Two races at the Finn Gold Cup at Marblehead were sailed yesterday (28, September) in a good breeze with gusts up to 25 knots and big steep waves.

European champion, Emilios Papathanasiou regained the overall lead after scoring a third and a fourth place. Sebastien Godefroid of Belgium sailed well to keep him in second position overall after finishing ninth in the first race of the day and winning the second by a considerable margin. Current world champion Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland, finished second which puts him in third place after two second place finishes the previous day.

After an hour’s postponement waiting for the wind to settle, the race committee started race 5 in 15 knots of breeze. RYA Team GBR sailor, Andrew Simpson, who has a bit of a disappointing regatta so far, made a great start from the middle of the line and port tacked the fleet, he then hit the right corner up the first beat and rounded the top mark in front of Chris Cook of Canada. Simpson went on to win the race by a good margin. Second and third across the finishing line were Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Emilios Papathanasiou.

The second race was started in an increasing wind of 20 knots and gusting up to 25 knots at times. Sebastien Godefroid won the race by a good margin, in front of Mateusz Kusznierewicz of Poland and Ali Enver Adakan from Turkey.

Many sailors struggled in the gusts and capsized frequently. RYA Team GBR sailor David Mellor, who has been struggling in the lighter conditions, was lying second when the tip of his mast broke on the second beat, resulting in him having to retire from the race.

Chris Cook lost his mast on the reach while Xavier Rohart didn’t have a chance to start the second race of the day, with his mast snapping three minutes before the start. A total of 14 boats (25 per cent of the fleet) didn’t start or finish race 6.

Two more races will round off the Finn Gold Cup today. The battle for the podium will be fierce with four points separating the top three sailors. Two Brits will be fighting it out for the Junior World Championship competition, Charlie Cumbley and Chris Brittle are in first and second place, in fourth and sixth position. Third Junior is Sergey Kotov from Ukraine in 26th place.