After a brief wait ashore for the sea breeze to fill in, the 111-boat fleet launched just after midday into building thermal conditions, with winds rising to 12–15 knots. In a regatta already defined by oscillating breeze and big shifts, Wednesday offered a more consistent pattern—but the pressure was no less intense.
Race wins went to Peter Peet of the Netherlands and Italy’s Arkadii Kistanov, while Estonia’s Deniss Karpak moved into second place overall, displacing Kistanov, who now sits third.
For Lebrun, consistency remained key. While others climbed or dropped on the leaderboard, the French sailor played the comeback card effectively in Race 4, climbing from mid-fleet to finish second behind Kistanov.
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The opening race of the day, Race 3 of the championship, required several attempts to start as multiple sailors were caught early and disqualified under the black flag rule. Once underway, the left side of the first beat proved dominant, with Australia’s Paul McKenzie leading around the top mark ahead of Peet and Rob McMillan of Australia.
Peet made his move downwind, taking the lead and defending it to the finish. “Today we had a nice thermal breeze, which is what I think we’re expecting for the next days,” said Peet. “Naples is treating us nicely; we had a sea breeze with a lot of pressure.”
Britain’s Lawrence Crispin moved through to second, with Germany’s Fabian Lemmel in third.
Race 4 followed a similar tactical pattern. McMillan once again played the left and rounded in the lead, but Kistanov found more pressure on the first run and surged ahead, holding off challenges to take his second win of the regatta. Lebrun again made gains downwind to finish second, and McMillan held on for third.
“Today we had 5 knots in one part and full hiking in another area, plus quite big shifts, up to 40 degrees,” Karpak noted earlier in the week. “Imagine that. Very unstable, but we have to adjust ourselves and manage with what we have.” The Estonian's sixth and fifth on Wednesday were enough to move him into second overall.
While veterans continue to hold the top places, the regatta is also offering invaluable experience to the next generation of Finn sailors. Italy’s Federico Colaninno, in tenth place overall, leads the U29 category.
Germany’s Jonas Jung, a key figure in the class’s youth development programs, had a more difficult day after two top-ten finishes on Tuesday. Now in 28th, he still praised the venue and conditions.
“My day was not too bad and not too good either,” Jung said. “I built my expectations after having a very good day of racing yesterday, but then again conditions today were extremely different… The championship is perfectly organised and obviously the scenery is insane; sailing under Mount Vesuvius is so iconic.”
Michal Gonciarz, a 20-year-old from Poland competing in only his third Finn regatta, scored a top-20 finish in Race 4 after a penalty hampered his earlier effort.
“My day was pretty tough,” he admitted. “I got a yellow flag after the first start, and that made me lose a lot of positions, but fortunately, the second race was much better for me, scoring a top 20 result, so I’m pretty happy also because this is my first big Finn class regatta.”
“I am just enjoying the time and the opportunity to sail against so many great sailors. I really like the class so far… Hopefully conditions will get lighter as I’m a light Finn sailor myself.”
Top 10 After Four Races:
- Valérian Lebrun (FRA) – 12 pts
- Deniss Karpak (EST) – 21 pts
- Arkadii Kistanov (ITA) – 31 pts
- Rob McMillan (AUS) – 33 pts
- Laurent Hay (FRA) – 34 pts
- Lawrence Crispin (GBR) – 36 pts
- Alessandro Marega (ITA) – 41 pts
- Kristóf Kaiser (HUN) – 51 pts
- Fabian Lemmel (GER) – 52 pts
- Federico Colaninno (ITA) – 52 pts
