1971
For the IFA, 1971 was a year of political unrest. The main issue was the question of which masts should be used at the 1972 Olympic regatta in Kiel. The President Vernon Stratton (from the UK) supported the notion to use the new aluminium Needlespar masts (made in the UK) because David Hunt said that they would be perfectly uniform.
However most of the top helmsmen had no experience with the new material and wooden masts were still considered to be faster.
Jorg Bruder won the Gold Cup for the second time with a wooden spar. The IFA Honorary Secretary Heidi Auer was in favour of wooden masts. She claimed that aluminium masts would give the British sailors an unfair advantage.
The IYRU had agreed to use metal masts at the Olympics, upon request of the German organiser of the Olympics as suggested by IFA President Vernon Stratton and the Chairman of the Technical Committee Gilbert Lamboley. However IFA secretary/treasurer Heidi Auer was fighting to have this decision cancelled again. A strange extraordinary AGM in Athens called too late on the spot by the Auers on the occasion of the European Championship elected Dr. Fred Auer as the new President of IFA and reversed the decision of the former president to use aluminium masts at the 1972 Olympics. Vernon Stratton declared that AGM to be illegal and insisted to remain the duly elected president of IFA.
The official AGM on the occasion of the Gold Cup in Toronto approved a new constitution and the selection of aluminium spars for the 1972 Olympics. Hans van Elst from Holland was elected the new president of IFA and a completely new team took over the helm.
4 of the 10 Finns that were provided for
the 1968 UK Olympic Trials
Ken Ryan from Ireland was elected Honorary Secretary to be supported by a paid assistant and a professional accountant. As Mr. Achermann from the Swiss Credit Bank in St. Moritz was already acquainted with the work, it was decided to have him carry on. Carl van Duyne (USA) was elected as the first Vice President (Sailing) and Andy Zawieja (Poland) as Vice president (Administration). Gilbert Lamboley was the only member of the old team to survive the revolution as the Chairman of the Technical Committee. The father of Serge Maury (France), Mr. Raymond Maury kindly agreed to do FINNFARE in the future in form of a bimonthly bulletin, however not a single copy of that publication survived in any archive. Independent from these administrative scandals the Finn Class prospered and Jorg Bruder won his second Gold Cup in Toronto.
1972
When Jorg Bruder won his third Gold Cup with his own aluminium mast the former opposition of the top helmsmen against the new material melted. After several trials and errors the Needlespar M turned out to be the spar for the years to come.
By 1972 Gilbert Lamboley had introduced his revolutionary concept to control the distribution of matter in a Finn dinghy. For one year this system was used parallel to the old system to control the centre of gravity.
At the 1972 AGM the new Honorary Secretary Kenneth Ryan was not able to clarify the accounts he had inherited from the former executive officers of the IFA. It was felt that an additional position should be created to take care of the financial matters and Peter Roost from Switzerland was elected the first treasurer of IFA. Against the decision of the IFA AGM not to control the weight of wet clothing at all, the IYRU decided in November 1972 to limit the maximum to 20 kg.
1973
When the Lamboley test finally became effective it caused a technical revolution. The new control methods allowed the abandonment of the former rales regarding the centre of gravity, the combined control of material and wall thickness, and the exclusion of unmeasurable constructions like double bottoms or sandwich. The new system controlled the basic elements of the boats performance in the waves and not the construction. So the IYRU agreed to allow any material for the construction of the hull and to introduce double bottoms. Therefore the Finn remained the most modern dinghy for top competitive sailing.
In 1973 the Finn Class suffered a severe loss from the human, sporting and technical point of view, when Jorg Bruder was killed in an airplane crash on route to the Gold Cup in Brest to defend his title.
Because of an increasing income from the sale of rule books and sail labels the financial situation of the IFA improved considerably. The IYRU put pressure on the IFA to limit the number of participants in the Gold Cup to about 60 boats. However the AGM voted clearly in favour of adhering to the established quotas and the entry system remained in principle unchanged, allowing for far more than 100 boats. In order to encourage organisational efforts in each country, national Finn secretaries were allowed to enter the Gold Cup above the quota of their country. This also increased the number of qualified delegates to the AGM.
1974
In accordance with the new rales a new rale book was printed in 1974. The first builder to take advantage of the new rales was Peter Taylor in Great Britain. He produced a good looking hull with a double bottom, which sailed very dry and turned out to be fast especially downwind. However after some time the majority of the Taylor boats started to leak at the joint of the hull with the deck. Gilbert Lamboley contributed further to the improvement of the IFA finances through the production and sale of new templates that he had produced with a computer controlled milling machine. The aluminium masts introduced in 1972 caused safety problems in a capsize and it was agreed to require all masts to be watertight and float. However within two years it became obvious that this rale resulted in trapping water in the mast rather than keeping it out and therefore the rale was abandoned again in 1977.
1975
Four years after the turmoil of Toronto the turn of Hans von Elst from Holland as president was over and the AGM in Malmo, Sweden peacefully elected Marino Barendson from Italy as the new president and Nikos Kouklelis from Greece as Honorary Secretary. Barendson, who had never sailed a Finn in his life, thought to benefit the Class by making it more modern. He travelled on his expenses all over the world to push for a reduction of the hull weight and to support experiments. Barendson's well meant but uncoordinated actions were curbed by the Chairman of the Technical Committee Gilbert Lamboley, who successfully guarded the one-design character of the Finn Class. No substantial rale changes were even proposed to the IYRU.
Gilbert Lamboley also managed to obtain a new Gold Cup from Somms Marine, after the original Cup had been lost in that tragic air crash of Jorg Bruder in 1973. Another effort was made to control pumping. However it was not possible to bring the diverging opinions from sailors on flat and open waters closer together. In spite of that some countries included in their sailing instructions the requirement of a minimum three rope purchase through the floor block except when gybing.
1976
As a reaction to the difficulties with the selection of the Olympic masts in 1972, the participants in the 1976 Olympics in Kingston, Canada were allowed to bring their own spars and sails. The majority of the sailors would have preferred to use their own boats complete. A second edition of the new rale book was printed in 1976 with very little changes compared to the 1974 edition.
Since the 1976 Gold Cup took place in January in Australia, the 1976 AGM was divided into two sessions, one at the Gold Cup the other at the European Championship in France in May. The Council of the IFA called the attention of all present and future IFA Executive Committees to the need to coordinate their individual efforts with the other members of the Executive Committee and the relevant committees.
By 1976 a negative side-effect of the Lamboley test upon the development of the Finn Class was observed. Some builders emphasised top speed too much and neglected seaworthiness by constructing extremely thin weak hulls and using more lead than plastic. Some boats sank to the bottom of the sea and sailors were in severe peril. However the problem solved itself inasmuch as the respective makes fell into discredit among the sailors despite the speed advantages. The Finn Class turned out to be rather reluctant to accept the recommendations of the IYRU regarding the old problem of pumping.
1977
The negative climax of that year was the withdrawal of the Gold Cup from competition when the Spanish authorities refused the participation of a sailor from South Africa. At the 1977 AGM some new people were elected members of the Executive Committee: Jacques Rogge (Belgium) as Vice-President (Sailing), Gerardo Seeliger (Spain) as Treasurer.
The entry system for the Gold Cup and the European Championships was changed, but without reducing the potential for over 100 boats at the Gold Cup and 40-60 at the Continental Championships. Attempts of Fred Miller to produce fibreglass masts did not find a response among the top helmsmen.
1978
The 1978 Gold Cup was organised in Mexico and signalled the dawn of a new generation of sailors and winning boats. For the first time a group of former Laser sailors dominated the event using Vanguard hulls. Once again the IFA successfully withstood pressure from the IYRU to reduce the number of participants at the Gold Cup to about 60 by changing the entry system.
The AGM considered several notions to keep only 30,000 sfr as a reserve and to spend the rest of the accumulated capital for the promotion of the class. It was considered to subsidise measurement at major events, sailors from other classes, the production of the Class magazine FINNFARE, stands of the Finn at boat show, or advertisements for the Finn in various yachting magazines. The Council passed an inconsistent judgment against some Spanish boats, which had an unusual bulb in the deck. There was no specific rule quoted to be infringed, however it was felt that the arrangement was not in conformity with the original design of the Finn by Rickard Sarby.
After Georg Siebeck had done an excellent job on FINNFARE in 1975-1977 he failed to publish any issues in 1978-1979, which caused considerable concern in the class.
1979
The dominance of former Laser sailors from the US was striking and in view of the 1980 Olympics in Tallinn alarming for the Europeans. Most successful on the European circuit was the 1978 Gold Cup winner John Bertrand (USA) - not to be confused with the John Bertrand from Australia who won the America's Cup for his country in 1983. However in the 1979 Gold Cup John Bertrand (USA) was only runner up behind Cameron Lewis.
After four years as president Marino Barendson did not attend the AGM 1979 and was replaced by former Vice-President (Sailing) Jacques Rogge from Belgium. In order to improve the finances of IFA the minimum number of IFA stickers per country was raised from 18 to 36. The minutes of the 1979 AGM mention problems with some boats not measuring at station 8, first discovered at the European Championship in Malcesine, Italy. The idea of a portable jig is mentioned, to be taken to major regattas, since several boats had measured correctly once and were refused the next time by other experts.
The sailors were disconcerted because of the inaccuracy of the measurement procedure. A notion to curb pumping beyond the ruling of the IYRU was refused by the council and instead the delegates proposed to abandon the rule 60 (means of propulsion) altogether. Gilbert Lamboley did not attend the AGM but questioned the legality of the meeting because of the use of proxy-votes.
1980
The season was shaped by the Olympics in Tallinn. The Finn Class suffered severely from the boycott of the Olympics initiated by the US, which excluded many potential medalists from participation and discouraged them. The Gold Cup was staged in New Zealand in February where the US sailors continued their dominance. The 1980 AGM was organised in two sessions again, one at the Gold Cup and the second on the occasion of the European Championship in Finland in June.
At the AGM in New Zealand a new notion was considered to support third world countries in their endeavours to participate in the Olympics. The council was worried about the attitude of the Chairman of the Technical Committee. After Gilbert Lamboley had rendered extraordinary services to the Finn Class for almost ten years, it became more and more difficult to deal with him internally. For the second session of the AGM Gilbert Lamboley handed in his resignation and was replaced by David Howlett (UK) as Chairman of the Technical Committee.
After a long silence FINNFARE was published again by the new editor Shimon-Craig Van Collie from San Francisco. Former Laser sailors introduced a new dimension into the art of pumping. However the IFA decided against a proposal of the US and voted in favour of the IYRU ruling to ban pumping.
1981
Since the glorious US team of 1979/80 had fallen apart after the disappointment of the Olympic boycott, the Europeans gained back their dominance in the Finn Class in 1981. The former Laser star Lasse
Hjortnas from Denmark won the majority of individual races in the 1981 Europeans and many other major events, but was beaten to runner up in the Gold Cup by the 'Veteran' Wolfgang Gerz.
After only two years on duty as president Jacques Rogge resigned and exchanged position with the Treasurer Gerardo Seeliger. The problems with station 8 remained and experiments with portable jigs brought to light difficulties of accuracy after reassembling. David Howlett suggested to hire an Executive Director to run the business of the IFA, a proposal which was refused at the AGM in 1982. A steady stream of rule changes ensured that the Finn Class remained modern without outdating existing boats. Shimon-Craig Van Collie resigned as editor of FINNFARE.
1982
What everybody had expected Lasse Hjortnas to achieve in 1981, he managed in 1982 and won his first Gold Cup. Lasse also defended successfully his title as the European Champion.
Andrzej Ostrowski was elected new Chairman of the Technical Committee. The Executive Committee entrusted the editorship of FINNFARE to Peter Mohilla, who produced controversial and much too expensive issues. He heated up once again the unsettled question of station 8, which many would have preferred to remain under the carpet. However he produced a measurement jig, which he managed to transport to the Gold Cup in Holland, where it caused amusement, but proved that the system of a portable measurement jig was workable. Mohilla caused further controversy by opposing poor behaviour at a formal dinner invitation and was replaced as Vice-President (Sailing) by Otto Pohlmann.
1983
For the 1983 Gold Cup in Milwaukee, USA John Christianson produced a very fine measurement jig. It was declared the prototype for all future major events and thus ended the controversy about station 8.
At the Gold Cup all the young aggressive sailors were beaten by the conservative US Navy officer Paul van Cleve. This made them so frantic, that they again started to throw food at the President Gerardo Seeliger on the occasion of prizegiving in a five star hotel at the end of the event. They simply disregarded the decision of the 1982 AGM, about Rule 1975, ensuring that the behaviour of Finn Class members remains within the limits of social acceptability.
To honour his past and present achievements the council unanimously voted to elect Gilbert Lamboley as Life Honorary Chairman of the Technical Committee. To support Finn sailing in third world countries the IFA decided to subsidise these countries with 30 IFA membership dues.
1984
In the 1984 Olympic season many favourites exhausted themselves in the national trials in order to be nominated for the Games and failed in the event itself. An exception was the US, where the trials assumed heroic proportions because of a dazzling combination of sporting, legal and financial efforts between the three top contenders, and the final victor of that in-fight still managed to win the silver medal. A Finn clinic in Canada and a grant of the IOC supported the participation of sailors from third world countries in the 1984 Olympics. Lasse Hjortnas managed to win the Gold Cup for the second time at the beginning of the season, was struck by bad-luck at the Europeans, when he capsized and broke his best mast
while returning into the harbour, and performed poorly for his standards at the Olympics.
1985
After the Olympics in Long Beach a new group of sailors entered the Finn class. Lasse Hjortnas regained his former dominance by winning the Gold Cup by 0.1 points and the European Championship by a safe margin. In the US Peter Quigley probably started a new chapter in Finn sailing by the development of a new carbon-fibre / s-glass / epoxy matrix mast. The IYRU decided to have the Finn dinghies for the Olympics in 1988 built in Korea. Again competitors would be allowed to bring their own spars but were forced to use the hulls supplied by the organiser. This has the advantage that the poorer countries are also able to participate with top equipment. For years the keenest helmsmen would prefer to use their own boats. Fred Miller, the founder of FINNFARE died on Jan 13th in California.
1986
Peter Mohilla published a book called FINNLOG in the spring of 1986. This book covered the entire history of the class up to 1985 and contained much material of interest to new sailors. It was received with great acclaim and interest by everyone. A complementary copy was sent to many personalities of the world yachting community.
After missing out on the Gold Cup in 1985 by 0.1 points, Oleg Khoperski dominated the European Championships. Stig Westergaard won the Gold Cup without winning a race.
At the AGM of the class Wolfgang Gerz retired as Vice-President (Sailing) and was replaced by Jose Luis Doreste. Peter Mohilla published his last issue of FINNFARE at the end of the year. After many years of sporadic publishing dates before he took over, Peter Mohilla had managed to regulate publication to the extent that he had produced 4 outstanding issues every year for five years and turned the corner into the modern era of FINNFARE, where IFA members receive their bulletin on a regular basis three to four times a year.
