Too windy at Finn Junior Worlds

Hoorn, The Netherlands (July 9, 2014) – No racing was possible on the fourth day at the Finn Silver Cup as strong winds caused the abandonment of all racing.

The fleet was sent out on time for the scheduled start at 12.00 but it soon became apparent that the wind was above sensible limits with many boats capsizing in the fierce gusts. After one postponement the race officer abandoned racing as the wind hit 31 knots and sent the fleet back to the harbour, where racing was eventually abandoned for the day later in the afternoon after the wind refused to moderate.

The 2012 Junior World Champion, Martin Robitaille (CAN) reflected on his week so far. He is one of three Canadians here this week. “We are three junior Canadians training together. We had some awesome training this spring. Two of the guys have only joined this year and they have made huge improvements and I’m really glad to be there to give them some advice on the Finn, but so far I’m pretty happy for them where they are. I have been having a bit of a hard time here this week. I’m still in the fight, so I just need more races, but I can’t force it.”

“Kyle Martin (CAN) and Riley Finch (CAN) are still in High School, but they are both showing great potential. They are not going that quick here. I have been able to adapt better, but in training they are both a similar speed to me. They are both from the Laser, just 19 and 20, so both young, but still very big. We eat well in Canada.”

This is Robitaille’s last year as a Junior. “Santander is coming up and some training probably in Valencia at the Dinghy Academy. I have made some huge improvements over the few months so the fight for Rio is going to be tight, but I just need to do some more racing I think. That’s why I am happy to comeback to Europe and to train with more Finn sailors. I’ve already been in Valencia at the Dinghy Academy with Luca Devoti. Luca is great. He has a really good gig going for all the athletes. I have a lot of gratitude for what he does for all the athletes. It’s really good.”

Coming to Hoorn, did he expect to regain the Junior World title he won two years ago. “Yes, I believed I could. But I just had a hard start here. I can’t change the past so right now I’m just looking to get the most, best races I can until the end of the event. Who knows what will happen. I broke my boom today, so it can be about things you can’t control.”

On the decision to abandon, “I think it was a good decision. We are all Juniors we are all under very limited budget, so if we break a mast it’s very hard for us to recover from that. I capsized today and I touched the ground. My mast was only five feet under the water. And I was walking beside my boat. So it was definitely the right decision.”

While the forecast seems to be changing hourly, Thursday’s weather is predicted to be a return to summer, with light winds and high temperatures in Hoorn. In a change to the schedule again, three races are planned from 11.00. The Finn Silver Cup will conclude on Friday 11 July.

Results after six races (Top 10 of 32)
1 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 8
2 RUS 6 Arkadiy Kistanov 10
3 CRO 52 Nenad Bugarin 33
4 POL 16 Mikolaj Lahn 35
5 DEN 5 Jacob Stachelhaus 39
6 CAN 110 Martin Robitaille 40
7 GBR 29 Peter McCoy 40
8 CAN 2 Kyle Martin 46
9 CZE 5 Ondrej Teply 49
10 POL 111 Jakub Marciniak 52

Full results: wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=902
Event website: wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=380
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos

Report by class media.