Filipe Silva Interview

WE hAVE ALL IT TAkES TO MAkE ThE FINN CLASS GROW

After some years, I started to really miss the racing characteristics of singlehanded boats, where you only depend on yourself, so I decided to search for the best alternative. Then I realized the only highly competitive singlehanded class we have for heavier sailors is the Finn, and I joined in 2017. It took me a few months to adjust my style to the boat’s characteristics, and in 2018 I did my first Masters event.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A FINN SAILOR?

Finn is an incredibly fast and sensitive boat, that demands a lot from the sailors. It makes highly competitive regattas, perhaps the most competitive we find in sailing – it’s almost addictive. Maybe that’s why many former Olympic champions, some of the best ever, have sailed or are now sailing in the Finn class.

WHAT OTHER SAILING DO YOU DO?

I am still sailing in the Dragon class and just recently I even bought a boat. It is a very elegant boat, which is a pleasure to sail. The spirit of the races and in the Dragon class community is also incredible, but the competitive intensity is not the same that we find in the Finn class.

Filipe Silva switched to the Finn class in 2017 and sailed his first Masters event in 2018. He went on to win the Finn European Masters in Schwerin in 2019 and then picked up second place at the 2021 Finn World Masters in Los Alcazares. Here he explains why he is loving the Finn class and why he set up a Finn Sailing Academy in his hometown of Vilamoura in Portugal.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN SAILING?

My father was passionate about the sea, also a sailor himself, but he didn’t compete in regattas. At a certain point in his life, he became Commodore of the Vilamoura Yacht Clube (CIMAV), Portugal, and that brought me closer to sailing sport. I started in the Optimist class at the age of six and never stopped. Sailing competitions became the passion of my life. I was champion in the Optimists, in the Laser class, in the Dragon and Laser SB20 classes, until I switched to the Finn class in 2017.

WHAT ATTRACTS YOU TO SAIL THE FINN AND THE MASTERS?

You are competing with the best. The Masters offers a very interesting and rare combination. It’s like a set of old friends where they all have a strong competitive spirit. Everybody wants to win, but not to win at any price. It’s very positive. They all want the medals, but they respect from the heart and celebrate who wins them.

WHICH MASTERS WERE THE MOST MEMORABLE?

Since 2018 I have participated in almost all the European and World Masters races. Talking about competitive spirit, the regatta that brings me the best memory was my gold medal at the European Masters in Schwerin, Germany. The second one was my silver medal in the World Masters in Spain.

On tHe Finn sAiling ACADeMY in vilAMOurA

WHY AND HOW DID YOU START IN THE FINN?

When my weight went over 86 kilos, I could no longer be competitive in the Laser class, so I moved on to bigger boats.

HOW AND WHY DID IT START?

As well as being passionate about sailing, I am also a natural born hotelier. I was raised and live in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal, one of the best regions in the world when it comes to combining sun, beach and ocean.

I share my life between my hotel unit and the practice of sailing, and I always wanted to find a way of combining the two things I most enjoy doing in life. Now that I have enough sailing experience and curriculum to feel able to teach things to others, I decided to implement the dream of having my own sailing academy. This is not a sailing academy run like a typical business, nor is it an additional service offered by the hotel unit. I wanted to create something that would be a continuity of myself, where I would participate intensely; sharing my knowledge of sailing, and that would also promote sailing in the Vilamoura region and the Finn class; a purpose at this stage of my life.

WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING TO SAILORS?

My idea was to find a way to gather very experienced sailors, coming from many parts of the world, and offer sailing clinics that helps them improve their individual skills. In addition, I also would like to create the opportunity for young sailors to get in contact with the most experienced; to offer the best experience possible to every participant, each week-long programme is adapted to the characteristics of each group. The Finn Sailing Academy offers

the possibility for everyone to improve their skills, whatever their level may be. It is a way to bring together people who share a passion for sailing competition.

Nobody is coming here to find a five-star hotel service but to enjoy exclusive sailing conditions and facilities, passion for sailing and very intense days combining many hours of open sea sailing, where Finn class regatta situations are simulated, followed by theoretical analysis of all the aspects of Finn sailing and regattas, including regatta tactics, with debriefings on what was experienced on the water.

Besides that, we also look at the physical condition of the participants; we have fitness training sessions adapted to the needs of sailors, including follow up programmes that sailors could continue implementing after the sailing clinic week is concluded.

As it couldn’t be missing, the week also includes many socializing moments; the restaurants and bars in the Vilamoura area are fantastic for that.

HOW MUCH INTEREST IS THERE?

It’s above my best expectations. I decided to go ahead with this project in mid 2021, the most critical part was to gather a set of boats that would allow me to host groups of up to six participants, which is the number of participants I consider adequate for each sailor to receive the attention he/she deserves. For this I had the extraordinary support of the DRC (Dinghy Racing Centre) in Holland. They were tireless in their efforts to help me find available boats for the Academy.

DRC not only helped me setting up, but their members have already participated in two sessions. They became true partners, and booking a session today can also be made via DRC.

I received the first group in December, since then I have had eight more groups of 6 participants each. This has happened without any structured publicity, just by word of mouth.

I will be pausing the sessions in May to focus on the many competitions happening in Europe during the summer. However, the Finn Sailing Academy boats will be available for charter in all the major Finn events in Europe.

We will restart the next season of the Finn Sailing Academy clinics by mid-October this year, and will run the clinics through until April 2023.

ADVANTAGES AND FACILITIES IN VILAMOURA?

The Vilamoura Marina is one of the best Marinas in the world. It’s worth mentioning that it received the ‘Best international harbour 2021 award’ by the Yacht Harbour Association.

The sailing conditions in Vilamoura are world class; the Mediterranean climate strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean offers prevailing winds from the northeast with speeds of 7 to 14 knots and waves of half to one meter on average. The yearly average daily temperature is 22ºC, with over 300 days of sun and 10 hours of sunlight per day in the wintertime.

The Vilamoura Marina setting permits sailors to reach open waters after only 5 minutes sailing from the slipway. With the houses where sailors are staying located at only 2 km away from the Marina, they can get there by cycle in ten minutes. Vilamoura is environmentally sustainable and ideal for outdoor sports, with many kilometres of cycle and running pathways.

Vilamoura can be reached from anywhere in Europe with a half-day trip, as the international airport of Faro has connections to many capital cities in Europe and driving from the airport to Vilamoura only takes 20 minutes.

On Finn sAiling

KEY INGREDIENT TO FOSTER CLASS GROWTH?

Youth is the future. If we want to strengthen and make the Finn class grow further, we must attract young sailors. For that to happen, we have to work on two fronts at the same time: on the one hand, get the current – and also former – sailors to remain enthusiastic, maintaining the current awesome family spirit; on the other hand, ensure that it is easy for anyone to start sailing and competing in the Finn class.

In short, sailing events have to be unique and unforgettable moments, very well promoted publicly, and the boats and regulations can’t change unnecessarily, so that equipment costs don’t increase. The availability of competitive boats on the secondhand market is essential so that younger sailors can acquire one with a lower initial investment. I also propose that no one under the age of 30 should pay participation fees for Finn competitions. I would even give bonus points to current participants who bring new young sailors to a regatta [laughing].

COULD THE MASTERS MODEL BE IMPROVED?

The Masters are the prime Finn class competitions, the most visible, especially since the class was excluded from the Olympics. If we want to grow the Finn class, these events need to be unforgettable for those taking part, as inclusive as possible, and brilliantly promoted.

Some ideas that I have been thinking about for some time: first, select fantastic locations for the World and European Masters regattas, places that combine ideal sailing conditions with leisure and tourism opportunities for those accompanying the sailors, their families and friends; then the events must go beyond the basics, they must contain unforgettable moments, for the sailors and for the others coming with the sailors.

Besides delivering great events, in order to attract more people to the class, we have to work on promoting the regattas with wellthought communication strategies. One important element is what high-profile personalities in the world of sailing say about the Finn class. Many former racers, I count more than ten, are now skippers or members of prestigious America’s Cup crews. If they understand and get excited with what we are doing, they will naturally act as spokespersons for the class, attracting the attention of younger people to our exciting class.

Another area to develop is the intervention role of National Secretaries in Europe, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The Finn class needs to be represented by those who besides being knowledgeable about sailing also have a high profile in their individual countries.

Furthermore, for the reasons I mentioned in the previous answer, we should not change the Rules of the Finn class.