Opening shot: Peter Peet at the 2024 Finn Gold Cup in Aarhus
PRESIDENT’S LETTER
Dear Finn sailors,
Aswe draw to the end of the 2024 European season, it is very pleasing to reflect on the continued success of the class, as evidenced by the size and quality of the events being enjoyed.
In Punta Ala, close to 300 Masters enjoyed champagne sailing, while at the Gold Cup in August, more than 100 sailors, including the largest number of under-40 and U30 sailors we have seen in a while, competed in the waters of Aarhus for our most prestigious trophy.
Congratulations to Oskari Muhonen, who became the first Finnish sailor to lift the Finn Gold Cup. He adds this victory to his three Silver Cup triumphs, and interestingly, it is reported that he did this without his usual equipment. Second place went to Doma Nemeth, who added another U23 title to his haul from the regatta. Both Oskari and Doma have been spending time away from the Finn, but it is great that they continue to support and challenge us.
Our World No.1 Laurent Hay added the World Masters Trophy to his impressive recent results and years of campaigning, narrowly beating training buddy and former champ Valerian Lebrun. What a nailbiting finish in the last 50 metres. Another great returner was Martyn Van Muyden who after a long break is back and I am sure will be a force to be reckoned with at future events.
I recently reviewed the photos of the Nicola Menoni Trophy on Lake Garda, where more than 60 entrants battled it out in classic Garda conditions. In between watching former Finn sailors steer and power America’s Cup AC75s, we are excitedly waiting to see how the Europeans will play out, with more than 155 entries for our event in Cannes later this month.
If the excitement in your fleet is anything like that of the Australian contingent, I am sure we will see all sorts of records broken in 2025 at the Masters Worlds in Medemblik and the Gold Cup in Portugal.
At the recent AGM, some very important decisions were made regarding the future of the class, including:
U29: Encouragingly, at the 2024 Finn Gold Cup in Aarhus, there was a surge in younger sailors participating—more than 30% of the fleet were under 40 years old, setting a recent record, and over 27% were under 29, introducing many fresh faces to the race course. This highlights a remarkable resurgence of the class, one which we, as a committee, are committed to sustaining. To achieve this, we have created (and subsequently funded) a U29 group – raising our focus from U23 – and a set of activities to further our success with this key demographic. This will include access to training, knowledge, and communication within the class. Plans are underway for training events and other initiatives to nurture and support this segment of the class.
Future of the Finn Gold Cup: We are creating a group dedicated to the management of this event. The standard of this event should reflect its position as one of the most coveted trophies in sailing. Those gathered in Aarhus supported your committee’s view that this event deserves dedicated focus.
Changes
to Measurement for Major Events:
With our new identity as a former Olympic class, we have decided to change our approach to major event measurement. At Aarhus, through superb
Back Issues
Sets of back issues of FINNFARE dating back to the late 1990s are available in the Finn Shop. In total there are about 60 editions available, totalling more than 1500 pages. SET 1 covers all available issues from 1997 to 2009. SET 2 covers all issues from 2010 to 2019. There are at least 20 complete sets of all 30 issues. In addition, some sets of the Masters Magazine are available. It includes all copies from 2015 to 2020 (6 editions). See finnclass.org/shop
IFA
Future champIonshIps
The following venues and dates are now confirmed. 2025 Open, U23 and Masters Europeans, Naples, ITA, 5-13 April 2025 Finn World Masters, Medemblik, NED, 13-20 June, www.finnworldmaster.com 2025 Finn Gold Cup, Cascais, POR, 30 August to 6 September 2026 Finn Gold Cup, Brisbane, AUS, 12-19 February 2026 Finn World Masters, Brisbane, AUS, 20-27 February, www.finnworldmaster.com 2026 Open Europeans, Gydnia, POL, June/July TBA 2026 Finn European Masters, ESP, Sept/Oct TBC
To bid for future events please contact the IFA Office.
photos
Most of the photos in this issue and from the major events can be obtained as prints or downloads from: http://robertdeaves.smugmug.com
Executive Committee 2024-25
President of Honour
Gerardo Seeliger ESP
Mob: +34 609 20 10 20
Email: gerardo.seeliger@gmail.com
President
Rob McMillan AUS
Mob: +61 405 177 207
Email: finnports@live.com.au
Vice-President – Development
Marc Allain des Beauvais FRA
Tel: +33 (0)2 85 520 350
Fax: +33 (0)2 85 520 348
Email: marc@transmer.com
Vice-President – Sailing
Kristian Sjöberg FIN
Mob: +44 7901 851580
Email: kristian.h.sjoberg@gmail.com
Vice-President – Masters’ Fleet
Andy Denison GBR
Tel: +44 (0)1202 484748; +44 (0)7802 355 522
Email: andy@denisons.com
Hon Treasurer
David Bull AUS
Tel: +61 411 071 833 davidannb@icloud.com
Chairman Technical Committee
Tim Tavinor GBR
Tel: +44 7590 043459
Email: timtavinor@gmail.com
Special Projects
Andrzej Romanowski POL
Mob: +48 501 371 281
Email: andrzej.romanowski@buildingenergy.info
Chief Measurer
Andre Blasse AUS
Tel: +61 438 347 398
Email: finnmeasurer@gmail.com
IFA Office (Executive Director, FINNFARE Editor, webmaster)
Every month there is a new #Finntalks on the Finn Class YouTube channel. If you want to talk Finns, please get in touch. https://finnclass.org/finn-tv/finntalks
is the official publication of the International Finn Association
No. 175 • NOVEMBER 2024
FINNFARE is a non-profit publication that is distributed free of charge to all IFA members and interested parties connected to the International Finn Class around the world. Articles, race results, photographs and reports from countries are always welcome. Please include FINNFARE in your news mailing. All advertisement enquiries should be addressed to the Editor. A media pack is available on www.finnclass.org
Cover photo: Oskari Muhonen and Laurent
in Aarhus (Photos: Robert Deaves)
Chapuis
organisation, Andre and the team did a splendid job, but there is a feeling that we can optimise this further with a combination of manufacturer self-certification and regional/country/fleet measurers who can provide informed advice. Clearly, we don’t want to lose the high levels of rule compliance we have by taking our foot off the pedal, so there is some balancing to be done. However, our overall view is that we can be more efficient while maintaining effectiveness.
Website & Technology: For those who have visited our site on the internet, I am sure you quickly reach the same conclusion as I did. I am blown away by the volume of information available; however, the layout of the content and its management remains a major headache. The committee is also aware that many of our country associations operate on an array of different platforms. The discussion on how best to structure and manage our website is a hot topic and one that needs to be resolved. Robert has done a lot of work within the current framework, but even he concludes this is a work in progress and not yet at its final destination. Alongside this, the use of technology as a communication tool across our member base is also underway.
Lookingahead to 2025, the Open Europeans will be held in Naples, Italy, from 5-13 April. It will be hosted by Circolo Nautico della Vela, one of the oldest and most prominent yacht clubs in Italy. Mire details will be published by the end of the year.
The 2025 Finn World Masters will return to Medemblik, in The Netherlands. Twice the Dutch had to cancel events because of Covid, so we hope this is third time lucky. The organisation is already well underway and we can be sure the Dutch will make it a top-class event on and off the water. They are already planning for 400 boats. Further details can be found at the event website: www.fwm2025.com.
Then in September the Finn Gold Cup returns to Cascais in Portugal for the third time after previous visits in 1970 and 2007. The dates have been set for 30 August to 6 September and this comes on the back of rapid growth of the class in Portugal in recent years.
In 2026 both the Finn Gold Cup and Finn Word Masters will be in Brisbane, Australia. There is a report on finnworldmaster.com and a full draft schedule.
The events are scheduled between 7-27 February, with the Australian Nationals as a warm up before the Finn Gold Cup and finally the Finn World Masters.
The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron is one of the largest sailing facilities in Australia. It is located within Manly Marina, to the south of Brisbane. The scope of the club is huge and spans most of the shoreline around the massive marina.
On the water, technology remains a hot topic. For those of you competing in other classes, the arrival of Sailmon and Vakros-type devices offers sailors a wide array of data to aid performance, both in real-time and from analytics. Personally, I am less fond of anything real-time that allows features such as “pinging,” but I have used analytics functions and found them interesting. Our TC and Chair, Tim Tavinor, has this matter in hand, and I hope that we will have a definitive position for members to consider.
In closing, our Australian season like other Southern Hemisphere countries is just beginning and it seems the Finn is continuing to flourish down under.
All of this is not possible without our great team of Finnatics. So to all of you donating time to the class for the love of it, whatever your role – thank you. To Robert, Francesca our professional team, my grateful thanks for all you continue to do.
See you on the water.
The local Finn sailors –about 30 in the club – are on top of this to create a superb event on and off the water. They have great influence in the club and the area, and a lot of work has already taken place.
As a prime destination, Brisbane offers a lot of tourism opportunities before and after the regattas. Downtown Brisbane is 20 minutes away with the northern beaches slightly further. The Gold Coast is an hour to the south. Island trips are very popular using local ferries, and there are many activities available including wineries, walking tours, dolphin trips and river cruises. More information coming soon.
Racing schedule
Sat 7 Feb
Sun 8-Tues 10 Feb
Wed 11 Feb
Thurs 12-Sat 14 Feb
Sun 15-Thur 19 Feb
Fri 20-Sun 22 Feb
Mon 22-Fri 27 Feb
Australian Nationals Registration
The draft ladies programme includes: Stradbroke Island, Sirromet Winery, Tangalooma Cruise, Yachtshare to Peel Island Cruise, Bullimba to Southbank River Cruise
Other possible social activities include Moreton Island, Movie World, Dream World, Mount Cootha hike, Australia Zoo, Enogera Dam, Noosa Day Trip, Sunshine Coast Day Trip, Gold Coast Day Trip, Harbour Town Shopping, Brisbane City Shopping
Rob McMillan
FINN NEWS
JoerG BruDer BIoGraphY
The long awaited launch of Joerg Bruder’s biography (initially in Portuguese) will take place on 9 November 2024, at the Yacht Club Paulista on the Guarapiranga Reservoir in São Paulo. Further details will be published when the book becomes available on sales platforms. The English version is scheduled for release in March 2025.
ROOM! The long queue to round the gate at the German Championship at the Mülenberger Loch after the tide turned... GER 123 just makes it...
2024 masters maGazIne
Don’t forget to check out the 2024 Finn Masters Magazine. Contains interviews with John Greenwood and Peter Peet as well as in depth reports from championships and local Masters events as well as a look ahead to what is on the way, plus all the usual Masters information.
See issuu.com/finn-class
TORSTEN JARNSTAM STEPS ASIDE
At the 2024 Swedish Annual Meeting, on Friday 23 August –after 16 years Torsten Jarnstam stepped aside from his board assignments in the Swedish Finn Association. He had been chairman for a total of 14 years (1986-88, 2009-2013 and 20142022) and two years (2022-2024) as member/editor.
He says, “It was a non-profit work with the aim of developing Swedish Finn sailing, which has been very rewarding, and since my teenage years at home in Uppsala, I feel a great commitment to Finn, which was constructed in 1949 by Rickard Sarby.
“Rickard was one of my teachers when I started sailing Piggdinghy as a 10-year-old in 1956 at Ekoln and in 1961 as a 15-year-old I started sailing Finn.
“In March 2024, I will be 79 years old and it feels natural and the right time to wind down my position on the board of the Swedish Finn Association, in order to spend more time with my grandchildren. My writing also gets a greater opportunity to develop. Hopefully so that I get more books published.
He is not completely without other responsibilities. Since 2022, he has been chairman of the Swedish Sailing Association’s Election Committee, and imagine continuing for a few more years. He says it is a very interesting, fun and enriching assignment, which has given him many contacts with sailors around our long country.
“But sailing Finn, I will continue to do that, as long as I have the strength and the opportunity. Once a Finn sailor – always a Finn sailor!”
IFA send its grateful thanks to Torsten for his extensive and dedicated work for the class for so many years.
Left: torsten, 10 years oLd, saiLs Piggdinghy above: torsten, 73, in the 2019 finn WorLd Masters
OSKARI MUHONEN IS FIRST FINN TO WIN FINN GOLD CUP
Oskari Muhonen has become the first ever Finnish sailor to win the Finn Gold Cup. Held from 31 August to 7 September in Aarhus, Denmark, he dominated the championship, winning races in both light and strong winds, showing great speed and tactics to become the undisputed Finn world champion for 2024 over the shortened seven race series.
Doma Nemeth took second. He had his chances but, in the end, finished runner up to Muhonen, only beating him in one race. However, Nemeth was the leading U23 sailor, and he took home the Finn Silver Cup, a title he has twice won before, and which Muhonen has also previously won three times. Third place was a real battle with Alessandro Marega winning by one point over Valerian Lebrun after an intense week of racing in some challenging conditions.
Hosted by Sailing Aarhus at the fabulous Aarhus International Sailing Centre, the 2024 Finn Gold Cup attracted 103 entries from 22 countries, including a very encouraging number of younger sailors. At the AGM the class also voted to increase the Silver Cup age bracket to U29, which will be in place from 2025. There were 27 U29 sailors competing in Aarhus, with 30 per cent of the fleet under 40.
THE WEEK STARTED in light winds and a win for Nemeth in the only race possible on the first day. Race 1 started in 8-9 knots under the black flag after two recalls but was a clear start.
Alessandro Marega led round from Nemeth and Miguel Fernando Vasco. With Oscar raised for free pumping at the top mark, Muhonen moved into the lead from Nemeth and Cameron Tweedle. Then the wind decreased on the second upwind and was down to 5 knots or less in places on the final downwind. Many fell out of the pressure and lost places, including Muhonen, who lost the lead to Nemeth and then Hay sailed past to cross third, with all the boats crossing close together.
THE SECOND DAY was then lost with no wind on the course area all day and the constant threat of nearby storms. However, from then on, Aarhus started to heat up, each day becoming warmer than the previous.
The wind was forecast to returned on Day 3 but despite a forecast of 12-18 knots, it took a while to come. The first race was sailed in a dying breeze and was a tortuous race for some, and then after a long wait, the wind finally arrived for two great races in 10-15 knots.
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Race 2 was started in 7-8 knots but the wind died in the middle of the course though was still there on the corners, but those who banked on the middle or right corner suffered and rounded a long way back. Miguel Fernández Vasco finally rounded first from Marko Kolic and Muhonen and extended on the first lap before Muhonen closed the gap on the final downwind and they finished just metres apart.
After a long wait the second race got underway in a new breeze from the east at 10-15 knots. Filipe Silva led at the top, with Muhonen in fourth, but Muhonen was soon in the lead and extended for a huge win from Nemeth and Marega.
The final race started just after 17.00. This time Muhonen led round and stretched out another huge lead from Marega and Kolic. At the end of the race the wind died again, leaving a long sail back to the harbour, where the championship dinner was awaiting the exhausted sailors. They had been on the water for nine hours.
FROM THEN ON it was a Finnish show. Muhonen put on a masterclass on the fourth day, winning all three races, two by huge margins. Aarhus finally delivered the promised conditions with wall to wall sunshine, 10-15 knots all day and three perfect races in glamour conditions. The sailors responded by being perfectly behaved on the start line and all three races got away first time.
Nemeth had his chances, and in the first race of the day, which was also the windiest, he led round the top and all the way round until the final downwind when Muhonen passed him just short of the gate to take the win. Lebrun started a great day with third place.
Nemeth again led Race 6 at the top mark, with Muhonen in fifth but the Finn soon took the lead downwind and stretched out a nice lead to win again with Nemeth some way back in second and Marega in third; all three were long way ahead of the rest of the fleet.
Muhonen had the measure of the fleet by now, and in the final race of the day rounded the top mark in first and sailed away for a huge win. Nemeth spent most of the race in second, but then on the final run, Lebrun found some extra speed and sailed past and away to cross in second, with Nemeth third.
With the discard now coming into play, Nemeth moved up to second, while Marega was third. There was just one day left to sail.
THE FINAL DAY was also lost with no wind as Aarhus basked in sweltering temperatures. When it was finally abandoned for the day, Muhonen had become the first Finn to ever win the Finn Gold Cup, almost a perfect headline.
Muhonen is one of a number of former Olympic campaigners who still love sailing the boat and reappear for events when it fits in. He just missed selection for Tokyo, and as well as a former U23 World Champion, also finished second in the 2022 Finn Gold Cup.
He said, “I am obviously very happy. I had a very solid week, I raced well in the lighter winds at the beginning of the week, but also some solid racing when it got windier, so I am very happy with my racing and with how the week went.”
Coming into the event, “I was pretty confident in my downwind speed, but obviously upwind speed is always more of a question mark. I haven’t been hiking much recently and have been sailing different classes, so it was harder to say, and I also don’t have my own mast so that was a bit stiffer than I was used to sail with. But it was all right.”
On the competition. “It was really good. It’s always nice to have more than 100 boats on the start line. Aarhus is nice place to sail, with a variety of conditions but was a bit unstable at times.”
Will he defend next year, “Maybe. We’ll see.”
Marega said, “Four words; I am super happy. We had a beautiful week of sailing and I must congratulate the others on the podium, they deserved their position and I am grateful to be sharing the podium with them. I’ll be back for Cannes, for the Europeans and for the Italian Nationals in Rimini.”
ONE OF THE more encouraging stories of the week has been the increasing number of young sailors taking part, continuing to enjoy the timeless challenge of the Finn. Nemeth, at 22 years old, won the Finn Silver Cup for the third time, however, next year the event transitions to an U29 championship, to include a wider range of sailors. In Aarhus, there were 20 sailors under 30 years old, a huge improvement in recent years and this trend is expected to continue. The young sailors have formed a close cooperation and are now actively driving what they want from the class.
Second place went to Australia’s Jack Eickmeyer, who was supported via funding from a Australian Finn Association initiative, which the class there has set up to support young sailors. They plan to send another young sailor next year, and many national associations are looking at ways to establish similar initiatives, which is very positive news. Third place went to Hungary’s Attila Svastits.
Nemeth said, “I feel really good. It was such a long regatta and I am pretty happy. I had a bit of a hard third day, but then I managed to recover very well. Then we had an amazing day, with incredible wind and waves. Oskari was really hard to catch. I learnt a lot and I see where I can improve more, so I am pretty happy about it. I am 22 now, so looks like I have some more youth years ahead of me, so yeah, you’ll see me soon.”
Having tried a 49er campaign, he stopped as he could not lose enough weight healthily. “I am actually not as large as I was before, but I like it like this as I am fast. I would like to do more Finn sailing. I am not training that much anymore, but I am really happy how I have continued to improve my sailing by not sailing Finn, but sailing the Finn is still good for me.”
A HUGE THANKS to Sailing Aarhus and the Aarhus International Sailing Center for hosting an excellent and well-run championship. The fabulous facility was the perfect venue, and perfect host for the sailors from across the world. Next year the Finn Gold Cup heads back to Cascais, Portugal, for the third time.
55 GER 334 Andreas Gillwald 35 29 70 67 (80) 64 48 313
102 GER 158 (U23) Dominik Grunert (dnf) bfd 90 ret 89 dnc dnc 595
103 GER 767 Andreas Demond 95 88 (dnc) dnc dnc dnc dnc 599
LAURENT HAY WINS WORLD MASTERS IN PUNTA ALA
Despite being World No 1 for the last two years, Laurent Hay had never won a major title, though had come close on a number of occasions. He finally put that right at the 2024 Finn World Masters at the PuntAla Camp & Resort on the shores of the Gulf of Follonica, in Tuscany, Italy, though it was as close a finish as it was possible to get. Former winner Valerian Lebrun was second with Martijn van Muyden in third.
In the end, 285 Finns from 30 nations arrived in Punta Ala for a week of sublime sailing in four groups off a beautiful beach. The host club, Centro Velico Punta Ala, is set in a beautiful forest alongside a stunning beach beside the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Masters President, Andy Denison commented “It doesn’t get much better than this. Nearly 300 Finns enjoying sublime sailing in 30 degrees, 8-12 knots, launching from a gorgeous beach is about as good as it gets, and though the racing was challenging, it was a spectacular day to remember.”
A full programme of 16 group races were sailed on the first two days, with eight different winners on the first day. It was already heading into a very tight series. Hay took the lead on the second day and never let go. After the Annual Masters Meeting, only one race was sailed on Wednesday, but again it turned into a perfect sailing day.
Hay extended his lead slightly, while Lebrun climbed into second, with van Muyden in third.
The annual gala dinner was held Wednesday night and will be remembered as one of the most sumptuous and wellpresented Masters dinners ever.
Only one race was managed on each of the last two days due to abnormal weather, but when the wind arrived it left behind superb conditions. Each day had been better than the previous day and Thursday produced the best sailing yet with the breeze building very quickly to 14-18 knots for some amazing conditions.
The wind on Friday took a long time to stabilise, and with a 15.00 cutoff, it was run down to the wire. Yellow and Blue groups on the North course were able to start first and were almost finished by the time the Red group was started on South course, but title challenger van Muyden could only manage a sixth place. So, the title came down to Lebrun and Hay.
Lebrun did what was needed and won Red group, meaning Hay, in Green, needed to be second. He struggled to find the front, and rounded the final gate mark fourth. The Dutch boats in front fought for second place and just metres from the finish, one took the other high, which gave Hay the opportunity he needed. The world title came down to a brilliant split-second decision from Hay, as he dived low, caught a wave, and passed both boats to cross second. He had won the Finn World Masters by less than a second and less than a metre at the finish.
An amazing week in Punta Ala had come to an end, and everyone had a fantastic time with epic weather, tight racing, and that special atmosphere than comes with any Finn regatta. Thanks to the PuntAla Camp & Resort and the Centro Velico Punta Ala for putting on a really special event. It was Finntastic. There is a full report in the Masters Magazine.
In 2025 the event heads to Medemblik, The Netherlands, with planning already underway for 400 boats. Now that would be quite something.
FACES FROM THE PAST T
here are many gems in the IFA photo archives. When exploring the box recently for a former class officer, the idea emerged to showcase some current sailors who appeared in the archive in their youth. See how many you recognise...
FACTS & FIGURES FROM AARHUS
With nearly 300 boats at the Finn World Masters, more than 100 at the Finn Gold Cup and potentially 150 at the Open Europeans in Cannes, the Finn Class is pulling in big entries at all major events at the moment. In 2025, 400 entries are predicted for the Finn World Masters in Medemblik. The numbers keep growing.
However, perhaps the most remarkable part of the 2024 Finn Gold Cup in Aarhus was the increasing number of younger sailors taking part in an international regatta. In Aarhus more than 30 per cent of the fleet were under 40 years ago, a record in recent years, while more than 27 percent were under 29, with many new faces on the race course. In addition to high youth element in the fleet, four out of the top 10 were U29 and six out of the top 10 were U40, also a record in recent years, and a very positive indicator of the way the class is going.
Equipment
The graphic and table opposite shows all the declared equipment used in Aarhus. The data shows no real surprises: five hull builders, nine rudders manufacturers, four mast makers, six boom makers, and six sailmakers.
FINN SAILING FROM AROUND THE WORLD
AUSTRALIA
2024 Yachtshare Qld International Finn State Championships
The Queensland State Championships took place at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, Brisbane, with close racing, Long Lunch on Saturday and post-race awards presentations on Sunday to wrap it the season for another year.
There was a total of 34 entries including five from Victoria, three from NSW, three from New Zealand, one from the ACT and one from SA. Rob McMillan dominated the field with five race wins. 71 of the Finn sailing community enjoyed a 5-star banquet on Saturday in the RQYS restaurant including Finn sailors, their partners, race officers and our treasured volunteers.
The long lunch on Saturday afternoon (now infamous especially for the seafood) of the Queensland State Championships is the jewel in the crown for the event and brings everyone together on a sunny winters afternoon to swap stories with new and old friends. The good will from this event cannot be overstated.
More photos and the videos of the event at: www.rqtv.com.au
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AUSTRIA
Austrian National Championship
Michael Gubi won his eighth Finn national championship title in St. Gilgen on the Wolfgangsee from 21-23 June. Almost 60 Finns gathered for the midsummer weekend, 31 of them from Austria.
Day one started with a lack of wind but filled in strong in the afternoon for two gusty races. Michael Gubi won both with Markus Schneeberger two times in second. There was very little wind on Saturday, but two light wind races were held in the afternoon. Matous Cervenka won the first of them, with Gubi winning the second
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Other results: Legend Craig Padman, Grand Grand Master John Warlow; Grand Master Rob McMillan; Master Brendan Casey; Under 23 Jack Eickmeyer; Mid Fleet prize Jack Chadwick; Doyle Presidents Award Sam Ede
2024 Finn NSW Championship
Ian McKillop won the 2024 Finn NSW Championship at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, in Newport, after a day of strong winds followed by a day of lighter westerlies of 8-10 knots.
With the challenging winds on Pittwater and tight competition, the 2024 Finn NSW Championship proved to be a showcase of skill and perseverance for all sailors involved.
The presentation for the Championship had a fantastic vibe going with summer well on the way so that competitors could relax after a great weekend of racing back at the Clubhouse lawn.
McKillop won three of the six races, with other races wins going to Rob McMillan, David Ellis, and Bucky Smith. McMillan took second place overall in the championship standings, while Bucky Smith’s strong performance placed him third.
First Master was Smith, McMillan was first Grand Master, Great Grand Master was Trevor Martin, top Legend was Greg Clark, and leading U29 was Sam Ede.
On the last day, there was not much wind forecast, but after a long wait, patience was rewarded, and a final race was started. Michael Luschan took the race, with a third for Gubi enough for the title. It also allowed a discard so the Czech boats moved up to third and fourth behind Gubi and Luschan.
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BELGIUM
OBK 2024, it can’t get any better Like last year, the OBK Finn was combined with the Benelux championships in Scharendijke, a top location. The outlook was fine, nice weather, a brisk breeze and 32 entries, a new record. Everyone was clearly looking forward to it.
On Thursday, there was a solid Force 5, but also nice sunshine and warm water; champagne conditions in other words. We sailed two long races; everyone was exhausted. Kit Kattenberg and Cees Scheurwater each grabbed once the first place, and Sebbe was twice in second. One downside was that the judges gave very enthusiastically pumping penalties while there was a huge pump flag on the starting ship.... This was elegantly resolved by the race management by awarding redress to those impacted.
Friday, the wind was a bit less; there was still a nice Force 3 but it was very variable and it became a lottery at times.
We sailed three shorter races, and Stefan Marechal, Tobias de Haer and Gwyn Haegenaers each grabbed a first position.
Saturday there was barely enough wind to sail, but the wind never became steady enough. After an hour and a half of bobbing, we were sent back to shore.
BRAZIL
2024 Brazilian National Championship Leonardo F. Seger, BRA 17, writes: Great! This is the adjective that should be used to describe the four days of racing at the Brazilian Finn Class National Championship, held at the Brasília Yacht Club (ICB), from July 18-21, 2024.
With winds that exceeded 12 knots on almost every day, the event had the participation of 13 competitors, who competed in eight races over four days.
Created in the late 1950s to provide water and enhance the city’s landscape, Lake Paranoá, a picturesque artificial lake located in Brasília, capital of Brazil, stretches for approximately 48 kilometres (30 miles) around the city. The lake is surrounded by beautiful parks, residential areas, and recreational facilities, making it a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, offering opportunities for various recreational activities, such as sailing, kayaking, and fishing.
On the opening day, Daniel M. de Oliveira e Silva and João H. Zullo Catro took the race wins, but the remaining six races were all won by Antônio Moreira.
Antônio Moreira (CNC/MB RJ) became the three-time Brazilian champion of the Finn class in Brasília, where he won his
Sunday was a super day with a very solid Force 4, reasonably stable wind and nice weather. Sebbe knew that JW Kok was the only one who could keep him from the title. We sailed three nice races, this time on a trapezoidal course. The first race ended with a surprise: the leading group including JW forgot to round the last buoy so they had to go back to finish there just after Sebbe. That must be sour! Sigurd sailed rock-solid on Sunday, allowing him to jump over Stefan Marechal and Cees Scheurwater to third place (with 1 point difference). Sebbe thus deservedly became the Belgian champion, with JW Kok in second place. Tony Delava was first GGM. Everyone agreed that this was a top edition: a very welcoming club, beautiful weather, a super location and a long
first national title in the class in 2020. Pedro Lodovici (YCI SP) got second place and João Henrique Zullo Catro (ICB DF) third.
In the Master category, Daniel Silva (ICB DF) won, Pedro Lodovici (YCI SP) won the Grand Master, João Zullo (ICB DF) the Featherweight category (below 90 kg) and Gustavo Raulino (ICB DF) the Jumbo category (above 110 kg).
The next Brazilian national championship, in 2025, will be held in Ilhabela-SP, while the Iate Clube de Brasília will host the National Masters. It was also decided at the meeting that the 2026 Brazilian championship will be held in Rio de Janeiro on a date and place to be defined.
Finally, the Brasília Nautical Federation thanks everyone for their participation, especially the athletes who came from other states to honour us. In addition, special thanks to Gustavo Raulino and Allan Godoy for leading the event.
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weekend of rock-hard sailing at the cutting edge. According to Belgian tradition, the food was the second most important topic: BBQ on Thursday, mussels/fries a volente on Saturday and a luxurious breakfast on Sunday.
Worth repeating, with even more sailors (and certainly more Belgians).
1 BEL 7 Sebastien Godefroid 16
2 NED 1037 JW Kok 31
3 BEL 18 Sigurd Vergauwe 38
4 NED 86 Stefan Marechal 39
BRITAIN
2024 UK National Championship
An impressive fleet of 49 Finns gathered at Hayling Island from 4-6 July for the British Championship, with a forecast of strong winds throughout the three days of the championship.
In the end only four races were managed, each won by Cameron Tweedle.
Two races were sailed on the Friday in 18-20 knots, reaching 30 knots as the fleet was sent home across Hayling Bar early.
The second day was sailed inside the harbour, with Tweedle again dominating, though fighting his way through in the tidal conditions.
Saturday dawned with yet more high winds, this time gusting to 32 knots. At 10.30 the postponement flag went up but 20 minutes later the racing was finally called off, leaving Cameron Tweedle as the Rooster UK National Champion 2024, and now on his hat-trick. Finn World Grand Master Laurent Hay proved his World No.1 standing and picked up a few more useful ranking points to stretch his 200-point lead, and previous Laser World Champion Lawrence Crispin fulfilled his potential in third.
At the prize-giving Hayling Island SC Rear Commodore David Hitchcock who has recently returned to the Finn class remarked that in his 40 years of sailing from Hayling, this was the roughest he had ever seen Hayling Bar. With great prizes from Rooster, Intego Pro and North Sails everyone went home with a nice memento of the epic championship. Cam Tweedle retained the Sunday Times Gold Cup trophy, adorned with a real who’s who of Previous British Finn Champions, from Vernon Stratton, through Chris Law, Iain Percy, to Ben Ainslie and Giles Scott.
FINLAND
Finnish Championship
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Ville Aalto-Setälä won the Finnish National Championship from an impressive field of 23 boats. Held at Espoo from 20-22 September, he won three of the eight races sailed. Other race wins went to Aleksi Saarni, Axel Laine, Sami Salomaa and Niklas Toroi.
UK Inland Championship
The 2024 UK Inland Championship was held at Northampton Sailing Club FROM 2122 September 2024, sponsored by Pinnell & Bax. The weekend started on Friday afternoon with some unscheduled training with bright sunshine and a pleasant 12-18 knots of breeze straight down the lake.
The battle was between John Greenwood, who took three race wins, and Matt Howard, who won two, but no one else got close.
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UK Southern Championships
Over the weekend of 5-6 October, Warsash SC hosted the Southern Championship, the grand finale meeting of the British Finn 2024 Travellers Trophy.
A bright and breezy sunny morning greeted a small but elite fleet of 16 Finns who prepared for a hard day’s racing in the Solent on the Hill Head plateau. A one-mile windward leeward course with three windward legs, set the intent for the weekend to make sure the sailors had to work hard to complete the scheduled races. Arkadii Kistanov won the first three races, but in the final race, Arkadii did not make the gybe and had a long swim leaving the door open for Lawrence Crispin to take the win.
The fleet returned to the Hill Head plateau in a reduced and shifty southerly on Sunday, under a low leaden sky, producing gusty and shifty conditions. The lighter conditions brought some new faces to the
front including Allen Burrell, who led most of race 5, but eventually Arkadii too the win, and the next race before Lawrence won the final race.
The final results showed the dominance of Arkadii and Lawrence, followed by Tim and Martin.
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DENMARK
Danish Championship 2024
Michael Staal writes: On 23-25 August, 35 Finns sailed the Danish and international Danish championships off the Egå Sailing Club on Århus Bay.
The new Danish champion in Finn is Jens Eckardt, Svendborg Sund Sejlklub, who with a solid series only allowed the nearest competitor, Otto Strandvig/KDY, to finish ahead of him in a single race. It was a deserved and popular winner who was flanked on the podium by Otto Strandvig and Jens Kristian Andersen/Vallensbæk Sailing Club.
Fresh to strong winds
On Friday 23 August, everyone was ready for the first races, but the weather gods got in the way with very strong winds and gale-force gusts.
Saturday, on the other hand, was a perfect day to sail 4 races in fresh winds from the SE, which built up some glorious waves in the bay. Jens Eckardt set out hard with a victory in the first race, which was also the only time in the event that an otherwise superb Domonkos Nemeth had to let himself pass. In the following race, Jens Eckardt collected a penalty for an early start, which made him vulnerable if he sailed another bad result.
Filipe Silva and last year’s international Danish champion Peter Peet also showed good pace and placed 2nd and 3rd behind Nemeth after the first day. Otto Strandvig and former winner of the event Thomas Schmid from Germany placed 4th and 5th.
The competition was close in the top 10 in all the races, although the above stood out from the rest with greater stability.
Third best Dane after the first day was Ole Worm who made a comeback in the Finn. What Jens Eckardt and Ole Worm have in common is that they restarted their sailing careers in the OK Dinghy in Svendborg about four years ago. It is particularly noteworthy that the Danish Championship was Jens’ first event ever in the Finn.
More strong wind
Sunday provided particularly fresh wind for two decisive races. On average, the wind was 8-10 m/s in the first sailing, with gusts
HUNGARY
2024 Hungarian National Championship
Márton Beliczay surprised everyone, including himself, by taking out the Hungarian Championship after a long absence. Begging and borrowing equipment, and with very little training, he remained consistent enough to take the title from 68 entries at Agárd from 18-22 September. Second placed Zsigmond Kántor won three of the six races sailed, while Dávid Evetovic won two,
of up to 12 m/s. In the second sailing we had wind gusts above 12 m/s.
Domonkos Nemeth was able to win both races, although in a close battle with Thomas Schmid in the first race. Among the Danes, Jens Eckardt increased his lead over Otto Strandvig, while Jens Kristian Andersen slipped past Ole Worm and took bronze.
Unfortunately, the wind strength was above the ‘comfort zone’ for several sailors, which meant a reduced participation of 27 and 20 dinghies in the 2 races. It was even more unfortunate that some sailors suffered injuries, and one even had to go to the emergency room afterwards, but he is all right again after being stitched up.
Distinguished race officer and club work
Jan Madsen steered the course of the battle on the water with usual quality, strongly and proactively supported by very competent club members from Egå Sailing Club. The summoned rule 42 judges had a few quiet days on the water, as all races were carried out under the ‘free pump’ rule. It only resulted in a few yellow flags for sculling at the start and a single penalty for ‘rocking’ on the upwind.
On land, the sailors were pampered by the Egå Sailing Club, which provided full catering throughout the event, however with the Danish Finn Association as host at Friday evening’s big barbecue dinner.
including the only final series race sailed as the wind disappeared on the final day.
1 HUN 81 Márton Beliczay 11
2 HUN 30 Zsigmond Kántor 16
3 HUN 45 Dávid Evetovic 16
4 HUN 907 Botond Berecz 18
5 HUN 5 Tibor Pallay 20
6 HUN 808 Kristóf Kaiser 21
7 HUN 7 Antal Székely 21
8 HUN 80 Domonkos Németh 23
9 HUN 1 Géza Huszár 24
10 HUN 180 Gergely Gerencsér 25
froM toP Left: Jens eckardt, otto strandvig and Jens kristian andersen (Jan Peetz) • doMonkos neMeth is the neW danish chaMPion (JesPer heegaard) • Lars haLL gets off to a good start (JesPer heegaard)
POLAND
This barbecue dinner has become an event that is talked about abroad and it helps to profile the culture we value. The concept is simple: buy whole entrecote steaks (up to 500 grams/person), cut them up and grill them, serve a ready-made potato salad of good quality.
On the podium and winning the title of international Danish champion 2024, Domonkos was flanked by Jens Eckardt in second and Silva in third. The battle for fourth in the event was very close. Three sailors finished on the same points, but after ‘count back’ Peter Peet was fourth, Thomas Schmid fifth and Otto Strandvig sixth.
1 HUN 80 Domonkos Németh 5
2 DEN 2 Jens Eckardt 15
3 POR 1 Filipe Silva 22
4 NED 148 Peter Peet 28
5 GER 193 Thomas Schmid 28
6 DEN 21 Otto Strandvig 28
7 NED 29 Bas De Waal 31
8 SWE 5 Fredrik Tegnhed 48
9 DEN 246 Jens Kristian Andersen 49
10 GBR 8 Cameron Tweedle 51
FRANCE
2024 French Championship
Herve Brilland writes: There were 32 Finns in Benodet for the 2024 French Championship. The French fleet was reinforced by the presence of two SUI, two AUS, one GBR, two CZE and two NED. There were 8 races held over three days in varied conditions. The first two days had winds of 7 to 10 knots. The currents and wind shifts made the committee suffer. On the third day the conditions were more sustained with 18 to 22 knots. The wind did not build in time on the fourth day, so the fleet did not sail
GERMANY
2024 German Championship
The 2024 German Championship was held from 27-31 August at Blankeneser Segel-Club on the River Elbe in Hamburg, just before the Finn Gold Cup, with 62 entries from six countries. Andre Budzien won his sixth (he thinks) German title.
The wind was largely affected by the high temperatures and all races were sailed in light winds on the Mülenberger Loch, a tidal basin opposite the club. Three races were possible on the first day in 6-10 knots of westerly breeze.
Niels Schoenrock won the tricky opening race before Andre Budzien and Nicolas Thierse won the next two. Thierse won the third race by a huge margin on the fleet as tactical choices focused on using the changing tide.
The second day started with hardly any wind and the fleet was sent out to wait, as tide waits for no man. Eventually a light southerly filled in for two good races. The day belonged to Jan Dietmar Dellas, who owned the land hand corner even when others were consolidating to the middle. He led race 4 all the way until the final downwind, when Budzien sneaked through to take the gun. Race 5 was similar and again, the left corner paid for Dellas who built a huge lead, only to lose it again at the final gate. However, fate was on his side as Fabian Lemmel got yellow flagged and Dellas sailed past to win the race.
and were able to put the boats away under the sun that had
At the end of a great fight, it was Valérian Lebrun who won the last three races to win the title ahead of Laurent Hay and Paul McKenzie.
Despite a complicated organisation due to the two sites and the boats being brought up on the beach, the Benodet club and the volunteers had pulled out all the stops to welcome the fleet.
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The event came to an early conclusion with no wind on the final day and an early decision to pack up.
1 GER 711 André Budzien 7
2 GER 723 Nicolas Thierse 11
3 GER 501 Fabian Lemmel 19
4 GER 39 Karl-Heinz Erich 24
5 GER 193 Thomas Schmid 27
6 GER 81 Jan-Dietmar Dellas 28
7 GER 488 Andreas Franke 32
8 GER 111 Rainer Haacks 36
9 CHI 21 Felipe Gil 54
10 GER 323 Jonas Jung 55
ITALY
2024 Malcesine Finn Cup
This year’s Malcesine Finn Cup was besieged was bad weather, strong winds, rain and low temperatures, however it remained an enjoyable event thanks to the ongoing work of Nicola Menoni. There were 60 entries from 11 countries. Only four races were managed, each with a different winner.
Friday brought a north wind of 15-20 knots, quite chilly, and already snow in the mountains. The wins went to Alessandro Marega and André Budzien. Saturday produced less wind, with racing starting 1500 from an unusual southwesterly direction, and the fleet was not ashore until 1900. This time the wins went to Rudolf Lidarik and Peter Peet.
No wind was forecast on Sunday morning, so racing was scheduled for the afternoon, but the morning breeze had gone by then and no more races were possible.
1 ITA 1103 Alessandro Marega 7
2 AUT 3 Florian Raudaschl 8
3 NED 148 Peter Peet 11
4 ITA 115 Roberto Strappati 12
5 GER 711 André Budzien 16
6 SUI 7 Christoph Burger 20
7 NED 29 Bas De Waal 20
8 HUN 5 Tibor Pallay 23
9 ITA 202 Giacomo Giovanelli 28 10 ITA 788 Roberto Benamati 30
NETHERLANDS
Finnale & ONK Masters 2024
Without winning a single race, Martijn van Muyden took out the Dutch Masters at KNZ&RV Muiden, held from 4-5 May. The race wins went to Joost Houweling, Jelte Baerends, Tim Carver, Nanno Schuttrups, Gwyn Hagenaes and Nick Craig. There were 56 entries.
1 NED 6 Martijn Van Muyden, GM 21
2 GBR 790 Nick Craig, GM 23
3 NED 966 Sander Jorissen, GGM 26
4 GBR 567 Martin Hughes, GGM 39
5 GBR 8 Tim Carver, GM 44
6 NED 43 Ronald Van Klooster, GM 52
7 BEL 99 Gwyn Hagenaers, GM 56
8 NED 703 Eric Bakker, GGM 56
9 NED 81 Gerko Visser, GGM 60
10 NED 68 Joost Houweling, M 61
Open Dutch Championship
David Terol from Spain convincingly won the Open Dutch Championship at Medemblik from 20-22 September, winning four of the seven races sailed. Top Dutch was Nanno Schuttrups, who also stood out during the masters in Punta Ala, finished
POLAND
Andrzej Romanowski writes: The Polish Finn Cup series consisting of 10 regattas attracted the interest of many sailors with average number of participants of 29. While writing this, the last regatta on the Zegrze Lake remains to be held, and Bartosz Szydłowski (POL 6) is leading in the classification, ahead of Andrzej Romanowski (POL 73) and Jarosław Radzki (POL 1). Bartosz Szydłowski has so far won five out of nine regattas, Jarosław Radzki, and Andrzej Romanowski 1.
An interesting fact was the one-time start of Łukasz Lesiński (formerly starting under number POL 8), who won the regatta in Gdynia, where the European Championships will be held in 2026.
The Polish Championships were held in August in Sopot, won by Stefan Waack (GER 654). Bartosz Szydłowski won the national classification, ahead of Andrzej
second, while Jelte Baerends was third. There were 77 entries from eight countries.
Just like in Aarhus two weeks earlier, the weather was beautiful with challenging sailing conditions. On the first day there was a good wind followed by two days of light weather. Some participants went straight to the Netherlands from Aarhus.
Medemblik is the location for the Finn World Masters in 2025. This year the social programme took place again at Brakeboer where the first Finn Gold Cup in Holland was held in 1963. It was a very successful event with no Dutchman walking away with the main prize. There were new junior and senior Finn sailors present and hopefully this development will continue.
1 ESP 7 David Terol 13
2 NED 98 Nanno Schuttrups 21
Romanowski and Jarosław Radzki. The Nord Cup regatta in Gdańsk and the Polish Championships were counted in the World Tour for Finns ranking.
We are pleased that our regatta attracted foreign participants from: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Great Britain. In the coming years, the Polish Cup regattas will be held primarily in places where there are competitors of our class, which we hope will result in a larger attendance and an increase in the participation of foreign participants.
Current standing of Polish Cup after 9 regattas:
1 Bartosz Szydłowski, S 8 319
2 Andrzej Romanowski, GM 9 314
3 Jarosław Radzki, GM 7 310
4 Tadeusz Bartlewski, GM 8 295
5 Ryszard Mrózek Gliszcynski, GM 9 293
6 Błażej Wyszkowski, L 6 280
7 Sebastian Knasiecki, GM 8 279
9 Dariusz Dązbłaż, S 6 274
10 Leslaw Gondek, GGM 8 253
SERBIA
The 2024 Serbian Finn Championship was held at JK Palić, organised by the Sailing Association of Serbia and the Palić Sailing Club from 3-6 October, in conjunction with the 470 class.
Of the four days, two days were ideal for holding races. On the first and second day of the Championship, the wind blew between 6 and 12 knots, which made it possible to hold three races each. After a wet first day was sailed, and then a dry second day dry with a bit more wind, unfortunately Saturday and Sunday were windless.
16 Finns turned up including six from Hungary. The regatta was very well run with extremely high-quality work from the race committee, with constant adjustment of the regatta field to the direction of the wind.
All six races were held with a lot of adrenaline, twists and turns and a fight
SWEDEN
2024 Swedish Championship
The 2024 Swedish Championships were held in Råå outside Helsingborg from August 23-25, and was the windiest Finn Championship in living memory.
Only 20 boats, turned up and Råå Jolleklubb did a fantastic job both on land and on the water. On Friday winds, in up to 12 m/s from the southwest, it was a battle between the hard wind specialists, Anthony Nossiter, Peter Overup and Olof Lundqvist.
The wind had decreased on Saturday. Martin Pluto, sailed perfectly and managed to squeeze first place in the third race. During the afternoon the width increased, and after Nossiter won race 4, Peter Overup took the bullet in the fifth race. Then On Sunday, there were strong winds again and some sailors chose to stay in port. Nossiter won all three races.
As the end of the regatta approached, Erik Åberg sailed better and better, with this he climbed up in the overall. Lars Bergfeldt, who sailed steadily and well throughout the regatta, ended up in fifth place. After all the sailing Anthony Nossiter finished first and Peter Overup took second - thereby Peter became Swedish champion.
The social was top notch, it was a nice ‘after sail’ with a good atmosphere and lovely stories. The regatta dinner was professional and pleasant and was followed by a full evening in the bar.
to the finish line. Overall. Dávid Evetović took the win from Antal Székely and Bálint Fürstner.
Palić Sailing Club member, Bálint Fürstner was the best Serbian for the third year in a row, while Pavle Đorđević from JK Zemun, was second and the third place was won by Tihomir Zakić from JK Palić.
In the Masters category, Tihomir Zakić (JK Palić) proved to be the best, second place was won by Srđan Volarević (JK Zemun), while Branislav Erac (JK Gemax) finished in third place.
Bálint Fürstner said, “My club JK Palić did a perfect job of organising this regatta and we have a nice calendar of races where everyone is welcome. It is a small lake but a very nice place. I think the Serbian Finn community is really welcoming and friendly. We don’t have a lot of people, but we try to make the best of it. ”
1 HUN 45 Dávid Evetović 8
2 HUN 7 Antal Székely 9
3 SRB 11 Bálint Fürstner 14
4 HUN 3 Szebasztián Kaloczy 19
5 SRB 64 Pavle Đorđević 24
6 SRB 16 Tihomir Zakić 27
7 HUN 58 Dénes Ujváry 31
8 HUN 69 Csaba Stadler
Sweden Cup 2024
The Swedish Cup is finished for 2024 season. Four regattas with a total of 25 races have been completed under different conditions.
A total of 43 different sailors have participated in the regattas. The maximum number of sailors in a single regatta was 26. In total, the three worst results are counted out before adding up and adding up the total. The compilation was now made after the Sola Cup in Karlstad. Erik Åberg, with a superb effort, takes home the Swedish Cup this year with a total of 74 points - and it is worth noting that he counted out a sixth place. In second place is Pär Friberg closely followed by Anton Usachev in third.
SWITZERLAND
Michael Good (SUI 95) writes: Why not go outside Switzerland for a change? The Swiss National Finn Championship took place abroad this year, more precisely in Canet-en-Roussillion in the south of France, not far from the town of Perpignan and close to the Spanish border. In doing so, the Swiss followed an idea that had been taken up ten years ago. Back then, the Swiss championship was held in Port Camargue, also in the south of France. Thankfully, the Club Nautique Canet Perpignan (CNCP) agreed to organise the championship for the Swiss class.
Following this ‘little tradition’, 18 Swiss Finn sailors tackled the long journey towards the Mediterranean. The starting list was supplemented by four participants from France, two Australians and one boat from Spain. In the end, 25 boats made it to the starting line. This is for sure fewer than it would for a potential championship back home Switzerland, but this is understandable given the long journey.
The first day of the regatta came with an offshore north-westerly breeze between 12 and 18 knots. The regatta management had set the course close to shore, with the windward mark only a few hundred meters from the large beach and the town. Accordingly, the wind conditions there were difficult and there were also numerous capsizes. After three races in strong and gusty wind conditions, the local Florian Faucheux made his ambitions for the title clear and went into the end of the day as the first leader, followed by Peter Theurer just one point behind.
The second day started with a fresh northerly wind and a fairly high, steep wave. Over the course of the day, the wind
USA
2024 US National Championship
The 2024 US National Championship was sailed at Pass Christian YC from 16-19 May, with 25 entries. Six races were held in a range of conditions. Pedro Trouche won three of them and was never below third to take the title convincingly. John F Dane and Jack Jennings won a race each, while John Dane III won the other race.
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2
3
4
continued to drop and left a swell which was difficult to sail. At times, the wind direction even threatened to switch completely to the other side, which really shook up the field. Peter Theuer matched the very challenging condition best, crossing the finish line twice as winner, once in third position. However, Theuer was penalized UFD for early starting in the second race of the day.
The following two days were characterized by strong winds from the south-east. Above that, high breaking waves that made it difficult to impossible to leave the narrow harbour entrance, especially on Saturday. So, no further races could be sailed unfortunately. Peter Theuer then took the title deservedly and the gold medal as the new Swiss champion. Joining him on the podium in second place was Florian Faucheux and third-placed Jürg Wittich.
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The 2024 Finn Pacific Coast Championship, held at San Diego Yacht Club from September 21-22, delivered an exciting weekend of racing. Under relatively mild and sunny weather, with winds around 8-10 mph, the Point Loma conditions provided the perfect backdrop for competitive sailing.
R. Phillip Ramming claimed first place with a series of top finishes. He secured three first-place finishes in races 1, 3, and 5 and never finished lower than third. His steady performance made him the clear champion.
Nikita Mazin finished second. He had an impressive comeback, winning races 2, 5, and 7. Andrew Kern took third place with consistent top-five finishes, including a win in race 6. These sailors demonstrated impressive tactical skills, adapting well to the varying conditions across the seven races. 1
2024 IFA AGM
INTERNATIONAL FINN ASSOCIATION 2024 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Was held at Aarhus International Sailing Center, Denmark 2 September at 10.00
[All papers at finnclass.org]
Present: Executive Committee: Tim Tavinor (Chair), Robert Deaves, Kristian Sjöberg, Andrzej Romanowski; Representatives from BRA, CHI, DEN, ESP, FIN, FRA, GBR, GER, ITA, NED, NOR, POL, SUI and SWE and around 35 sailors.
Proxy votes sent online by: AUS, AUT, CAN, BEL, NZL, POR
[Combined vote of 21 nations equalling 28 votes]
MINUTES
1. Introduction
Tim Tavinor assumed the chair in the absence of the President. After welcoming Council and observers, he spoke about the need to look at online voting again, given the low attendance in recent years. He said a proposal would be made to move all voting online, while having more informal sailor meetings at all the major events. This would hopefully enable more National associations, and individual sailors, to take part and engage and to remove the likelihood of invalid meetings of less than 15 NCAs, which has been a concern in recent years.
2. Minutes from the last meeting
The minutes from the 2023 IFA AGM (previously circulated on IFA website, to secretaries) were approved.
3. Accounts
The Chair thanked David Bull for his excellent work in looking after the accounts and keeping everything in check, with clear explanations and accounts.
3.1 The 2023 accounts were approved
3.2 The 2024 budget was not approved. FRA and GER commented that the class should not have such a large forecast profit (more than €28,000) and would like to see avenues where that could be usefully spent. The Executive is to look at revising the budget to provide less profit, including developing the website further, promotion, media, online webinars etc. Further ideas are to be included and approved at a later date. It was however pointed out that the high profit was just a forecast and depended on many factors such as entry fees and royalty labels to be achieved.
4. Executive Committee Reports
4.1 President (no report)
4.2 Executive Director
At the end of my first year as Executive Director I am pleased to report the Finn class continues to thrive. Despite some challenges, it also has many opportunities to expand, grow in numbers and refine its offering to the 1,800 Finn sailors worldwide. Individual membership is actually higher than before the loss of Olympic status, while numbers at major events continue to grow, though sometimes we are never sure how well any event will be supported. However nearly 300 at the Masters was a sure sign that things are returning to normal, and with 100 at the gold cup and hopefully more at the Europeans, it is hard to dispute the fact that people like Finn sailing. Many local events are getting big numbers as well and seeing a 70-80 boat national fleet is very encouraging. However, things can always be improved and this year we have looked hard at positioning our events, so they remain meaningful. The Finn Gold Cup is, and has always been, our showcase event, pitting the world’s best sailors against each other for one of the most famous and hard fought for trophies in the sport of sailing. The IFA is looking at ways to enhance this, to make it more relevant, to make it more interesting to a wider cohort of sailors from inside and outside the class. There are also a number of diverse submissions to the AGM with this in mind, driven by the desire to protect our legacy and create a new legacy in the future.
The Masters is perhaps the biggest adult dinghy championship on the planet and should remain so. It continues to attract big numbers and while there have been calls for change, to focus on the Finn Gold Cup, the Masters’ recipe clearly works and works exceptionally well. So why risk that? The policy to combine the Open and Masters Europeans when there other two major championships are in Europe perhaps needs a different overview. Something that sits well between the World Masters and Finn Gold Cup, but perhaps offers something different. Each event should be discrete, with its own brand and image and each needs positioning as such. Finn sailors can be a fickle bunch ;-) so this also brings challenges.
We have launched a new website this year. It may not look very different at the moment, but it has a whole new backend. We have also merged the Finnworldmaster.com site into it and working on including all the event sites in the same place. Now everything will
be in the same place, but with the same URLs as before.
With a similar rationale, work is also continuing to simplify, combine and improve our event documentation to provide a clearer and more compact overview of event requirements, organiser responsibilities and financial liabilities. Otherwise, our finances are in great shape, with the eagle eye of David Bull keeping things on track. We have revenue, turnover and savings earning good interest. But we also need to invest and there is a paper for the AGM about investing in the youth of the class and you can read that elsewhere. Boat plaque and mast labels sales are slightly down, but sail labels continue to be strong. In terms of media, the work rarely lets up pace, whether that is event reporting, publications, updating the website, social media, the hugely successful World Ranking List or just keeping track of the 50+ events on the World Tour for Finns.
In the coming year there will be a greater emphasis on this and better reporting on these events, however this is largely dependent on contributions from member countries and even now, despite many requests there are still blank events on the Tour and lost points for those sailors. If your events are not showing please chase your national secretary. Our social media presence is stronger than ever and huge thanks to Francesca for putting up with me and my sometimes weird ideas and keeping the world informed on Finn matters on a regular basis. There is still much work to do, but we have an incredible following thanks to her dedication and engaging personality. In closing I’d like to thank the entire Executive for their help and support over the past year especially Kristian who has been a great help with the sailing events and Andy who largely gives me free rein to organise the masters.
Robert Deaves, IFA Executive Director
4.3 Vice-President Development
It is time to scarify to the tradition at the moment of the Finn Class Yearly General Meeting and issue some words summing up the VPs in charge of the development point of view
When you have a good business plan (and this is the President’s job to remind how healthy is the Class), it is a duty to stretch the false good ideas. Let’s sum up what the business plan we have been elected for:
1. Going on with a demanding Finn Gold Cup (FGC is an opened competition under quotas per National Finn Class but yearly utmost challenge)
2. Making sure the World Finn Masters
remains the most popular event of the world (WFM is a jamboree welcoming everybody who wants on protected areas and total security)
3. Making sure that the calendar of the events fairly water all the place of the world where Finns are sailing and tuning their number up in order there are not too much and not enough ( this is why for an example European Open have to be competed with rules depending only upon the venue of the FGC and/or the FWM)
4. which doesn’t mean we are not happy to see “independent events “ programmed and encouraged at suitable dates
5. Promoting the idea that the hardware used by the Finn Sailors is the more sustainable as possible in terms of cost and longevity (gauge stability allowing the enhancement of the number of purveyors)
6. Encouraging youngsters to discover the Finn and enjoy it in order, once they will be older, they mind sailing a Finn as long as they are interested in sailing a dinghy (which is a different concept that creating a fleet of youngsters)
Marc Allain des Beauvais
4.4 Vice-President Masters
Following our largest Finn Masters event for six years I think we can look forward to the future with confidence and a welcome return to the former growth we were experiencing before the pandemic. As usual, we punched our way through the many issues that seem to run alongside a large event, but we continue to listen to opinions on how we can fine-tune and improve the Masters events. The one thing that did keep rearing its head was the random selection process that we used, although it is currently based on a totally random process, originally developed by Richard Hart in 2014 and then further developed by Ray New and then Russell New and Steve Hayles. However, as we experienced in Punta Ala random can have issues in that some sailors in the top section of the fleet never had the opportunity to sail against each other, and some sailors were sailing each other almost every day. We had a lot of suggestions following this and I know that the Dutch are keen to look at another format for the larger fleet separation. Discussions are ongoing about the format for 2025, however it was clear at the Annual Masters Meeting, that very few want a final series, meaning that everyone races together in groups until the final day. With memories of Italy starting to fade in the distance, our sights are now turned to the Europeans in Cannes. Stretching the summer with Finn sailing is always a good one for me! I’m looking forward to seeing many of you again before a number of us hide away for the winter period and what better place than the South of France. (The discounted deadline is looming so please enter soon).
Over the next couple of months, the workload for Medemblik will start to escalate
and we will endeavour to keep you up to speed with news as it happens, particularly with accommodation/ camping, in order that you can plan your travel.
We are also looking in detail at some interesting future venues, but more on that later. See you in Cannes
Andy Denison
4.5 Vice-President Sailing
Ranking: The Finn World Ranking, which has been live from the end of 2022 is now listing, in the latest update from July 2024, 1342 sailors from 40 countries as having participated in at least one ranking event. Of these, approximately 250 sailors have participated in 5 or more ranking events, thus sailing at least in one ranking event outside their home country in the last two seasons.
The main aim with the ranking is to promote the attendance in not only the championship events but also in the biggest international and national regattas and to bring together a growing number of active sailors. It is of course so that this ranking does not capture the ability of a sailor who, for example, only sail one international championship event. But that is well captured by the Championship events themselves.
The ranking is thus designed to capture and rank the abilities of the internationally active sailors in the class and to promote the participation in as many events as possible.
Event plan 2025-2027: We are continuing to try to fix events well in advance in order to avoid clashes with the major NFA’s domestic main events. Silver Cups will be folded into FGC unless otherwise decided.
2025
Finn Open European Championships, 5-13. April, Naples
Finn World Masters, 13-20. June, Medemblik
Gold Cup, 30 August-6 September, Cascais (exact dates and length decided at AGM vote in FGC 2024 Aarhus)
2026
Finn World Masters - Brisbane Gold Cup – Brisbane
Finn Open European Championships –Gdynia
Finn Masters Europeans – Bids expected from Spain
2027
Bids for events are expected from Dournenez, Vilamoura, Garda and other venues.
The executive has decided to look at specific ways to promote the status and the participation in FGC and engaging with suggestions put forward to us. The executive thinks the FGC status as the most challenging event (5 days, with a target of 10 races) should be maintained and cherished.
Kristian Sjöberg
4.6 Treasurer
The IFA Executive restructured the management structure of the Committee to meet the requirements of the IFA Constitution. This was done effective 1st July 2023 and I (David Bull) was appointed as Honorary Treasurer until the 2024 Annual General Meeting. The role of Finance and Membership Secretariat was made redundant.
I would like to thank Paul McKenzie for his assistance in transitioning the financials to the new arrangement.
The budget for 2023 was presented at the AGM in Miami which reflected a Net Profit of zero Euros. I suspect with many unknowns like attendance at the Gold Cup, Europeans and Masters Regattas, no longer being an Olympic Class and coming
out of the pandemic together with a 2022 loss of 7,000 Euros, this was probably a reasonable projection.
Happily, we can report a Net Profit for the 2023 financial year of 7,914 Euros and Net Assets of 163,802 Euros.
2023 Balance Sheet
Total 170,942 Euros
Total Assets 168,441 Euros
Total Liabilities 4,639 Euros
Net Assets 163,802 Euros
Retained Earnings 155,888
Current Year Earnings 7,914 Euros
Total Equity 163,802 Euros
The Budget for 2024 has been prepared and incorporated into the Xero accounting system. There is a significant budgeted increase in Net profit of 28,300 Euros. This is primarily due to the large number of entrants in the FWM, FGC and FOE regattas. There are also notable savings as a result of the Committee restructure with the closure of the French Secretariat.
Currently we are ahead of budget, although I expect we will be close to budget by the end of the financial year.
2024 Budget summary:
Gross Profit 106,000 Euros
Other Income 9,000 Euros
Operating Expenses 85,700 Euros
Net Profit 28,300 Euros
2024 Balance Sheet (as at 31st July 2024)
Total Bank 206,721 Euros
Total Assets 204,219 Euros
Total Liabilities 4,640 Euros
Net Assets 199,579 Euros
Retained Earnings 163,802 Euros
Euros
Euros
The major source of income for the association is membership fees and regatta fees. We have a total of 39 countries represented in our Class and I can report every country is financial. We had some outstanding bad debts, however these have been recovered and we currently have no outstanding overdue debtors. We cancelled the three French bank accounts and established a Wise Euro Account and a Wise UK Account. This provides a convenient system for income and expenditure and amounts can be transferred with minimal fees.
We have established an interest bearing account with NatWest Bank in the UK known as “Liquidity Manager 35 day notice account”. All surplus funds are transferred to this account and we earn a competitive interest rate. In addition to the above we have maintained a UK working account and Masters account. The Masters account is incorporated in the Xero accounting system, however the bank reconciliation summary indicates a credit balance of 12,232 Euros.
In summary, the IFA is in a very sound financial position. I would like to thank Robert Deaves for his valuable assistance and help during the handover, especially in establishing the new bank accounts. The IFA is incorporated in Australia and has been for many years. A financial report is submitted to the Government each year and as an Incorporated Association category Tier 1, no audit report is required.
David Bull
4.7 Chairman of the Technical Committee (see points 7.3 and 7.4)
4.8 Chairman of the Media and Marketing Committee – With 4.2.
5. Major Championships
5.1. 2026 Open Europeans will be held in Gdynia, Poland
5.2. A discussion was held on future of the Silver Cup and Class development. The key outcome was to encourage those NCAs with successful youth programmes to provide ‘best practice’ for others to follow; central SoMe campaigns, improve web presence and purpose, and visibility to potential sailors.
6. Rule Changes
6.1 The age limit for Silver Cup was increased to U29
GER proposed to amend proposal from U30 to U29 and this was approved. Further to the discussion in 5.2 the IFA policy to incorporate the Silver Cup into the Finn Gold Cup was approved and the age range would be increased to U29 (unanimous).
6.2 Change frequency of Finn Gold Cups outside Europe
Event Manual Part 1, Item 2 change ‘The Gold Cup shall be held outside Europe a minimum of once every four years.’
To “The IFA will strive to arrange the Finn Gold Cup outside Europe once every six years at the minimum.”
Approved by a majority of 20 votes.
Reason: To allow greater flexibility when allocating venues for the Finn Gold Cup, though it was stressed bids for venues outside Europe can still be discussed at any time.
6.3 Clarify process for AGM ProposalsConstitution
Add ‘Part A, 3.4 g) Proposals for changes to Association Rules or Class Rules shall only be made by the Executive Committee, the Technical Committee or through National Class Associations.’
Reason: Currently, there is no requirement on who can make proposals for rule changes. Approved by majority of 25 votes
7. Submissions
7.1 POR – Reduce Finn Gold Cup to 4 days. Rejected by majority of 25 votes
7.2 GBR – Carbon Booms – A paper was presented from Martin Hughes from the UK. A discussion was held and the Chair explained this was purely exploratory for the time being, but that a proposal, if any, may be presented in 2025. However, the feeling in the room was this was not needed. An informal show of hands all of those in the room indicated 2 in favour and about 50 against.
7.3 GER - Amendment to the Finn Gold Cup
There was a long discussion on the future of the Gold Cup and how to retain it as the pinnacle event in the class. The proposal did not find much favour, though the everyone understood that the event needed attention. Items discussed included
• Qualification – to increase interest and quality and also limit numbers attending.
• Goal is to retain it as a pinnacle event, and not a duplicate of the Masters
• Max fleet size of say 120, for one start. Using the former quota numbers, increased branding The meeting approved the suggestion to create a Finn Gold Cup working group to discuss all ideas and come up with some proposals. On the basis of this and the feeling in the room, GER withdrew its proposal.
7.3 and 7.4 The Chair started a discussion on permitting the carrying of GPS enabled equipment on board while racing, including watches, telephones, cameras and GPS compasses such as Vakaros and Velocitec type devices, and opening use of such during racing, as well as providing avenues for sailors to use content on social media, which was felt to be a good thing. Use of GPS devices while racing received a mixed response and further investigation may be done, including some testing at events.
The TC Chair also discussed permitting VHF radios on board during racing with the purpose of using as a means communication for safety reasons and receiving Race Committee communications such as pre-start coarse changes, start count down, OCS and BFD disqualifications.
Further work is being done and proposals will be made at a later date.
8. Elections of Members to IFA Committees
There were no new nominations and all members of the Executive Committee, Technical Committee and the Marketing Committee were elected on bloc, unopposed.
9. AOB
There was no other business.
The meeting was closed at 11.45.
WORLD RANKING LIST - JULY 2024
After winning the Finn World Masters, Laurent Hay extended his lead to almost 200 points in Issue 006 of the Finn World Ranking list. Behind him there is some movement, with Antal Székely up to second and Filipe Silva down to third. The latest list now includes 1339 sailors from 40 nations. The new release includes 12 more events, including the 2024 Finn World Masters which attracted 285 entries. In all, a total of 600 individual results have been added with Hay’s score the highest ever recorded, and the only sailor to achieve more than 1,000 points so far.
