Rafael Trujillo of Spain takes Finn Gold

by Robert Deaves on 12 Jul 2007 In an thrilling and close medal race, Rafael Trujillo (ESP) won the 2007 Finn Gold Cup after some fantastic sailing on the second lap. A third place was enough for Pieter-Jan Postma (NED) to take the silver while Gasper Vincec (SLO) took bronze.

It is highly unlikely in the long history of the Finn Gold Cup that seven sailors have been in with a chance of winning the title going into the final race. This unusual situation unfolded today at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Cascais, Portugal, which was to prove as exciting for spectators as it was mind-boggling for the commentators trying to work through the various scenarios and keep everyone up-to-date.

The medal race was scheduled to start at 16.30, but before then the final races for the gold and silver fleets were attempted out on course area four. For the remaining sailors left in the gold fleet, there was still the question of nine places at the 2008 Olympics to sort out. In contrast to the past few days, the day started with very light winds, although by the time racing began at just after 16.30, it had built to a solid 15 knots.

Gold and Silver

However the gold and silver fleets were not so lucky. Sailed further offshore, the wind was not quite so helpful as for the medal race. The silver fleet was finally abandoned after two hours of trying, but the gold fleet got their race in. Mathias Bohn (GER) who was lying last in the gold fleet going into this race, banged the left hand corner hard and led round the course to win, followed by Brendan Caset (AUS), Rafal Szukiel (POL), Mark Andrews (GBR) and Zach Railey (USA). This means the other nine nations qualified for Qingdao – in addition to the 10 already qualified from yesterday – are: FIN, FRA, NZL POL, USA, CZE, BRA, IRL and NOR.

Medal race

The medal race was quite a spectacle and took place within sight of the breakwater with TV cameras, a helicopter, live online footage and a large flotilla of support boats and spectators circling the fleet like expectant fathers.

At the start, Emilios Papathanasiou crossed the line next to the committee boat and immediately tacked for the right hand side of the course. This decision cost him any chance of a medal. He was soon followed to the right by Ed Wright (GBR) and Pieter-Jan Postma (NED).

Then the wind started to go left and it looked bad for these three. Postma bailed out and took a loss to get across to the left. Papathanasiou and Wright kept going. When Wright finally tacked back, he was well behind the pack. Papathanasiou went event further to the right before tacking.

On the left side of the course Rafael Trujillo (ESP), Anthony Nossiter (AUS) and Gasper Vincec (SLO) were sailing high on a left hand lift and looked to be well ahead. On the right Papathanasiou, Marin Misura (CRO) and Wright were still suffering from the left hand shift.

Then the middle starting looking good as Daniel Birgmark (SWE) emerged in the lead as the two sides came together and those on the left suffered a bit, but not as much as those on the right. Round the first mark it was SWE, AUS, NED, SLO, DEN, ESP, GBR, GRE, CRO and CAN. At this point, Postma held the winning position.

On the first downwind Nossiter, Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) and Trujillo favoured the right side while Vincec and Wright went to the left. Birgmark calmly sailed down the middle and still maintained his lead round the leeward gate, while Vincec had moved up to second. Trujillo was down in sixth. Vincec was now looking at the gold medal if if could hang onto this position.

The second beat changed everything. With regular shifts coming through, it was paying to take every one. Wright, Høgh-Christensen and Misura gambled on the right again – and lost. The other seven boats played the middle left and gradually Trujillo began to make up ground. Half way up the beat Birgmark was still ahead, but then Trujillo broke out to the right and came back on a massive right hander that put him in the lead. Wright and Høgh-Christensen also looked to benefit from this shift, but at just the wrong moment the wind cruelly went left again and the boats coming across from the left easily crossed ahead.

On the middle-left Papathanasiou was trying every trick in the book to make up some distance on the leaders, tacking on every shift coming through. To some extent he succeeded but then – along with Nossiter – ended up too far to the left to capitalise on it when another big shift came in from the right. For a while they looked good coming into the top mark on a large left hand shift which left the boats who had gambled on the extreme right – Postma, Wright and Vincec – looking in trouble. But then the wind went back to the right again.

Trujillo locked into this final shift to lead round the last windward mark with a useful gap on Birgmark and Postma right behind. DEN, SLO, AUS, GBR, GRE, CRO and CAN followed them round.

The final downwind leg offered little chance of comebacks although the sailors were giving it everything. The leaders headed right while Vincec and Wright tried the left. Birgmark was more to the middle but maintained second place down the relatively short leg. Postma was catching both of them and had the leg been a little longer, we could have been writing a different story.

Trujillo crossed the line to the jubilant shouts of his fellow Spanish Finn sailors who had stopped on the way in from their silver fleet race. Postma's third place was enough to take the silver medal while a fifth from Vincec gave him the bronze by just two points. Yesterday, the sailors joked that the final order would probably be the same order as the medal race, and for the top three this proved to be the case.

So, Trujillo becomes only the third Spaniard to win the Finn world championship after Joaquin Blanco in 1977 and Jose Doreste in 1987. Four years ago in Cadiz, he watched victory slip away in the closing stages of the final race as Ben Ainslie (GBR) recovered from 35th at the first mark to final finish right behind Trujillo to take the title for the second time. Last year he came very close too, but again lost it i the closing stages. For Trujillo – who has kept up his Finn sailing while being a member of the +39 America's Cup team – a win this year is a dream come true.

Trujillo said, 'I am really happy. If I lost it today, it would be the third time I would have lost it on the final day. It has been one of my main ambitions to try and win a Gold Cup at least once in my life. On the second upwind I was a bit lucky. I took a left shift in pressure and crossed to right. I was the only one with this pressure. I kept going to the right and crossed my fingers and hoped for a right shift – I was lucky and it went right again. Then on the downwind, after PJ passed me yesterday on the finish, I was pleased to stay ahead today.'

Trujillo then paid tribute to the other sailors, 'Most of them held positions at some point that would put them on the podium. I also think everyone watching has seen a very exciting week here in Cascais. We need to try to choose venues like this that provide great wind conditions.'

Postma has justified his form so far this season with a silver medal. He won more races than any other sailor here, but a bad choice out of the start left him playing catch up, and perhaps to much to do. His downwind speed here has been devastating and will pose a very real threat to all Finn sailors next year. Postma paid tribute to Trujillo,

'Rafa was the best on the day. I enjoyed this regatta very much, and I'm really, really happy with the silver. On the final downwind I thought that I was going to get him, it was close, close close. Very exciting.'

For Vincec, who is one of the recipients of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, the bronze medal here rounds off a superb season in the Finn, with several regatta victories early in the year and a great stepping stone for him towards the