Half a century ago on an island nation in the middle of the Atlantic, the idea was born to create an event for Finn sailors over 40 years old. At the class AGM during the 1969 Gold Cup in Bermuda, the Veteran Gold Cup was born. It has developed into one of the largest single fleet regattas in the world. It is, of course, now known as the Finn Word Masters.
In 2020, the event celebrates its 50th anniversary and is being run by the ever-enthusiastic Dutch Finn sailors who have promised to put on a memorable event both on and off the water. They have set a target of 400 boats, which is not that hard to envisage, with more than 900 Finn Masters worldwide. Several times the fleet has passed 350 entries, so 400 is the next obvious milestone in a class that knows no bounds.
The 50th Finn World Masters is 31 May to 5 June.