new hub for current and future superstars to reach the top of their sport Marina Monfalcone, North Italy, made waves yesterday, as sports superstars gathered to open the Red Bull Sailing Academy, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.
Posted on 6 Jul