On the first day of the finals series for
Finns at the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía MAPFRE in Palma de Mallorca
Giles Scott (GBR) took two wins and a second to move into an six point
lead from the only other race winner Pieter-Jan Postma (NED). Andrew
Mills
(GBR) continues his good form to hold onto third place. The Finns had a short postponement out on the water, waiting for the wind to settle in direction, before had three
races with free pumping with the wind starting out with 12 knots and building during the day to peak with gusts of 18 knots.
The fleet was split into silver and gold flights. Scott had the best of the day to discard his second place to end with
zero points. Postma sailed his best day so far with a 3,1 3 while third placed Mills scored 2, 10, 4.
Just six point separate fourth to eighth, the Mark Andrews (GBR) posting another good day and the two Kiwi sailors Josh
Junior (NZL) and Andrew Murdoch (NZL) performing very well as newcomers to the class. They currently lie in seventh and eighth.
Scott admits to finding the switch back
from a 72 foot America’s Cup multihull to the Finn a refreshing change,
and is pleased not to have lost too much of his form. “The biggest thing
that’s surprised me is that I’m still able to hike. I seem
to be going alright but there’s a few bits of rust here and there that
I’ve noticed – I suppose you can expect that after not having
done much [Finn] sailing at all.”
“Today was typical Palma with a left trend in the breeze and, unlike other days, I was able to get off the start line which helped me a little bit”
“Today was typical Palma with a left trend in the breeze and, unlike other days, I was able to get off the start line which helped me a little bit”
Postma said, “It's been great racing here
in Palma. We have a strong fleet and perfect conditions. The Brits are
sailing fast, and are on top. For me it's taking a lot of rust off the
racing. I have been training a bit in the spring, but by myself, so
speed is
good, but I have lost having my head inside in my boat. Today was
different I could get the boat going and could battle for the front.”
On the new scoring format he commented,
“The format is remarkable. It's good that we test some this year to make
the right and convinced call on the ISAF conference in November. For
this format I hear that everybody including me is convinced, this one
ain't
it.”
“Sailing is a sport with a lot of components and variables, so for me
it's not like, for example, swimming where only last race counts. For
me it's like the cycling, Tour de France, it's best over a period of
time. Also we need to educate the journalists and explain how sailing is
working
instead of putting to much emphasis on a last day, mostly because we
depend on the weather.
Piotr Kula (POL) is having a great
regatta, currently lying in ninth overall. “We had tough day today.
Strong
wind, quite big waves and all this in three demanding races. I believe
everybody is exhausted after that.” The format, “..is pretty
different from what we got used to. If you"ll check the results, you"ll
find that some guys already have discards on score, they had after
qualifying
series. Which practically means, their three days racing result is now
discarded. Pretty strange, but interesting at the same time. The double
medal
race should be intriguing as well. We will see if that's going to be the
standard in the future.”
Fourth placed Andrews said, “It was a
tough and important day today with the regatta being reset but it was
all
to play for. The forecast was for the wind to shift left all day so it
was important to get a good start and hold your lane to the left. There
was the
odd shift here and there but the leaders all came from the left.
“Giles and PJ showed good pace all day and the results show it. New Kiwi sailor Andrew Murdoch sailed really well
in the first two races in the day great starts and some good pace down wind.
“To tell you the truth I am a bit broken. I think it's time to get back in the gym. Today went as a
bit of a blur, all hiking to hold your lane and pumping like crazy to make the gains down wind.”
“The forecast tomorrow is light, shifty and rainy so another important day with the points being so
close.”
Bjorn Allanson (SWE) is in 12th overall.
“It was a bit like the regatta restarted today, but with only 36 boats
on the starting line. Racing was close and a mistake could cost you
plenty. There was no time and no space to relax, together with some hard
downwinds
resulted in a sailing day when it is at its best. I think the new
scoring system made everybody push extra hard today, as everything was
still open
which was great.”
“Today I managed to get three good
starts, finally, making my day a lot easier for myself. I rounded the
first
mark in the top ten all three races. I feel I have a lot of effort that I
need to put in to the boat over the coming months, But overall I'm
happy
with my day and it feels like I am learning and improving every day out
on the water.”
The finals series concludes on Friday before Saturday's medal racing.
Results:
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