News Around the World
Inset: Luca Devoti in Takapuna with one of his new Fantastica Finns, designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian (see Issue 421). Fantasticas are locked in a head-to-head battle for supremacy with the latest Petticrows Finn, built by Devoti’s old build-partner Tim Tavinor and based very closely upon Ben Ainslie’s famous 2003 Devoti Rita, which Petticrows took out of the UK Maritime Museum to be digitally scanned. Andrew Murdoch (NZL) finished fourth in the Gold Cup (above) on a Fantastica – note the pared-away gunwale at the stem
19d 23h, an average of 8.4kt over a wide range of conditions. Another record was set this year in the Series division, class runner-up Julien Pulvé on his Bertrand-designed Ofcet650 Novintiss managing 278.7nm at an astonishing average speed of 11.6kt. The first Proto into the Canaries had been Davy Beaudart on his David Raison scow design, who came in nine hours in front! Sadly Beaudart retired early on leg 2.
‘Davy was the biggest “fish” in this Mini Transat,’ said overall winner Frédéric Denis in Guadeloupe. ‘But curiously his retirement motivated me to sail even faster. Before that I think I had sort of unplugged my brain – I was certainly taking it too easy.’ In conclusion the winner of the Mini Transat, who used to be the boat captain for Sodebo, declared: ‘By the end I had pushed myself to the limit. These boats are part animal: inside you live in 2m2, and the wind and sea shake you around in all sorts of ways you never expect, mentally as well as physically. It is easy to become a little miserable in your wet little cave…’ Patrice Carpentier
NEW ZEALAND
Luca Devoti is known to wear his passions and his heart on his sleeve. Right now he is muttering under his breath, his face clouded with anger, as he stalks up Auckland’s Takapuna Beach on the penultimate day of the 2015 Finn Gold Cup. A couple of sailors have been engaging in some team racing to the disadvantage of one of the competitors he is coaching.
‘Bastards,’ he murmurs. Then he brightens and gives a philo- sophical shrug. ‘I guess you get one or two in every regatta.’ Before long his anger is forgotten as he embarks on his more customary role as an evangelist for the class he loves with unbridled passion. Englishman Giles Scott has done enough to secure his third Gold Cup title with a day to spare and Devoti is singing his praises as the Usain Bolt of Finn sailing.
‘Takapuna has been great,’ Scott commented. ‘We’ve had a 16 SEAHORSE
brilliant mix of conditions. Light days, strong days, shifty and steady, it has been a real mix and to be successful here you’ve had to be able to master all those conditions.’
By the admission of even his closest rivals, Scott was in a league of his own in any condition. His scorecard in a fleet of 76 was a model of consistency. Discarding a 15th, he only had one win, but everything else was in the top eight and most of it in the top five – apart from the medal race where, with the title in the bag, he cruised around the course and crossed the line in 16th. Devoti is a big personality and expresses himself accordingly with large, sweeping statements, painting pictures with vivid colours and broad brush strokes. The Usain Bolt comparison might seem exaggerated, but he backs it up. ‘Giles is taller than everybody else. He is leaner. He is stronger. He has a very good feeling for the boat, the windshifts and trim. He is an excellent all-round competitor. Giles is the absolute epitome of an Olympic sailor and I have great respect for him.’
Presumably all those years of being understudy to Sir Ben Ainslie have rubbed off on Scott. ‘I had my issues with Ben, but he is extra- ordinary,’ Devoti nods. ‘He is not even really the right size and shape for a Finn. But his determination, his motivation and his anger all converted into performance under pressure. He is very special. ‘It must have been a tough road to race against Ben and train with him. When you examine the history of sports one country rises to the top and then another comes along to replace it. Look at the English sailors of Ben’s generation: Iain Percy, Bart Simpson, Giles Scott and others. They just drive the bar up higher and higher. They are the example others have to follow, but it takes years.’ Apart from his own passion for the class, Devoti, of course has a vested interest. His company has built more than 2,000 Finns. Sir Ben’s extraordinary record of three Finn gold medals were all won using the same 2003 Devoti boat. The company’s new model, launched last November, was very much to the fore in Takapuna – with Giles Scott one of 30 using it.
CHRIS CAMERON
IVOR WILKINS
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