On the first morning of October, 19-year-old Melwin Fink was south of Spain’s Cape Finisterre when an alert came from organizers of the Mini Transat Euro Chef, warning competitors of incoming heavy weather and advising them to seek shelter. Most competitors followed the race committee’s advice and turned to ports along the Iberian coast, but Fink weighed his options and pressed on, racing the weather to get farther south before the storm arrived. As a result of his decision to stay at sea and tough out the conditions, the young German sailor went on to win the first leg and establish a commanding lead going into the race’s second leg from the Canary Islands to Guadeloupe. In doing so, Fink sailed himself out of obscurity and onto the podium of…
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Sailing World (Digital) - 1 Issue, Winter 2022