November 2025 FINNFARE - Passion, experience and Finn spirit
by Robert Deaves 6 Dec 2025 09:17 UTC
Gonçalo Castro Nunes in Cascais © Robert Deaves
The November 2025 edition of FINNFARE has been published and is currently being shipped to Finn sailors worldwide. The cover features the new world champion Deniss Karpak, along with the Masters champion, for the second time, Pieter-Jan Postma.
In a Q&A with Karpak, who won the Finn Gold Cup in Cascais in September, he states, "Cascais was world-class. The fleet was strong, the conditions were pure Finn conditions - wind, waves, and physical racing. I felt in tune with the boat, and mentally I was very sharp. It wasn't perfect, but it was a performance built on experience and hunger. Winning there meant a lot.
"I believed I could win, yes. I always race to win, but this one had deeper meaning. I wanted to prove to myself that discipline and mindset still matter more than age or circumstances. Winning the Finn Gold Cup wasn't just a title - it was a statement that passion never fades."
IFA President Rob McMillan sums up the year nicely in his opening letter to sailors, "We have had an amazing 2025. It has been an incredible year for the Finn Class, filled with exceptional sailing, strong fleets, and the unmistakable camaraderie that makes this community so special. From the amazing Naples to the northern (and warm) waters of Medemblik to the rolling Atlantic swells of Cascais, and from the first U29 training initiatives to the exciting build-up toward Brisbane 2026, the Finn spirit has never felt stronger."
There is an in-depth interview with the current European Champion, Valerian Lebrun. He reveals, "Some of the reasons which made me turn toward Finn sailing are single big fleet, long races with only one discard. This sailing awards consistency, conservative sailing and your brain is as useful as your legs. Sailing 10-minute races with 10 boats isn't what I'm looking for. The Finn has got one of the worst conversions between effort and speed... But to me, sailing isn't about speed; if you look for speed you should better choose motorsport. Using the wind shifts, managing the fleet, this is, to me, the quintessence of sailing."
Alongside the equipment inspection in Cascais, IFA ran a measurement course. As one of the trainees, Fergus Allan, from Britain, tells his side of this experience and what was learned. "Britain has a long and storied history when it comes to the Finn class. An important part of that was the technical side and the capability in the country to measure boats and ensure they complied with the class rules. A consequence of the Finn leaving the Olympics and the passage of time meant that we ended up with no in-country ability to measure boats. So, when the British Finn Association put out a call for those who might be interested in becoming qualified to become Certification Measurers both myself and Martin Hughes put our hands up. The IFA offered the chance to train and become certified at the FGC in Cascais with Andre Blasse, Alistair Deaves and Tim Tavinor. Flights and accommodation were booked and so it came to pass that Martin and I headed out to Lisbon to learn from the best."
Also, just before the Finn Gold Cup, IFA ran a U29 training clinic, with IFA Vice President, Arkadii Kistanov, as coach. Gonçalo Castro Nunes, from Portugal, explains what he learned. "Having the expertise of a former Olympic cycle sailor certainly helped everyone taking part in pushing the mindset to the limit. Through the briefings we could see our day on the water in data analysis (using the Vakaros and Ktool, Arkadii's programme) and I could improve a lot of different details which certainly made a big difference.
"Then during the Gold Cup, very light winds during the first two days proved challenging and unexpected, since no one had trained with those conditions, and experience proved key to sailing well in those conditions. Arkadii made sure to always be open to help us out in whatever he could, even being occupied with his own races. The next two days brought a really strong breeze, with three races in more than 20 knots on the same day proving a physical challenge that only the Finn class can give to a sailor.
"In the ended I manage to finish 25th overall, second U23 and fifth U29, being a big improvement from the Napoli Europeans where I didn't even finish in the top half. I certainly felt that all the feedback and experience I gained during the training camp proved key in my results, and I can only thank Arkadii and the Finn Class for providing us with this opportunity."
This issue of FINNFARE also includes reports from the 2025 Finn Gold Cup, the 2025 Finn World Masters, the 2025 IFA AGM Minutes and reports, along with a complete wrap of the 2025 World Tour for Finns (WTF) with reports and results from 22 countries.