The Finn Gold Cup was presented to the International Finn Association by the late F. G. Mitchell of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club, Great Britain, in 1956 and became the World Championship Trophy for the Finn Class. The late Joerg Bruder of Brazil won the cup three times. In 1973 while en route to defend his title in France, he was killed in an airplane accident and the original cup, which was in his custody at the time, was lost. Somms Marine of France presented a replica of the original cup to the Finn Class in 1975 which is used today to represent the highest honor in single-handed racing.
The Gold Cup is the most important part of the history of the Finn Class. The foundation of the IFA August 23, 1956 in Loosdrecht Holland was strongly influenced by the first Gold Cup March/April 1956 in Burnham-on-Crouch in England. From there on the Annual General Meeting of the IFA was generally at the time and place of the Gold Cup. Therefore the sportive and administrative climax of each year coincided at the Gold Cups.
The Gold Cup has been hosted in North America 7 times over the last 65 years, in 1971 (Toronto, CAN), 1974 (Long Beach, USA), 1978 (Manzanillo, MEX), 1983 (Milwaukee, USA), 1991 (Kingston, CAN), 2001 (Marblehead, USA), and 2010 (San Francisco, USA). After long eleven years, the Gold Cup is finally scheduled to be back in North America and the United States.
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club (CGSC) won the bid to host the 2023 Gold Cup under the steady leadership of the Vice Commodore, Dave Martin, and the restless Finn class enthusiast, Fabiano Vivacqua. Both have resurrected the Finn class sailing in Florida, established a long-forgotten Florida Championship Series, attracted sailors from different classes to start sailing Finns.
Their efforts are pivotal in further developing the class in North America and creating a steady winter base for the Finn sailors from U.S. and Canada.
