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Finn 2011 World Masters - Übersicht
18.06.2011
Finn World Masters day five - clean sweep for Michael Maier
Defending champion Michael Maier (CZE) made it clean sweep at the Finn World Masters in Punta Ala, Italy after winning both his final heats. The next
three boats were all on 13 points, only split on count back, with Allen Burrell (GBR) taking the silver and Uli Breuer (GER) winning the bronze at his
first Finn Masters.
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Foto: Marina Prinzivalli
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A new wind direction from the south introduced new elements into the racing with moderate wind strengths of up to 16-17 knots and much more shifty
conditions than so far this week. Both courses were set up and down the beach rather than perpendicular to it, with Course 2 being much more shifty
due to its proximity to the Punta Ala headland. On Course 2, there were much lighter winds in the first race, though it filled in nicely for the
second.
Virtually all of the favourites were on Course 1, where in spite of the random fleet assignment, six out of the top ten ended up in one heat. In the
Yellow fleet Enrico Passoni (ITA), took his first race win of the week, from Adrian Brunton (GBR) and Jurgen Eiermann (GER). In the second race fellow
Italian Marco Buglielli (ITA) won his second race of the week from Michael Staal (DEN) and Brunton. These two top-three results from Brunton lifted
him into the top 10 overall for the first time this week.
In Blue fleet, where all the top sailors were, Michael Maier notched up two more race wins to make it a clean sweep of eight wins out of eight races.
In the first race, Thomas Moerup Petersen (DEN) crossed in second with Marc Allain des Beauvais in third while in the second race Allen Burrell placed
second with Allain des Beauvais again in third.
Over on course two, held under the headland of Punta Ala, the winds were much more gusty and provided for some interesting racing. In Red fleet Lars
Hall (DEN) won the first race from Kenneth Boggild (DEN) and Alexander Kasatov (RUS), while in the second race Hall finished second to Mihail Kopanov
(BUL) with Bernd Moser (AUT) in third. Hall's great performance also lifted him into the top 10 overall.
In Green fleet, Jan Willem Kok (NED) was the only top ten contender and he won the first race before finishing third in the second. Svend Vogt
Andersen (DEN) placed second in the first race from Cees Scheurwater (NED), while in the second race, Paul Blowers (GBR) – at his first ever Masters
Worlds - won from Francesco Faggiani (ITA) and then Kok.
Marco Buglielli said of his race win, “I was sailing lower than all the guys who are bigger than me. I was third at the top mark behind two big guys
but got past them downwind, then one got past me again upwind and I passed him on the next downwind, and then on the last upwind to the finish, which
was much longer than usual, he gained again and I won by a couple of boatlengths. It was really tough.”
Uli Breuer summed up his week, “It was really hard racing today. In the first race, I rounded the top mark in third, but then I did one tack wrong
on the second upwind and dropped to 12th. In the second race I was fifth, but it was really hard today, after seven races, it's been a long week and
for my first year in the Finn, it's really hard. But it is really nice here and has been a nice regatta and I am really am satisfied with how I did
and my wife is also satisfied with how she sailed. She did all the races and that is hard, so it was good. It's a very nice racing area with good wind
– it was perfect. We will be back next year in Pwhelli.”
Laurent Hay didn't have quite the day he hoped for and dropped to sixth overall, “In the first race I was good but I made a mistake on the second
upwind leg. I went 30 metres too far on the left when I was second and five boats passed me. In the second race, I broke something in my boat on the
second leg upwind and had to fix that and then I capsized on the downwind leg and lost four boats and finished seventh.”
After winning the silver medal, an elated Allen Burrell said, “It's been a fantastic week, the sailing has been run really well and I am over the
moon about getting silver as I thought I would be third or fourth after today, so to come second is fantastic. I thought I had blown it when I
finished fifth in the first race today, but the breeze filled in a bit more and I got a second in the next race, which made all the difference. But
the conditions this week have been fantastic – almost perfection.”
In winning here, Michael Maier claims his third World Masters title, “Today was good, though it looked like it could be a little bit tricky, but
finally the wind was good and I think that's the most wind we had all week. I am sailing this week for fun, if I win I win, but if I don't then it's
OK. I am very happy with the result, but I have had a few lucky races this week, especially yesterday in the light winds - you never know what will
happen. But today everyone at the top was in blue fleet and it's supposed to be random, so maybe there was something wrong in the computer!”
An emotional Howard Sellars, winner of the Legend category said, “It's very, very difficult to say how I feel about this. It's very emotional and I
battled not to have a tear in my eye. Some of these guys are the elder statesmen of the greatest class in the world, and to be up there on stage with
those guys is wonderful, I couldn't believe I had won it until he actually read my name out – I couldn't believe that it was going to happen – and
I still can't really.”
Winner of the ladies prize, Bine Beuer, said“At the beginning of the week I spoke with Fons about the 'big five in life' and definitely this medal
is one of my big five in life.”
At the prizegiving, Masters President, Fons van Gent (NED) said, “We have had a great week. But as usual, everything that is good comes to an end
and I am sure we all had a great, great sailing week. I saw all these smiles when we came off the water, everyone was tired but very satisfied. The
sailing was super, and I don't think I can exaggerate that. People are already asking me when will we come back here. Next time will be even better
than this year.”
Next year the event returns to the UK for the first time in 12 years and is being hosted by the Pwllheli Sailing Club in Wales.
1CZE 1Michael Maier7
2GBR 2Allen Burrell13
3GER 707Uli Breuer13
4DEN 9Thomas Moerup Petersen13
5NED 780Jan Willem Kok17
6FRA 75Laurent Hay21
7BUL 24Mihail Kopanov25
8FRA 99Marc Allan des Beauvais26
9DEN 6Lars Hall29
10GBR 707Adrian Brunton32
Ladies
1GER 706Bine Breuer196
2CZE 4Bozena Smidova401
Masters
1CZE 1Michael Maier7
2GBR 2Allen Burrell13
3GER 707Uli Breuer13
Grand Masters
1FRA 99Marc Allain des Beauvais26
2DEN 6Lars Hall29
3ITA 6Enrico Passoni 41
Grand Grand Masters
1SWE 721Mikael Brandt93
2NED 860Louis Kruijer 98
3GBR 80Ray New106
Legends
1GBR 77Howard Sellars103
2GBR 631Richard Hart160
3GER 3Walter Mai175
Video highlights from around the event can be seen at sailrev.tv
Photos by Marina Prinzivalli
More at www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633
About the event: The 2011 Finn World Masters has attracted more than 300 entries from 28 nations worldwide. The Finn World Masters was first sailed
for in 1970 with 18 boats competing. It has grown in size almost every year and the entry in 2011 is the largest ever entry for a Finn regatta. There
are four categories of sailors: Master (40-49), Grand Master (50-59), Grand Grand Master (60-69) and Legend (70+). The defending World Masters
Champion is Michael Maier (CZE) after winning the title for a second time last year in Split, Croatia.
About PuntAla Camping Resort: Located beside the Mediterranean in the heart of the Maremma region in Tuscany, Italy, the PuntAla Camping Resort is
situated within a pine forest that used to be a hunting reserve for the Great Duke of Tuscany. It now covers an area of 27 hectares and includes 127
mobile homes, 60 bungalows, 350 caravan pitches and 150 tent pitches. It is an international destination offering peaceful, relaxed and comfortable
seaside holidays. In 2005 the Sailing Club 'Cala Civette' was established and it has hosted several major championships and events in recent years.
Event website: www.finnworldmaster2011.org - PuntaAla Camping Resort: www.campingpuntala.it
World Masters: www.finnworldmaster.com - Class website: www.finnclass.org
© International Finn Association 2011
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