Back in the day, Miami OCR in January always marked the traditional start of the northern hemisphere Finn season, so it with some anticipation that the Finn class returns to Miami next week for the 2023 Finn Gold Cup, the first time it has ever been held there. Sixty Finn sailors from 14 nations are taking part. The host club is the Coconut Grove Sailing Club.

This will be the fifth time the Finn world championship has been held in the USA. The first time was in 1974 at Long Beach and the winner that year, Henry Sprague, from the USA, is back for another go. Under the deed of Gift for the Cup, which has its origins at Burnham-on-Crouch in Britain, it must be held outside or Europe every four years. The last time the Finn Gold Cup was held in the USA was in 2010 on the epic San Francisco Bay. The winner that year, Britain’s Ed Wright, has been spotted training in Miami, but is not yet on the entry list.

Also taking part is the 2022 European Champion Miguel Fernandez Vasco, from Spain, hoping to do the double. The World No. 1 and last year’s European Championship bronze medalist, Laurent Hay, from France and last year’s Finn Gold Cup fifth placed Marko Kolic, from Italy are also likely contenders. The 2022 champion, Pieter-Jan Postma, was unfortunately unable to make the trip.

While over half of the entrants are from North and South America, several containers have found their way across the Atlantic from Europe, also bringing in new boats, some of which have been chartered for the event, which will bolster the growing USA fleet. With a USA based Finn builder also about to begin production, the future of the class in North America is looking very positive.

Domonkos Nemeth, from Hungary, won the bronze at the 2022 Finn Gold Cup as well as winning the Finn Silver Cup, for the U23 World Championship. He is joined in Miami by two other U23 Finn sailors, Federico Colaninno, from Italy, and Sjoerd Hofland, from The Netherlands, a name synonymous with Finn sailing.

Last year the Finn Silver Cup was combined with the Finn Gold Cup, but this year the 2023 Finn Silver Cup is being held as a separate event, at Gravedona on Lake Como, from Monday 17 July to Friday 21 July. There are attractive charter boat and accommodation options available. More information here: https://finnclass.org/news/180-eventpage/1177-2023-finn-silver-cup-event-page

The 2023 Finn Gold Cup begins on Tuesday 24 January with measurement and registration. Ten races are scheduled from Friday 27 January to Tuesday 31 January.

The event’s sponsors include Bacardi, North Sails, G&B Ropes, Coconut Grove and Fever Tree.