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History of the Finn Gold Cup 1956 to 1959

1. Gold Cup 1956

Burnham, England, March 29-April 2

45 entries from 12 countries

The first Gold Cup was sailed over Easter 1956 in Burnham-on-Crouch in Great Britain. It already attracted 45 entries from 12 countries. This first Gold Cup was won by the Belgian, Andre Nelis with 7343 points in accordance with the old Olympic scoring system, who was thus able to beat by 1491 points the great Paul Elvström who had 5852. Third was Brian Roswell from Great Britain with 4597 points. Nelis had won 2 races, Elvström 1, and another Englishman Bruce Banks 2 more. A sixth race was not counted, because the time limit had expired.

Final Results Gold Cup 1956

2. Gold Cup 1957

Karlstad, Sweden, July 3 -August 4

78 entries from 13 countries

The second event was organised on the huge lake Vänersee in western Sweden by the later president of the IFA Bengt Hornevall of the Karlstads Kanotförening. The sailing area with many little islands offered a beautiful unique setting but caused extremely shifty wind conditions. 13 nations had sent 78 participants, which was exceptionally high for the standards of the fifties. But to the surprise of the experts in yachting in those days the Finn Class exposed a high performance level, developing special skills at the starts. Since there was no limitation of participants in those days, every nation sent all its best sailors and the mood was exceptionally friendly. Not a single protest was lodged. The winner Jürgen Vogler was lucky, because Andre Nelis, winner in 1956, broke his mast step in the fourth race while leading. Harald Bredo Eriksen of Norway, later president of the IFA, scored two firsts and was leading the last race, when an unpredictable wind shift caused him to finish third and therefore second overall. In addition the second participant from the German Democratic Republic, Wegener, gave another 126 points to Jorgen Vogler as a gift, by waiting for his team mate at the finishing line. Defender Nelis was finally third. Bert Sarby, nephew of the designer Rickard Sarby finished 8th as the best Swedish sailor and the designer of the Finn finished 11th. The British performed surprisingly well on the reaches.

Final Results Gold Cup 1957

3. Gold Cup 1958

Zeebrugge, Belgium, May 1-4

84 entries from 15 countries

As all participants were invited for food and lodging, 94 entries from 15 countries reached the organiser. 84 boats finally started. The conditions were extremely tough. The harbour was covered by a thick layer of oil and tides of six meters created strong currents. A start at low tide resulted in a water depth of 50 cm. Winds varied from Beaufort 0 to 6. Once, in extremely light winds only 17 boats reached the finishing line within the time limit, while the rest drifted up to 4 kilometres away from the finishing line in the strong ebb stream. Even Andre Nelis, leading up to the last race overall, drifted away, finished 65th, and lost the Gold Cup. Paul Elvström, 11th after 3 races, won the last 3 races and thus the title. In the 4th race more than 40 boats capsized, most of them at the gybe mark. Many of them were unable to right their boat, had to abandon it, and found it back on the shore wrecked for good. Nevertheless the mood among the participants was excellent.

Final Results Gold Cup 1958

4. Gold Cup 1959

Hellerup, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 4-9

109 entries from 18 countries

Paul Elvström had taken the Gold Cup home to Denmark and organised the 1959 event in Hellerup. 119 boats from 18 countries entered, 109 started in the first race, and caused up to 8 General Recalls. Elvström won the practice race, races 1, 3, 4 (with 4 minutes over the next boat) and 6, and was second in race 5 arriving 10 seconds after Andre Nelis. Finally Paul had a lead of 2600 points over Nelis in second place. In race 6 for the first time in the history of the Gold Cup the strict 5 minute rule was in force. There was not a single premature starter, but after only 12 seconds the entire fleet was across the line, proving the extremely high standard of Finn sailing only 10 years after the design of the boat. The final results reflect the division of the Class into one superhuman and a bunch of tough but ordinary sailors. Nevertheless Paul was angry, that he had not won all the individual races but only four of them.

Final Results Gold Cup 1959