World Sailing Championships, SSL Gold Cup 2026, Part 4

The Finnish team’s journey to Rio, Days 1 and 2, races 1–4

Text: Tom Sundman

The Finnish team had been training for a few days on Lake Neuchâtel, in the village of Garson , Switzerland. It was announced during the presentation that the combined weight of the nine-strong Finnish team was 726 kg, with the maximum limit being 730 kg. The weights of the other teams were almost the same. The wind was 3–5 knots, i.e. light and variable in direction. It is likely to be a challenging competition, and taking risks may pay off. An interesting detail is that team captain Oskari got married on 27 June and has changed his surname to Seeslin. My guess is that his bride is from Estonia and that he has taken her surname. Congratulations!

You can follow the races live at https://www.worldofsailors.com/media/album/european-qualifiers-2-ssl-gold-cup-2026 or https://w.facebook.com/SSLGoldCup

The first start seemed to be going well for the Finns, who managed to get ahead of the Ukrainian judges’ boat, but the Greeks cut in front of the Finns. Both teams got off to a good start, but Finland was forced to tack left – that is, to starboard – which took them closer to the shore. Greece probably considered Finland to be the greater threat and tacked in response. Ukraine continued on a left-hand tack and, halfway through the race, was already in the lead. Finland had to tack away a couple of times to avoid the crosswinds caused by Greece as they tacked ahead. Ukraine built up a significant lead at the top mark over both the Greeks (+14s) and the Finns (+41s).

With a tailwind, Mikaela Wulff handled the gennaker hoists flawlessly and Finland drew level with Greece. Ukraine had built up a comfortable lead and looked set to win. On the second downwind leg, Finland overtook Greece and managed to keep the Greeks behind them, whilst trailing the Ukrainians by +33s and with the Greeks +9s behind Finland. On the second downwind leg, the situation remained unchanged, although Ukraine’s lead narrowed. Ukraine scored 3 points, Finland 2 points and Greece 1 point.

There was more action in the second race. The wind had probably shifted to the left before the start, at which point both Greece and Finland attempted to get away on a port tack ahead of Ukraine. Only the Greeks succeeded in this, whilst Finland was forced to give way to Ukraine from astern. Finland continued to the right, even though the right-hand side had offered no advantage in the first start. Greece turned left behind Ukraine, which had previously been the favoured side. Finland, however, took the lead, probably due to a favourable shift in the wind. Greece and Ukraine were forced into a battle for position as the Greeks blocked the Ukrainians. At the top mark, Finland held a comfortable lead of +23s ahead of Greece and +42s ahead of Ukraine.

On the downwind leg, Mikaela sailed well once again and Finland maintained its lead; helmsman Lucas Karlemo was able to execute a smooth turn as the lead grew to +30s over the Greeks and +60s over the Ukrainians. Martin Gahmberg kept a close eye on their opponents and discussed tactics for the second leg with Oskari.
The Greeks rounded the left-hand lower mark and continued to the right. Finland followed in a good position on the windward side. At the top mark, the lead had narrowed slightly to +22s (118m) over the Greeks and +43s (200m) over the Ukrainians. On the second downwind leg, Finland held its ground and won by a comfortable margin, finishing +19s ahead of Greece and +29s ahead of Ukraine.

Consequently, after two races, Finland leads with 5 points, Ukraine is second with 4 points and Greece has 3 points.
The first race didn’t go very well. It seemed as though the speed and choice of course weren’t quite right. The second race was almost perfect compared to the others, from an outside observer’s point of view. But as Osakari noted in an interview after the second race, the conditions were challenging in the light winds due to constant shifts in wind direction. We may have been lucky today, but there are still four races to go.

Day 2, Group F

The second day followed almost the same pattern as the previous day. The start largely determined which half of the course the teams chose. It should also be noted that the starting line for three boats is not very long, meaning that a boat cannot sail along the line if it is too early on the line; rather, ‘speed over distance’ is the decisive factor. After that, the position at the top mark depended largely on the boat’s speed. If either side offered an advantage, it was down to variations in the wind direction. Whether Mårten Gahmberg had a crystal ball with him is unknown.
The start had been postponed until the afternoon after a violent thunderstorm had swept across the area during the night, and Group G sailed two starts ahead of Group F.

Race 3 was almost a repeat of the first race. Ukraine led throughout the race, whilst the Finns battled with the Greeks for second and third place, with Finland finishing second.
In Race 4, both Ukraine and Finland sailed to the right, towards the shore, whilst the Greeks continued on starboard tack to the left as far as the ‘lay line’ and took a clear lead after a single tack. Finland was 36 seconds behind and Ukraine 52 seconds behind. It looked as though Greece would win by a clear margin. After the second mark, the situation was almost the same, although the lead had narrowed slightly to +20s over the Finns and +27s over the Ukrainians. However, whilst hoisting the gennaker, the Greeks managed to get it tangled, and before the problem was sorted out, Finland had already overtaken them. Their troubles were not yet over. In the next gybe, they managed to create another mess, and the Ukrainians overtook them. Encouraged by this, the Ukrainians tried once more to catch up with the Finns, but without success. As a result, Finland leads with 10 points, Ukraine is second with 9 points and Greece has 5 points. The team heading to Rio in November will be decided in the final two races on 16 July.