2028 Finn Gold Cup awarded to Weymouth and Portland

 WEYMOUTH and Portland has been awarded the 2028 Finn Gold Cup - returning after 28 years.

Finn class sailing will once again take centre stage at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) after The British Finn Association announced the venue for the 2028 world championships.

It means a return for the sport which captured the imagination of thousands during the 2012 Olympics as Weymouth and Portland hosted the Olympic regatta and witnessed one of the all-time epic battles between Sir Ben Ainslie and Denmark’s Jonas Høgh-Christensen.

The last time the Gold Cup was held in Weymouth in 2000, it was attended by numerous legends of the Finn fleet, including Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Iain Percy, Freddy Loof, Sebastien Godefroid, amongst others.

Weymouth & Portland was also the training hub for the incredibly strong British Finn squad in the lead-up to the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and remains the UK base of the British Sailing Team.

The event will be held from September 8 to September 15 2028.

Finn sailing in Weymouth Bay (Image: WPNSA)

The British National Championship will form the warm-up event and be staged the weekend before the Gold Cup.

In a joint announcement, the British Finn Association and the WPNSA said: "It is with much excitement that we are delighted to announce that the 2028 Finn Gold Cup has been awarded to WPNSA."

"The facilities at WPNSA are legendary, and the venue has hosted numerous championship events."

The British Finn fleet will be holding a qualification series for the 2028 Gold Cup during 2027, and there will be an automatic place for the winner of the 2027 British Nationals, plus discretionary places for U29 sailors.

The Gold Cup fleet will be populated with many sailing superstars from around the globe and should include world champions and Olympians

From the British fleet, former world and multiple European champion Ed Wright brings vast big‑fleet experience, while rising talent Cameron Tweedle has already proved himself at national and international level.

Masters standouts John Greenwood and Nick Craig, both regulars at the sharp end of World Masters results.

Aerial view of Portland Harbour and Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy (Image: WPNSA)

The current Finn Gold Cup title holder is Italy’s Alessandro Marega, who won the 2026 world championship at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Brisbane.

Before him, the 2025 Finn Gold Cup in Cascais was won by Estonia’s Deniss Karpak, with Italy’s Arkadii Kistanov taking silver and Finland’s Oskari Muhonen bronze. Other major names currently active at the top end of the class include Brendan Casey, 2026 Finn World Masters champion, Rafael Trujillo, Karl Purdie, Anders Pedersen, Valérian Lebrun and Anthony Nossiter.

The 2027 regatta is being held in La Rochelle, France.