Porsche Centre Brisbane Finn championships a huge success
by Robert Deaves 7 Mar 03:50 PST
After an incredible three weeks of Finn sailing at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, many bodies may be broken and a few egos destroyed and boats are showing signs of wear, but the collective pride of a monumental achievement will survive for a long time. And for many in Brisbane it was all about survival, whether racing or not.
The triple challenge of three major events back-to-back had never been attempted before, either for an organiser or a competitor, but what a month it was, what an event, and what an experience. It will go down as a new legend in the annals of Finn sailing. Classic Finn culture.
The Porsche Centre Brisbane Australian Championship, Finn Gold Cup and Finn World Masters attracted 150 sailors from 18 nations from across the world for a Finn community festival of racing, camaraderie and endurance. Everyone was tested to new limits, new records were achieved, new standards were set, and there were two very deserving winners. And while many European Finn sailors have had their Australian sojourn extended due to an idiot in the USA, that did not detract from the undisputed success of Finn-buary in Brisbane. Classic Finn resilience.
Finn Gold Cup
The 70th Finn Gold Cup was a story of firsts, of extremes, of fortitude, of perseverance and of a remarkable defiance of defeat. With 72 entries from 15 nations, it was the largest Finn Gold Cup outside Europe since 2015.
Sailed outside Green Island, as 'open' sea as it gets near Manly, the first two days were a physical challenge befitting of one of the toughest events in dinghy sailing. Due to the extreme wet conditions, a GPS mistake in Race 3 made for the longest upwind leg in living memory - 2.2 miles and 43 minutes for the leading boat. The Race Committee made the decision to carry on with the race, and though it exceeded the first leg time limit, no one who was there will forget it in a hurry. Classic Finn legend.
The performance of Norway's Anders Pedersen's over the first three days was inspirational with five race wins and one mistake. He looked unbeatable, but then the lighter winds came and he struggled to repeat. Meanwhile, Italy's Alessandro Marega was incredibly consistent, dropping a fifth going into the final day. One more race and the title was his, the first time an Italian had won the Finn Gold Cup. Completing a story started by Adelchi Pelaschier, from the same club, who took bronze in 1958 at the third Finn Gold Cup, Marega's win was a remarkable achievement, the first post-Olympic era Finn sailor who has won the title. The only other Italian medalist was Luca Devoti, who took silver in 1997
Meanwhile Pedersen was the first Norwegian medallist since Harald Bredo Eriksen took silver in 1957, the second year of the event. The podium was rounded out by the previous week's Australian champion, Brendan Casey, who was only the third medalist for Australia, after John Bertrand took silver in 1972 and bronze in 1976, while Glenn Bourke won silver in 1992. Classic Finn champions.
Gus Miller returns
One of the major stories of the events was the arrival of 91-year-old Gus Miller from the USA. He was the only competitor this year who had taken part in the famous 1976 Finn Gold Cup, also in Manly, which was won by Britain's Chris Law. While he only took part in the final race of the Gold Cup, he completed every single race of the Finn World Masters in Waterloo Bay, including the final race with a 25 knot squall passing through.
Gus is an enduring legend of the class in so many ways and has now set a record that is unlikely to be ever beaten (except maybe by him). The oldest sailor to sail a Finn Gold Cup race, and now the Finn World Masters, he beat his own record set three years ago at the Finn Gold Cup in Miami. He is as hard as nails, prepared himself extensively and was determined to finish the series. It was Finn dedication at its very best (and of course he was very well supported and looked after by local support personnel.)
Gus also recorded a Finntalks while in Brisbane and this will be released soon. His reflections on the Finn class and Finn sailing are timeless and inspirational. Classic Finn story.
The dream
The dream to hold these events in Australia started over a decade ago. The Finn Gold Cup has been held there on four previous occasions during the Olympic era, but never the Masters, and to bring them there in the new situation the class found itself in was fraught with uncertainty, especially with the increased shipping costs post-covid. However, the international fleet embraced the opportunity and together with a sizable local fleet made the events a huge success, both on the water and financially.
For sure, it was not always easy at times, with changes in leadership, different ideas, challenging discussions and personal preferences, but all those who made the effort to attend were rewarded with some exceptional competition, some amazing hospitality from the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, and their army of volunteers, as well as the polish provided by the local fleet, principally the amazing sponsorship from Porsche Centre Brisbane and the huge number of other companies providing goods, prizes and cash, in a combined super effort. Classic Finn determination.
Finn World Masters
With barely time to take breath, the 56th Finn World Masters started three days after the Finn Gold Cup, with 107 entries from 17 countries. Sailed in the flatter water and more protected Waterloo Bay, it still turned into a test of endurance with several days approaching 20 knots of breeze, which is the limit for this event. The forecast of very strong winds luckily proved incorrect with seven out of the scheduled eight races completed, with the winds on the final day just under the limit for starting.
Casey made the best of the early races with Spain's Rafa Trujillo never far behind. The thrilling final day was a battle of wits and prowess on the water with Casey winning by a single point after Trujillo pushed to the end, had victory almost within reach at one point. However, Casey just passed enough boats on the final downwind to become the first Australian to ever win the title, the first time the event had been held in Australia, or the southern hemisphere. Meanwhile, New Zealand's Karl Purdie put on a great show of consistency after a poor first race to take the bronze. Classic Finn battles.
Even with the lower than usual entry, there were 15 over 70-year-olds taking part. The over 80 category, the Super Legends was won by Australia's Dirk Seret, who hasn't sailed a Masters for more than a decade. Gus Miller was second. There is some discord within the class for creating a new division for over 90s, called the Immortals, which would have been won by Miller, as some think it might be inappropriate to encourage more to turn up! Phil Ramming, from the USA won the Legends (70-80) from New Zealand's Rob Coutts and Denis Mowbray.
Purdie won the Great Grand Master (60-70) from Britain's Lawrence Crispin and Peter Peet from the Netherlands. Rafael Trujillo won the Grand Master (50-60) from Australia's favourite son, Anthony Nossiter and Britain's Nick Craig. Finally, Casey won the Masters category (40-50) from Portugal's Filipe Silva and Italy's Marko Kolic.
It's worth noting that the top three Masters, Grand Masters and Great Grand Masters all finished in the top 10, while the first Legend was top 40. Classic Finn Heroes.
Media
Back to the headline. Promoting an event down under is always a challenge with the main audience based in Europe, and being in a different time zone, but Finn class created content at the Brisbane events produced the largest media stats for any event since the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The Finn Class Facebook page had 1 million views. It's Instagram page had 700,000 views. The Facebook Live page had a quarter of a million views. All thanks to the exceptional work and dedication of Francesca Frazza on social media, Claire Des Beauvais Desfossés on Facebook Live and Alistair Deaves on video. Plus, there was much more additional content from the media team from RQYS.
In total, exclusive Finn class content across all its channels produced in excess of 2.2 million views with an engagement of more than 150,000 viewers. Even for the Finn Class this was quite exceptional. Classic Finn engagement.
Many of the highlight videos featured music from the class's very own musician, with 'original' compositions from Brendon Hogg, NZL 5, which added some welcome interest and amusement each day.
The year ahead
Never before have both major championships been held so early in the year, and with the annual highlights over, it would be easy to rest up and let the coming European season just happen. But that's far from the case with many events and new initiatives in the pipeline. The Open Europeans in Gydnia, Poland, is in just over three months' time, already over-subscribed past the 120-boat limit, while more than 200 boats are expected for the European Masters on Mar Menor, Spain, in October.
In addition, the World Tour for Finns and the inaugural WTF Grand Slam will focus attention on key events during the year.
The Finn class is experiencing extensive revitalisation and renewal. Five years on from the notorious decisions of 2021, the class is stronger than ever, bigger than ever, more in demand than ever, with new ideas, initiatives and vitality, and pulling in more and more top sailors.
The future is bright; the future is Finn shaped. Classic Finn enthusiasm.
For more information visit event website.