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13. Gold Cup 1968Whitstable Kent, England July 8-13

138 entries from 38 countries

The commodore of Whitstable Yacht Club summed up the event in his speech at the prize giving by starting: “Companions in disaster, at least nobody was drowned”. The regatta just didn’t work out. By deed of gift the Gold Cup had to be organised every Olympic year in Great Britain. Many British Finn sailors themselves debated the wisdom of going to Whitstable. The small size of the Yacht Club, the crowded dinghy park, the lack of hotels, restaurants and mainly pubs, and the high tide were deplorable. Finally the actual racing was so unsatisfactory. At times some skippers had to sail with unshipped rudders. Others – less scrupulous – went overboard and dragged their boats towards the next mark. At the end of one race the crew of a rescue boat reported to have been able to walk across the finishing line without getting his knees wet. And the competitors had to pull back their boats over miles of mud because of the outgoing tide. At the end of the week only four races still stood and two of them had to survive protests to be abandoned. The best thing about this unhappy troubled week was that Henning Wind, the Danish Tokyo Bronze Medalist, was the best sailor and the winner. He won the first race, came fifth in the second and afterwards lost neither his hair nor his points average, though all about him were losing theirs. Raudaschl hulls, Bruder masts and Raudaschl sails dominated the fleet. But during the week it was found that Raudaschl’s 1968 sails contravened the rules, inserting 4 oz cloth in the prevalent 3 oz sail.

Final Results Gold Cup 1968