Filipe Silva, from Portugal, has extended his lead at the 2023 Finn World Masters at Nea Iraklitsa, Kavala, Greece, after two races were sailed on Thursday. Laurent Hay, from France is back up to second with Peter Mosny from Slovakia in third. Race wins went to Hay and Peter Peet from The Netherlands.
 
It’s taken long enough but finally the Gulf of Kavala delivered on the Day 4 of the championship with the promised conditions. Two races were sailed in 9-10 knots of sea breeze, clear blue skies and soaring temperatures. It was a long day on the water but a Finntastic day to be sailing.

More importantly, four races have now been sailed and after forecasts predicted a very challenging week for wind, there was a collective sigh of relief to get in a valid series.

For the first time the day started with clear blue skies with a stable sea breeze expected in the afternoon.  With the first start scheduled at 12.00 the fleet left the beach at 10.30, but the wind took a while to become established but the race committee under the direction of Stuart Childerley got the first start away within minutes of the breeze arriving.
 
Hay built a substantial lead in Race 3, only for the race to end in an abandonment on the second beat after a gate mark mishap. In the resailed race, the right paid again, with Germany’s Udo Murek leading at the top from Silva and Peet. Hay rounded fourth but had the lead by the gate and maintained that to the finish to win from Silva and Peet.

Race 4 was started quite promptly and Peet was first round with a comfortable lead. This time he extended away to take the win with Spain’s David Terol second and Hay third.

With a discard only coming into play after five races a lot can still change if just one more race is sailed, with a number of boats counting high scores or letter scores. Silva has yet to make a mistake, but Hay is sailing extremely well, and others are poised to pounce. The scorelines of the top 10 are a graphic illustration of the conditions with only Silva maintaining single digit scores.
 
There is all to play for on Friday, the final day of the championship. Two races are scheduled, though with a 15.00 cut off and the wind only appearing today at 14.40, most are only expecting one race to be sailed.

Results after four races:
1 POR 21 Filipe SILVA 13
2 FRA 75 Laurent HAŸ 31
3 SVK 1 Peter MOSNY 49
4 HUN 7 Székely ANTAL 50
5 NED 148 Peter PEET 62
6 HUN 30 Kantor ZSIGMOND 77
7 AUS 98 Lucas PRESCOTT 82
8 CZE 43 Ladislav HYRS 86
9 HUN 50 Akos LUKATS 93
10 GBR 18 Nick CRAIG 94

Full results here: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/FWM2023#!/results?classId=FWM23

Full gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/albums/72177720308742442

No more races were possible on Day 3 of the 2023 Finn World Masters at Nea Iraklitsa, Kavala, Greece, after the wind played games all day. 

The third day of the event opened with cloud cover and light breeze, with promises of a clearing skies and better wind conditions in the afternoon. After a long postponement ashore and the fleet was released only to be turned around as the wind died again. 

The boats were released again at 14.30 and the breeze built to 12 knots under sunny skies just before the start. However, a huge cloud bank was developing behind the course and gradually started to cover it. After two general recalls and 21 boats out under black flag including several top runners, the wind started to shift and drop.

The boats made it to the top mark with Ladislav Hyrs from Czech Republic leading from Till Klammer from Switzerland and championshiop leader, Filipe Silva. However, by then the wind was down to 3-4 knots and the race was soon abandoned and the fleet sent home on glassy seas.

So, after three days, just two races have been sailed. Four are needed for a championship with two days left the sail. 

In the morning the Annual Masters Meeting took place with two key proposals approved. The traditional dates for the Finn World Masters have always been the Whitsun week, but to try to be more flexible to secure more preferable dates, and to provide certainty for other event organisers, the decision was taken that from now on, the dates of the Finn World Masters will be in the month of June.

The other momentous, and almost unanimous decision was to award the 2026 Finn World Masters to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Australia. This will be the first time the event has been in Australia, or even in the southern hemisphere. This follows the decision by the IFA AGM two weeks ago to hold the 2026 Finn Gold Cup at the same club. So, in 2026 Finn sailors can look forward to three weeks of first class Finn competition in Australia, as it will also be combined with the Australian Nationals.

In the evening, the Finn Masters Annual dinner was held at Camping Paradiso next door to the boat park.

Racing continues Thursday, and is scheduled to conclude on Friday.

Results after two races:
1 POR 21 Filipe SILVA 5
2 ESP 7 David TEROL 8
3 ITA 2 Marco BUGLIELLI20
4 HUN 7 Székely ANTAL 21
5 CZE 2 Zdeněk GEBHART 25
6 FRA 75 Laurent HAŸ 26
7 SUI 7 Christoph BURGER 26
8 CZE 43 Ladislav HYRS 33
9 SVK 1 Peter MOSNY 36
10 AUS 75 Phil CHADWICK 40

Full results here: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/FWM2023#!/results?classId=FWM23

Full gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/albums/72177720308724668

Filipe Silva, from Portugal, has taken the lead at the 2023 Finn World Masters at Nea Iraklitsa, Kavala, Greece after one more race was sailed on Tuesday. Winner of the only race on Tuesday, David Terol from Spain, moves up to second with Italy’s Marco Buglielli up to third.

A windless and cloudy morning led to a 75-minute postponement ashore, but the fleet was sent out in a building breeze and clearing skies. However, by the time the fleet reached the course area it was already starting to die. After an hour of waiting there was nothing left but a glassy sea and increasing temperatures, so the fleet was towed back to the beach to wait.

By 15.00 there were signs a new breeze was developing and the sailors waited until 15.20 when AP ashore was removed again.

Race 2 got underway after one general recall in 7-8 knots, with a lot of new faces at the front following a right-hand shift halfway up the first beat. First round the top was Zlatko Atanasov, from Bulgaria, from Australia’s Lucas Prescott and Marald van Reijse from The Netherlands.

Terol rounded next and was up to third at the next windward mark to take the lead on the final downwind to lead into the finish by just a few boatlengths from Boguslaw Nowakowski, from Poland with Atanasov third.

A second race was attempted by the wind was dropping and becoming unstable so was abandoned soon after the start and the fleet sent back to the beach.

Two races are now scheduled for Wednesday at 13.00 after the Annual Masters Meeting in the morning.

Racing is scheduled to continue until Friday.

Results after two races:
1 POR 21 Filipe SILVA 5
2 ESP 7 David TEROL 8
3 ITA 2 Marco BUGLIELLI20
4 HUN 7 Székely ANTAL 21
5 CZE 2 Zdeněk GEBHART 25
6 FRA 75 Laurent HAŸ 26
7 SUI 7 Christoph BURGER 26
8 CZE 43 Ladislav HYRS 33
9 SVK 1 Peter MOSNY 36
10 AUS 75 Phil CHADWICK 40

Full results here: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/FWM2023#!/results?classId=FWM23

Full gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/albums/72177720308682411

Video: https://youtu.be/mm1mchySk3M

The 2023 Finn World Masters was finally opened Monday evening on the idyllic beach at Nea Itaklitsa, near Kavala, in Greece and against the backdrop of the beautiful Gulf of Kavala.

Earlier in the day the opening race was held. The fleet was held ashore until just after midday and while there was a good breeze on shore, it was still building on the race area. There has been very little raceable wind for the past few days, but against all the odds, a southerly filled in at a quite stable 5-7 knots and Race 1 got away first time.

The leaders came from the left with World No.1 Laurent Hay from France rounding ahead of Portugal’s Filipe Silva and Spain’s David Terol. Not much changed downwind but on the second beat, Britain’s Nick Craig moved up to third and was right behind Silva at the top. Hay then extended for a comfortable win from Silva and Craig. 

A second race was attempted but was abandoned halfway up the first beat and the fleet was towed home.

Opening Ceremony

After being cancelled Sunday evening because of a storm, the Opening Ceremony finally went ahead on Monday evening.

In 2015, the Finn World Masters was successfully hosted by the Nautical Club of Kavala. Eight years later, in 2023, this prestigious sailing event has returned to the region and is being hosted by the Kavala Sailing Club Paggeon Municipality. 

The event this year, and in 2015, has largely been the vision of one man, Vasilis Pigadas, a former winner of the Godet Trophy, which recognises exceptional contribution to the Finn Masters. He has been tireless in piecing the event together and has engaged with much of the local community to support the event.

Vasilis said to the assembled sailors,

“We are more than certain that this event will meet the expectations of all the participants. We do make every effort to achieve this goal and …let's hope the weather does the same.

“I am very happy to see old friends and new ones from all over the world. You are all living proof that the love of the sea and sailing acts as a strong cohesive bond between people. Most of the participants have known each other for a long time and they have built lifelong relationships. The sailors of Finn World Masters have an intense sense of belonging to a community that is also open to anyone who loves the sea and sailing.

“In addition, the sailors of Finn World Masters break age stereotypes about sports. Sailing is a sport without age limits. Everyone can be an active member of the sailing community even if they start sailing .... a bit late. And this is the most valuable message to all: sailing is the most inclusive sport, and everyone can enjoy sailing and share a liberating and unforgettable experience.

“That's why it is very important for us to organize this event. We see it as an open call to the local community to take up sailing. And we are deeply grateful to our sponsors from the public and private sector.”

He thanked the many sponsors as well as the Regional Unit of Kavala, the Deputy Governor, Mr Alexis Politis, the Municipality of Pangaio, the Mayor of Pangaio, Mr Anastasiadis Filippos, the Deputy Mayor of the Free Municipal Unit, Mr Christos Prionidis, the President of the Municipal Council, Mr Christos Bosbotis and the Kavala Chamber of Commerce and its president Marco Demba.

In his response, Finn Masters President, Andy Denison, said, 

“The Masters brings together seasoned sailors, each one of you a testament to the dedication, perseverance, and unwavering love for the sport and for the Finn.

“The World Masters gives you the opportunity catch up with old friends and the opportunity to forge new friendships, exchange stories and create memories to last forever.

“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the sailing club of Kavala, Vasilis, Stavros, the council and municipal for hosting this event and for again extending to us such a warm welcome.” 

Before the opening ceremony proceeded Vasilis was called to the stage to take hold of the Godet Trophy, which he had been awarded with after the last event here but had never held. He was asked to present the trophy to this year’s winner, someone who has been supporting the Finn World Masters since 2005 and has put in a huge amount of largely unrecognised work each year. As an International Judge, Chris Watts has been a fixture of the event for nearly 20 years as well as Chairman of the Jury during most of these years and has made an outstanding contribution to the event. 

After that Andy Denison, invited a representative of The Netherlands to present to Finn World Masters cup to the club for safekeeping during the week. Peter Vollebregt, who won it in 1993, kindly presented the trophy on behalf of the previous winner Pieter-Jan Postma.

The championship was then officially opened with the handing over of the Finn Masters flag, which was hoisted on the event flagpole.

The sailors then enjoyed a buffet and drinks at the Barbarella Bar on the beach.

Racing is scheduled to continue until Friday.

Results after one race:
1 FRA 75 Laurent HAŸ 1
2 POR 21 Filipe SILVA 2
3 GBR 18 Nick CRAIG  3
4 ITA 202 Giacomo GIOVANELLI  4
5 GER 193 Thomas SCHMID 5
6 ITA 2 Marco BUGLIELLI  6
7 ESP 7 David TEROL  7
8 GBR 635 Simon PERCIVAL 8
9 NED 148 Peter PEET 9
10 CZE 2 Zdeněk GEBHART 10

Full results here: https://www.manage2sail.com/en-US/event/FWM2023#!/results?classId=FWM23

Full gallery here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/albums/72177720308655640