No racing was possible on the fourth day at the Finn Silver Cup in Hoorn, The Netherlands, as strong winds caused the abandonment of all racing in very unseasonal ‘summer weather!’.

The fleet was sent out on time for the scheduled start at 12.00 on July 11, 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, Anders Pedersen (NOR) and Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) had engaged in a battle of wits on the third day of the event (9th July) to slug it out for the overall lead. Kistanov narrowly missed out on all three race wins but the final score was one win for Pederden and two for Kistanov.

This left Pedersen leading Kistanov by two points with Nenad Bugarin (CRO) 23 points back in third. The race team did a great job running three races in quick succession as a procession of looming, grey clouds and ‘liquid sunshine’ kept everyone eager to keep the pace up. The three tough races brought the regatta back on schedule after one was lost on Monday.

Starting with 15-16 knots the offshore wind produced a range of conditions across the course making the racing very tactical and challenging for the 32 young Finn sailors from 17 nations. Race 4 got away first time with Anders Pedersen (NOR) leading round the top mark from Kyle Martin (CAN) and and Fabian Pic (FRA).

Pedersen extended downwind, but then on the second upwind, Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) took a route further to the left and came back on a strong shift to round just ahead of Pedersen.

However he forgot which course he was sailing and headed off down the reach. He only realised his mistake after Pedersen rounded and headed down the run. By then he had lost his lead and Pedersen sneaked through to win from Kistanov and Martin Robitaille (CAN).

Final results (Top 5):

1st – Anders Pedersen (Norway)

2nd – Arkadiv Kistanov (Russia)

3rd – Nenad Bugarin (Croatia)

4th – Mikolaj Lahn (Poland)

5th – Jacob Stachelhaus (Denmark)