Sailing: Murdoch pipped for Finn cup podium

Andrew Murdoch just missed out.

Northland's Andrew Murdoch has sailed one place shy of the 2015 Finn Gold Cup podium.

Settling for fourth, the 33-year-old was gutted to miss out on a medal after finishing the regatta on equal points to Slovenia's Vasilij Zbogar.

"I'm pretty gutted. Tied third on points but on countback he beat me in that last race and he gets the third. Not what I set out to do today. I'm bloody disappointed," Murdoch said.

Placing 9th in the medal race, which got underway in an eight-to-ten knot northerly breeze, Murdoch was outdone by Zbogar who finished sixth to deny the Kiwi his moment on the podium in front of a home crowd.

Despite the outcome, Murdoch said the regatta wasn't all for nothing.

"But there has been some really good things come out of this week. I'll just have to take all of the learnings out of this medal race."

"I felt a little bit sticky upwind, a little bit slow at times. In saying that it was quite patchy and quite light so it's hard to know if it was speed or where you are on the race course.

"It was a really difficult one, it wasn't straight forward. ."

Not intent at losing sight of a Finn Gold Class podium finish in the future, Murdoch said.

"I've just got to keep pushing hard from here".

"It's good to post a good result at this stage of the cycle.

"There is still plenty of time for me to make some improvements and cut down that gap that Giles [Scott] has got on us all at the moment. He's sailed really well this regatta."

Giles Scott was awarded the gold medal and closed the regatta 45 points ahead of Jonathan Lobert of France, who won silver.

Murdoch is a two-time Olympian in the Laser class having represented New Zealand at Qingdao China 2008, and at London 2012 - placing 5th both times.

Additionally, he has been on the podium at the Laser World Championships four times with a silver medal in 2007, and bronze in 2005, 2010 and 2011.

Murdoch switched classes in 2013, and at last year's Finn Gold Cup (decided at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain) he placed 6th.

Murdoch grew up sailing in Northland, and now represents the Tauranga Yacht & Powerboat Club and the Kerikeri Cruising Club.