Finn European Championship Preview: More than 150 competitors expected in Cannes

European Finn Championships © Yacht Club de Cannes

After hosting the 470 European Championships a few months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Yacht Club de Cannes confirms its excellence and reputation in terms of organising major regattas, with the European Finn Championships from 18 to 25 October.

Designed by the Swede Rickard Sarby in 1949, this 4.50-metre, 115-kilogram solo sailor was in the Olympic series continuously from 1952 to 2020, having seen the greatest sailors on the planet such as the Dane Paul Elvström and the Briton Ben Ainslie, both four-time gold medallists. This demanding and physical dinghy because it is very well canvased, now has a carbon mast and a membrane sail, making it more accessible to riders who do not weigh 90 kilos or more. Although replaced by kitefoil since the Tokyo Olympics, it confirms a resounding success with champions who have worn out their dinghy suits since childhood, and who have the same enthusiasm for racing until an advanced age. As Loïck Peyron says, "sailing is a slow-maturing sport", and this is confirmed in particular in Finn.

As a sign of the appeal of Cannes' waters, the welcome and experience of the Cannes Yacht Club, which has been training young champions for decades, 157 racers come to compete in this European Championship, organised with the International Finn Association and the Finn Class France. In the memory of Finnist, this is a record. In fact, the competitors will be divided into two groups.

Among the 23 Frenchmen coming to defend the French colors in Cannes, Laurent Haÿ, world number one, 2024 Masters world champion, three-time winner of the International Finn Week in Cannes in the spring, is certainly one of the favorites for the title, as is Valérian Lebrun, reigning France champion... ahead of Laurent Haÿ. Also note the presence of the Briton Nick Craig, former Yole OK world champion, and more surprisingly, that of the multiple kitesurfing world champion (11 times!) Maxime Nocher, a member of the Cannes Yacht Club, who likes to race on the former Olympic solo sailor.

Jean-François Cutugno, President of the Yacht Club de Cannes, who is taking part in this European Championship at the helm of his Finn, does not hide his joy and enthusiasm: "I must admit that I am surprised by this record participation, and therefore very happy. This proves both the team's recognised expertise in the organisation of major events, but also the attraction of the bay of Cannes for all these sailors from all over Europe, most of whom know the race zone well. This European Championship closes an exceptional season, where our young riders have shone both nationally and internationally."