Deniss Karpak from Estonia is back in the lead at the 2025 Finn Gold Cup after three windy races were completed in Cascais, Portugal on Thursday. Italy’s Arkadii Kistanov is up to second with Valerian Lebrun from France in third. The race wins went to Oskari Muhonen from Finland and Karpak.
After a challenging opening two days at the Finn Gold Cup, hosted by Club Naval de Cascais from 3–6 September, the fleet caught up to full schedule today with three hard-fought races completed in demanding conditions.
Conditions were stronger than in the previous days, with the breeze shifting overnight to a more northerly flow. The fleet launched into 15–17 knots at the start of Race 1, with larger waves and a shifty breeze challenging the sailors.
In the opening race, defending champion Muhonen claimed the win, followed by Kistanov and Karpak. By the second race, the breeze had built to 18–20 knots, but Muhonen continued his strong form, taking his second victory of the day with exceptional downwind speed, with Karpak crossing in second and Kistanov in third.
Race three became a true test of endurance with winds averaging 20–22 knots and a steadily building sea state. Karpak seized the lead early and held it to the finish, while Muhonen fought back from a poor start to climb into second, with Jesse Kylänpää from Finland completing the top three.
Muhonen expressed satisfaction with his performance, noting a difficult start to the regatta but managing two wins earlier in the day. Karpak reflected on the tough racing conditions, stating, “It was a brutal tough day, three races strong wind, huge waves… It was a good day for me, 3-2-1. I’m happy with that.” He also mentioned that tomorrow’s forecast suggests similar strong winds, promising another big day in Cascais.
Due to a very light and unstable forecast for Saturday, three more races are scheduled for Friday, which is expected to continue the northerly direction with even stronger winds.
Results after 6 races:
1 EST 2 Deniss KARPAK 11
2 ITA 51 Arkadii KISTANOV 25
3 FRA 111 Valerian LEBRUN 34
4 ITA 1103 Alessandro MAREGA 36
5 FRA 75 Laurent HAY 38
6 POR 5 Frederico MELO 40
7 FIN 99 Jesse KYLÄNPÄÄ 41
8 NED 6 Martijn VAN MUYDEN 41
9 FIN 8 Oskari MUHONEN 42
10 NED 148 Peter PEET 49
Full results here: https://regatas.cncascais.com/en/default/races/race-resultsall/text/2025-finn-gold-cup-en/menuaction/race-inscriptions
Day 3 gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnclassphotos/albums/72177720328821132
Hashtags: #finnsailing #fgc #finngoldcup #finnclass #finn #sailing #worldsailingofficial
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