2024 Finn Gold Cup at Sailing Aarhus - Day 3
by Robert Deaves 6 Sep 2024 16:17 NZST
31 August - 7 September 2024
Oskari Muhonen storms into the lead
The Finn Gold Cup is not for the feint hearted. The third day of the 2024 Finn Gold Cup in Aarhus was a hard, long and challenging day for everyone. After three more races, Finland's Oskari Muhonen has an eight-point lead over Italy's Alessandro Marega, with Valérian Lebrun, from France in third.
The first race was won by Spain's Miguel Fernández Vasco, while Muhonen won the next two by huge margins. There are 104 Finns from 20 nations competing in Aarhus for the 2024 Finn Gold Cup.
The wind was forecast to returned to Aarhus on Day 3 after Wednesday was lost with no races sailed. However, despite a forecast of 12-18 knots, it took a while to come. The first race was sailed in a dying breeze and was a tortuous race for some, and then after a long wait, the wind finally arrived for two great races in 10-15 knots.
Race 2 of the championship was started in 7-8 knots but the wind died in the middle of the course though was still there on the corners, but those who banked on the middle or right corner suffered and rounded a long way back.
Race winner Fernández Vasco said, "I started deep midline and kept going left where I saw more pressure. I ducked everyone until I was further left than anyone else and still kept going past the lay line."
He rounded first from Italy's Marko Kolic and Muhonen and extended on the first lap before Muhonen closed the gap on the final downwind and they finished just metres apart.
Fernández Vasco added, "This is my first ever Gold Cup race win after two second places in Miami last year."
After a long wait the second race got under way in a new breeze from the east at 10-15 knots. Portugal's Filipe Silva led at the top, with Muhonen in fourth, but Muhonen was soon in the lead and extended for a huge win from Hungary's Domonkos Nemeth and Marega.
The final race started just after 17.00. This time Muhonen led round and stretched out another huge lead from Marega and Kolic. At the end of the race the wind died again, leaving a long sail back to the harbour, where the championship dinner was awaiting the exhausted sailors. They had been on the water for nine hours.
Marega said,"The wind was really good today and the day has been generally good as well, but we have been sailing for nine hours in the water and we are all very tired. For me it was a really good day, and I think I am sitting in second. Let's see for tomorrow."
The forecast for the final two days is still looking good, but so far the forecasts have not been particularly accurate, but the championship is back on track and heading for a fitting showdown.
Muhonen commented, "The first race was a bit trickier, with lighter winds, but the last ones were really nice with decent winds and free pumping. It was nice to be back pumping. Today was pretty long, but the sailing was really nice. We are going to have pretty similar conditions tomorrow, but the forecast hasn't been that precise these days. We'll see."
On Friday, three more races are scheduled from 11.00. The 2024 Finn Gold Cup concludes on Saturday.
Results after Day 3: (top ten, 4 races)
1 FIN 8 Oskari MUHONEN 7pts
2 ITA 1103 Alessandro MAREGA 15pts
3 FRA 111 Valérian LEBRUN 23pts
4 GBR 5 Cameron TWEEDLE 36pts
5 NOR 5 Lars Johan BRODTKORB 39pts
6 ESP 161 Miguel FERNÁNDEZ VASCO 49pts
7 POR 21 Filipe SILVA 55pts
8 FRA 75 Laurent HAY 63pts
9 NED 148 Peter PEET 64pts
10 HUN 80 (U23) Domonkos NÉMETH 73pts