Hungarian Championship and Europeans Masters in Hungary
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Great competitions in one trip on the Lake Balaton
Great competitions in one trip on the Lake Balaton
Tallinn in Estonia was the sailing venue for the 1980 Olympic Games. It is often remembered for the wrong reasons. The United States led boycott, in response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, denied many of the world's best sailors the chance to compete for an Olympic medal. It is still an emotive subject for some of those affected.
The story of how the 2013 Finn Gold Cup came to be in Tallinn is a long story, but one worth telling. It involves friendships nurtured under the controlling glare of Soviet rule, of an American sailor's immediate affinity with the Estonians of the Soviet times, his determination that the sailors would have their day and how those friendships shaped his life for the next 30 years, of iceboats and sailmakers and reciprocal hospitality, of class divisions in Soviet society, and of KGB subversion. The story begins more than three decades ago.
The 2013 Finn Gold Cup in Tallinn, Estonia was opened Sunday night amid a spectacular location with outstanding hospitality, beautiful singing, great food, and a moving presentation to one of the absolute class legends.
August 2013 Finnfare published