Silver Cup 2014 - IFA Live Reports

Anders Pedersen is Finn Junior World Champion to lift the Finn Silver Cup

Anders Pedersen (NOR) has won his first ever Finn Silver Cup, and in his last year as a Junior, without any more races being held. Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) took the silver and Nened Bugarin (CRO) took the bronze. For the third day in a row the 32 Finn sailors set out from Hoorn and came back with no more races sailed.

It was a day for ices, swimming and sunbathing but no racing. Everyone, well almost everyone, was willing it to happen, but it just wasn't to be. The sailors launched for a start at 11.05, and that got away on time in 5-6 knots. At the first mark Lars Johan Brodtkorb (NOR) led from Riccardo Bevilacqua (ITA) and Jeremi Zimny (POL). Zimny had taken the lead by the gate but the wind had almost gone by then and before the fleet had finished rounding the gate, the race had been abandoned.

Within the race, second overall Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) was sticking to first overall Anders Pedersen (NOR) in an attempt to drag him back through the fleet. Pedersen already had a high score, so another would reduce his chances of winning. Kistanov did an almost perfect job, and controlled Pedersen out to the left from about half way up, before rounding the top mark about 15th, and several boats ahead of Pedersen. The battle continued downwind, with Kistanov taking the Norwegian all over the left side of the run. The tactic was working as they were both deep for a while and if this had been the only race Kistanov had given himself a good chance to win the title. The race abandonment saved Pedersen.

The fleet waited afloat for a further 90 minutes, including a welcome box of iced lollies brought from the shore for all competitors and race officials. The wind looked hopeful at one stage, but it soon vanished again leaving a glass-like sea. Finally at 14.00, with no wind developing, the race officer took the decision to end the waiting and abandoned all racing for the day. A cheer immediately went up from Pedersen who had achieved his goal of winning his first major Finn event.

The prizegiving took place at the harbour outside the sailing club on a beautiful evening.

Pedersen said of his win, “It feels very good. It's my third try to get the Silver Cup, so it's great. It means a lot to be Junior Champion in Norway and hopefully will make it easier to get funding or sponsorship.”

“I had a bit of a tough fight today with the Russian. He had a really good series with no bad races, so for him it didn't mean anything but for me I needed a good result. So he was giving me a hard time around the race course. I was glad when they abandoned it. It was obviously a good thing for me. I prefer more breezy conditions. I wish we'd had three races two days ago.”

Was he concerned about that situation? “You don't really have time to work it out in the race, you just try to do the job, but he gave me a hard time on the downwind as well but we gained on the fleet so I think we were back in the game at the gate. But I think I have to practice my match racing.”

Second placed Kistanov, the 2011 Junior World Champion, put on a great show today and had almost done enough to regain the title. “Today was a nice day but not so nice for sailing. My plan was really easy, to be three boats ahead of Anders or he must be seventh or later. So for me it was easy to just control him and not give him a chance to be in the front. And I did this before the race was abandoned.”

“I get practice doing that in races in Russia every month where I always do that on the last race, so I knew what I was doing.”

“We only raced three days, so I am a bit unhappy about that and Anders is a bit lucky, but that's competition, so congratulations to him. I thought that I could be first here so I'm not happy to just get the silver. But I still have two more more years to go so I will come to those Silver Cups and try to be better.”

The Bronze went to Nenad Bugarin (CRO). “I am very happy with this week. I sailed well all week so I am very happy with the bronze. It could be a little bit better but in these circumstances I am very happy. The conditions were very similar to my own country.”

“I only started in the Finn in January this year, so I am not so long in the class, so I can be happy with this result. I am training with Bambi [Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO)]. He is like my mentor, so he is helping me a lot. I am going to Santander next, but I will take a little rest now and then after that we will start preparation for Santander.”

“And I will be back next year to try again in Valencia.”

The sailors have been enchanted by the beauty of Hoorn this week. WSV Hoorn has an idyllic setting in a beautiful harbour, which was the starting point for many famous voyages and home to navigators in past centuries, when it was an important base for the Dutch East India Company. Vessels left Hoorn for exotic places worldwide to trade and bring back goods from far off places. The sailors have enjoyed exploring the town with its varied buildings, canals and back streets. Today the Finn sailors left themselves with their prizes, memories and the desire to do better next time. For some it was their last chance at the Silver Cup as they are now too old, but for the younger sailors, they are inspired to train harder to come back faster and better.

Event website: http://wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=380

An extensive photo gallery from every day is at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/

as well as on the Finn Class Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633

Final results

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

Full results at: http://wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=902

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Young Finn sailors frustrated again, after windless day at Silver Cup in Hoorn

The weather is throwing is best and its worst at the Finn Silver Cup. After Wednesday was lost through too strong winds, another day was lost Thursday with not enough wind. The day spent in sweltering temperatures and no wind, and while one race was started, it was abandoned at the windward mark as the wind vanished into the humid Dutch air.

There is now just one day left of the championship, but with six races already completed, enough have been sailed to make it valid. However there are a lot of sailors who want to complete more races to achieve their goals for the week. Three races are possible on the final day, but the forecast is not very encouraging.

Race 7 started on time but the 5-7 knot light wind soon started to drop. There was a massive spread on the fleet with the right side hung out to dry as the wind died there first, but as the wind fell under 3 knots at the top mark the race was abandoned. Lars Johan Brodtkorp (NOR) proved his ability in light wind to lead round the top mark from Nenad Bugarin (CRO) and Matthew Koblinski (POL), but by then the water was like glass and the race was abandoned shortly afterwards.

A light breeze filled in nearly an hour later, but the conditions were very humid with bad visibility to the east, and the wind didn't stay. At 13.00 the race officer sent the fleet shore to wait, hoisting AP over 6, for a first possible start at 17.00. More wind was expected later in the day, but by 16.00 nothing had developed and racing was abandoned for the day.

Two sailors who are hoping to get more racing in are Riccardo Bevilacqua (ITA) and Anatoly Korshikov (RUS), who are here as part of Team Fantastica. They have some extensive experience helping them compete at the Silver Cup with coaches Yuri Tokovoi (UKR) and Vladimir Krutskikh (RUS), guiding them through the intricacies of international competition.

Bevilacqua is in 15th overall after a fairly consistent set of results, but is aiming for the top ten. “Downwind in light wind is good for me at the moment, but what I really need to work on is my starting. I need to train with more and more people and do some more starts to try and arrive higher up at the first mark.”

He only started sailing the Finn in 2013, after some moderate success in the Laser 4.7 class, and then joined Team Fantastica at the Finn Silver Cup last year. “Being part of Team Fantastica is very important for me because I don't need to think about anything. I only need to focus only on the sailing and to improve my sailing.”

“My coaches are teaching me everything. I need to learn how to sail in every condition, and they teach me everything about the Finn. I started from zero and slowly I will arrive at some good results. In just one year I feel I have improved a lot in every conditions. ”

Korshikov also joined the team in 2013. “When I started sailing with the team I got a good boat, good sail and everything else. The team has given me a lot of help.”

“I want to sail my best this week, and I already have some good results. And some not so good. The top ten would be good for me but now I am I in 19th and I have a bit of work to do. So I hope we will be able to race.”

However, the forecast for Friday is not promising, though it changes almost by the hour. Less than 5 knots is forecast for most of the day. With a latest warning signal time of 15.00, the racing has been brought forward to 11.00 to try and get three races in.

Event website: wsvhoorn.nl

An extensive photo gallery from every day is at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/

as well as on the Finn Class Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633

Results after six races:

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

Full results at: wsvhoorn.nl

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No racing on Wednesday at Finn Silver Cup as big winds hit Hoorn + Gallery in 30 knots

No racing was possible on the fourth day at the Finn Silver Cup in Hoorn as strong winds caused the abandonment of all racing. The fleet was sent out on time for the scheduled start at 12.00 but it soon became apparent that the wind was above sensible limits with many boats capsizing in the fierce gusts. After one postponement the race officer abandoned racing as the wind hit 31 knots and sent the fleet back to the harbour, where racing was eventually abandoned for the day later in the afternoon after the wind refused to moderate.

However the sailor's enjoyed the brief sail with a long taxing beat back to the club through some steep, short waves, as the photos show.

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

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

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

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

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

In the evening the sailors enjoyed the 'Captain's dinner' at the WSV Hoorn clubhouse attended by many local dignitaries including Cees Baas, Chairman of WSV Hoorn, Elvira Sweet of Provincie Noord Holland, Rob Franken of Watersportverbond (Royal Dutch Yachting Federation) and Ben Tap of Gemeente Hoorn, who expressed their pleasure at welcoming the young Finn sailors to Hoorn and how important it was to inspire the local youth to take up sailing to hold events of this nature.

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

Event website: wsvhoorn.nl

An extensive photo gallery from every day is at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/

as well as on the Finn Class Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633

All Photos (c) Robert Deaves

Results after six races:

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

Full results at: www.wsvhoorn.nl

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Arkadiy Kistanov moves ahead after tricky second day at Finn Silver Cup

Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS), the 2011 Finn Junior World Champion, has taken the lead the 2014 Finn Silver Cup after a difficult day afloat on the second day in Hoorn, The Netherlands. Only one race was sailed as the breeze faded during the race and eventually switched off after the first boats finished. Nenad Bugarin (CRO) is up to second with Jacob Stachelhaus (DEN) in third. The race was won by Dimitar Vangelov (BUL).

After a tough opening on Sunday in strong winds and rain, the sailors woke to blue skies and light winds. Race 3 got under way after one general recall with three boats pulled out on the second start under the black flag. While the forecast was for the wind to veer during the day, on the first upwind in 5-6 knots, those boats who took the right side sailed out of the pressure, while the wind came in from the left in the second half of the leg.

Peter McCoy (GBR) emerged from the middle left to round ahead from Dimitar Vangelov (BUL), Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) and Kyle Martin (CAN). Soon after the leaders rounded, the wind dropped significantly with the rest of the fleet struggling to get round. The front group sailed away in more wind creating a large split in the fleet. The increase in pressure from the left meant the downwind turned into a reach and from the gate a new windward mark was set. On the very light downwind, McCoy picked up a yellow flag and dropped to sixth. Then Kistanov took the lead just before also being given a penalty to drop from first to fourth.

Round the gate the new breeze had strengthened as a dark cloud crossed the course. Michael Kamp (NED) was left in the lead and most of the leaders tacked off to the right. The breeze again lasted until the leaders had rounded the top mark and the front five created a huge gap on the rest. Vangelov sailed a brilliant upwind to round with a significant lead which he held down to the finish, as the wind completely disappeared. Kamp crossed in second with Lars Johan Brodtkorb (NOR) in third.

There was around a 10 minute gap between the fifth and sixth place finishes, with the tail enders actually crossing the line outside the time limit of 20 minutes.

The fleet waited afloat for a while before being sent shore to wait. Some new breeze arrived but didn't last and finally at just after 16.00 further racing was abandoned for the day. There was also some controversy with a multi-boat protest on the lack of race committee signalling of the mark change, which resulted in the Jury giving redress by extending the time limit for those who were originally scored DNF. So everyone who finished was given his finishing place.

Vangelov explained his race, “A lot of guys went to the right looking for the shifts but I was on the left looking for the pressure. I was the furthest to the left and there was one big cloud over there and thought the pressure would come from there. There was a lot of shifts in the race, and pressure on one side and then the other. The downwind turned into a reach but on the second upwind I found the best pressure and shifts again.”

“This is the first time I have won a race in the Silver Cup and I think it's also the first international race I have ever won in the Finn.”

Among the new sailors here this week is Lars Johan Brodtkorb (NOR), the current Europe class European champion. He was also awarded the 'Sailor of the Year' by the Norwegian Sailing Federation for his strong performance last season in the Europe dinghy. “I started in the Finn in the Norwegian National Championship last year, and then I didn't sail again until Spring this year. I am enjoying the Finn very much. I am used to sailing the Europe, and they are very similar. It's fun to sail, just a bit bigger. Right now I am not so fast in the heavy winds. I really like sailing downwind, very equal to the Europe which is no surprise, but surfing is always fun.”

“Today I had a really nice start. The wind went left, but I managed to recover to third. But the racing is fun, no matter how it goes.”

On his future plans, “I am going to try and get a new boat and sail the Finn more. After this regatta I will sail the Europe worlds, and after that I will probably order a new boat and then we'll see. I haven't had that much time to train so far.”

On the change from Europe to Finn, “The knowledge is the same; usually I am one of the heavier sailors but now I am the lightest, so it is different because my sailing trim is a bit different as I now have to depower more. I have to do what I am telling the lighter sailors in the Europe to do.”

Strong winds are set to return on Tuesday with lots of rain as well, so everyone is making the most of the sunny evening. In a change to the schedule, there are three races planned, starting at the slightly earlier time of 11.00. The Finn Silver Cup consists of a series of 11 races up until Friday 11 July.

Event website: wsvhoorn.nl

Extensive photo gallery at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/

Results after three races:

1 RUS 6 Arkadiy Kistanov 10
2 CRO 52 Nenad Bugarin 16
3 DEN 5 Jacob Stachelhaus 24
4 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 25
5 GBR 29 Peter McCoy 29
6 POL 16 Mikolaj Lahn 33
7 POL 111 Jakub Marciniak 33
8 GER 595 Simon Gorgels 35
9 NED 972 Tobias Kirschbaum 36
10 CAN 2 Kyle Martin 37

Full results at: www.wsvhoorn.nl

Other news

Day 1 press release: http://www.finnclass.org/news/157-major-championships-2014/658-anders-pedersen-leads-finn-silver-cup

The Day 1 video including interviews with Anders Pedersen and Arkadiy Kistanov can be found here: www.youtu.be/EqipXvmmUm0  

An extensive gallery of photos can be found at at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos

and also on the Finn Class Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633

You can follow the daily live feed at: twitter.com/Finn_Class

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Media alert: Photos and video of Day 1 at the Finn Silver Cup

The Day 1 video including interviews with Anders Pedersen and Arkadiy Kistanov can be found here: youtu.be/EqipXvmmUm0

An extensive gallery of 110 photos can be found at at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos

and also on the Finn Class Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Finn-Class/110408332633

You can follow the daily live feed at: twitter.com/Finn_Class

Event website: http://wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=38

Full results at: http://wsvhoorn.nl/?page_id=9

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Anders Pedersen leads Finn Silver Cup after great first day in Hoorn

Anders Pedersen (NOR) had a nearly perfect start to the 2014 Finn Silver Cup (the Junior World Championship) in Hoorn, Netherlands on Sunday. He leads overall after a win and second place from the 2011 champion Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) and Nenad Bugarin (CRO). The second race was won by Mikolaj Lahn (POL).

The forecast was for strong winds for most of the day. After launching in 18 to 20 knots the 32 young Finn sailors found a steep, short chop on the race course, but during the day a few rain clouds passed down the course and the wind decreased by the hour to 8-10 knots by the end of race 2.

For the first race the race officer set Course 2, with an upwind downwind loop followed by two long reaches to the finish. After one general recall, the fleet got away cleanly with Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) getting the best of the first upwind to round ahead of Anders Pedersen (NOR) and local favourite Tobias Kirschbaum (NED). Kistanov and Pedersen sailed away into a comfortable lead and the Russian extended on the second upwind. However on the reaches he perhaps sailed too low early on and allowed Pedersen to close the gap and they rounded the wing mark side by side. Pedersen clearly enjoyed the second race as made his move to sail over Kistanov and then extended to win. Kistanov crossed in second. The battle for third was finally won by Jakub Marciniak (POL)

Race 2 was started very promptly in slightly less wind, with Course 1, a double windward-leeward loop. Marciniak continued his good form and was the early leader rounding ahead from Pedersen. They separated at the gate which allowed Pedersen to be further inside the Pole as a major shift changed the landscape on the second upwind. Marciniak tacked back early to get to the left and he dropped through the fleet, eventually finishing 12th. Pedersen hung onto the middle and stayed in second, but the lead went to Mikolaj Lahn (POL), while lots of others made big gains out of the left. Pedersen almost caught Lahn on the final downwind as the breeze faded to 8-10 knots. However it was Lahn who just crossed ahead with Fabian Pic (FRA) gaining 12 or more places on the second upwind to cross in third.

Pedersen explained his day, “Today the strategy was just to find a good angle, get the shift, go for it and keep in the pressure. In the first race I was in second all the race behind RUS 6 and managed to get past him on the last reach.”

“In the second race, I was second at the gate. The lead was shifting a bit, but I managed to keep in second. I was in the middle trying to save the lead, and I was struggling to get back to the left because I had a good angle and no pressure, but finally the wind came back a little and I managed to round in second. The wind just dropped and went left, so the guys who banged the corner gained a lot.”

“The conditions were quite rough. The waves were really big and tight, so it was really hard to get the boat going. And downwind it's rough pumping. But I am happy so far. Couldn't be better.”

Kistanov gained the most from the shift in the second race. “It was a nice day, with good conditions. The first race was good but I went a bit wrong on the second downwind where I went a bit more down than was needed so I lost my first position just before the finish.”

“In the second race I started badly but I had a really good second upwind. It was easy to understand. I saw before the downwind mark that there was more waves on the left, with a good shift up to the mark. I think I gained about 15 places. It was nice.”

On the venue, “I really like Hoorn. For me it's the best place for sailing. It's very physical with a lot of shifts and I really like that.”

While a front is passing through Sunday tonight, Monday is forecast to be a much calmer and dryer day with 6-10 knots of wind. Two more races are scheduled from 12.00. The Finn Silver Cup consists of a series of 11 races up until Friday 11 July.

Event website: wsvhoorn.nl

Extensive photo gallery at: www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos

Results after two races:

1 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 3
2 RUS 6 Arkadiy Kistanov 6
3 CRO 52 Nenad Bugarin 9
4 GER 595 Simon Gorgels 14
5 POL 111 Jakub Marciniak 15
6 POL 16 Mikolaj Lahn 16
7 DEN 5 Jacob Stachelhaus 16
8 CAN 110 Martin Robitaille 20
9 DEN 31 Stig Steinfurth 20
10 FRA 177 Pic Fabian 22

Full results at: wsvhoorn.nl

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Finn Junior Worlds begins in Hoorn on Sunday

The 16th Junior Finn World Championship - for the Jorge Bruder Silver Cup - opens in Hoorn, The Netherlands this weekend. To date there are 35 registered sailors from 17 nations and four continents entered, including two former champions and a large group of newcomers sailing their first Finn Silver Cup.

The host club WSV Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, an area of water separated from the IJsselmeer by the Houtribdijk, a dam built across the former Zuiderzee. The Markermeer is shallower than the IJsselmeer and it was originally intended to be transformed into a polder, but work was stopped in the 1970s due to financial concerns and it soon became an important ecological and recreational inland lake. Hoorn is situated on the southern side of the peninsula from Medemblik. One of Hoorn's most famous sons was Willem Schouten, who in 1616, discovered Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica and named the southernmost tip of South America, Cape Horn, after his home town.

The Finn Silver Cup may not be the Cape Horn of sailing, but it is still a significant challenge and the list of winners below illustrates its important role in the class since 1999, with two sailors going on to win the Finn World Championship and numerous others later representing their countries at the Olympic Games. Only two sailors have won the title twice, Chris Brittle (GBR) and Jorge Zarif (BRA), the current champion.

The Finn Junior World Championship began in 1999 in response to the growing number of younger sailors in the class demanding their own championship. For many years it was just part of the Finn Gold Cup. Then in 2004 it became the Finn Silver Cup; it was held that year as part of the Finn Gold Cup in Rio, and the Brazilian Olympic Association donated the 'Jorg Bruder Silver Cup' to the class in memory of the Brazilian sailor who had died in an airplane crash in 1973. Since then the event has taken on new stature and has attracted up to 50 entries in the following years.

In 2007, the event started to be held as an independent championship, separate from the Finn Gold Cup. That year it was held in Moscow with 51 sailors, and, apart from on a few occasions, has been held separately from the Finn Gold Cup ever since. Last year's winner Zarif decided not to defend this year, but there are two former champions present. Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) won in 2011, the second time it was held in Moscow, while Martin Robitaille (CAN) took the title two years ago in Maubuisson, France.

This could be the most hard fought for Silver Cup so far with a large group of favourites hoping to win the cup in their last year as a junior. Peter McCoy (GBR) finished fourth last year, but then won the 2013 Junior European Championship a few weeks later. Anders Pedersen (NOR) is Norway's top Finn sailor and picked up the bronze in last year's Junior Europeans. Philip Kasueske (GER) is one of the ever improving German team and won the Delta Lloyd Regatta a few weeks back in Medemblik.

If recent form is any judge, at the European Championship in La Rochelle earlier this year, Pedersen, McCoy and Kasueske finished one after the other in the overall standings, while Jakub Marcinak (RUS) and Kistanov were also in the top 50 overall. Other names to watch could include Dimitar Vangelov (BUL), Ondrej Teply (CZE), Fabian Pic (FRA) and Lars Johan Brodtkorb (NOR).

Tobias Kirschbaum (NED), from the host club, has trained a lot and improved since his 14th place last year, and has local knowledge on his side. Also, Robitaille has turned up with two other young Canadians with whom he has been training with. There is a lot of untested talent taking part so it will be quite interesting to see who rises to the top.

As part of their preparations, 10 sailors took part in a clinic organised by the Finn class over the past four days to ensure all the young sailors have the best chance in the coming week and learn a lot from taking part. It attracted sailors from Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Italy, Canada, Norway and Bulgaria. Over the four days, they worked on tactics, boat set up and speed. A morning briefing each day was followed by an on the water session, with starts and racing, and then a debrief. The Finn Silver Cup clinic has become a regular feature in recent years to transfer knowledge to these emerging young sailors.

Measurement and registration are already under way with the opening ceremony on Friday evening. Eleven races are scheduled from Sunday 6 July, through to Friday 11 July. A practice is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Event website: wsvhoorn.nl