1952 World Championship - Cascais, Portugal
The following results are from George Elder's book "Forty Years Among The Stars". In common with the early Logs it is interesting to note that in his results Elder does not give the yacht numbers of the boats which participated in the World's, but only just their names. It was not until the 1950 Log that yacht numbers were included in the results. From 1950 through 1976 both yacht numbers and names were given, but starting with 1977 frequently only yacht numbers were given. The last time both yacht numbers and yacht names were given was 1989.
In later years sometimes fleet designations were omitted. In these cases some of the more obvious fleet designations were supplied. Also from time to time only last names were supplied. First names, where known, were added.
Abbreviations etc: Dsa - Disabled. Dsq - Disqualified. Dns - Did Not Start. Wdr - Withdrew.
1952 - AT CASCAIS
Skipper Crew Yacht Fleet Daily Finish Pts. A. Straulino N. Rode Merope Taranto 1 1 1 2 3 142 R. Lippincott D. Hubers Flower West Jersey 6 6 3 11 7 117 D. Bello F. Bello Faneca Cascais 7 15 6 1 8 113 J. Piuza F. deAndrade Espedarte II Lisboa 10 10 17 3 2 108 T. Nordio L. Sangulin Elletra Trieste 8 5 2 Dsq 1 104 C. Ulmer S. Farrington Scylla East River 9 11 5 19 9 97 J. Schoonmaker D. Knowles Dingo Nassau 3 21 10 6 13 97 J. Tito A. Graca Ma Lindo Porto 18 3 15 14 5 95 C. de Cardenas de Cardenas Jr Kurush IV Habana 5 12 20 15 4 94 T. Razelos A. Ziraud Mari-Tim Salamis 15 4 16 4 19 92 M. Rivelli G. Schettino Faneca Formia 16 17 8 7 14 88 O. Dias T. dePaula Bu III Rio de Janeiro 21 7 4 17 18 83 P. Fischer C. Wunderlich Paka V Hamburger 11 18 18 18 6 79 J. Price P. Smart Comanche Biscayne Bay 2 22 14 5 Wdr 77 P. Chancerel J. Maraut Gam La Seine 12 9 19 23 10 77 E. Mendonca A. Silva Pedrito IV Vila Franca 14 19 23 8 12 74 Y. Lorion J. Lorion Aloha V d' Alger- 19 16 12 10 20 73 H. Looser J. Both Perfidia III Rapperswil 22 23 11 13 11 70 H. Bryner K. Bryner Ali Baba IV Zurichsee 17 2 21 Wdr 17 63 D. Selara A. Pelloti Fiadolin del Lario Dsq 13 7 12 Wdr 58 F. Mercier J. Rousse Vega Villefranche 13 20 13 Wdr 21 53 E. Perrissol A. Moses Ayoco Cannes 24 14 22 9 Wdr 51 J. Herbulot A. Debarge Tremontane III Paris Wdr 8 27 20 16 49 E. Etchells J. Reynes Shannon C. Long Island Sound 4 Wdr 9 Dns Dns 47 C. Blankenburg O. Schlenzka Pandar III Kieler 23 24 26 21 15 41 J. Mitchell Mrs. Mitchell Willy Nilly Solent 20 Wdr 25 16 24 35 S. Tay F. Thieck Saucy Sue Casablanca 26 26 24 24 23 27 P. deMontaut J. deMontaut Fada III Seine et Oise 25 27 28 25 22 23 C. Metral J. Coursol Itrane Rabat 27 25 Dsq 22 Wdr 16
Winning yacht No. 2958. B - Old Greenwich Boat Works, 1949.
Ch. I.R.C. - Beppe Croce. Ch. Meeting - Carlos de Cardenas.
Regatta Report
- report by George Elder
This most recent era started with the 1952 Olympics, won by Straulino and Rode. Having shaken their jinx, the Italian commanders went on to win just about every championship in Europe. In '52 and '53 they made grand slams, capturing the World's, European and Italian titles. That in itself is a record which will be difficult to duplicate. They almost did it again in '54. I predicted for some years before the majority seemed to grasp the fact, that Agostino Straulino had more potential championship ability than any other skipper and was the man to watch, if he ever got going.
Quite a number of Olympic entries shipped their Stars from Helsinki to Lisbon. The European contingent had to compete for the championship of that continent, also off Cascais, the week before the big event. Merope romped away with the 1952 World's Championship. Bob Lippincott, the gold Star man of '50, was a poor second, finishing twenty-five points behind Straulino. There is another record that may stand for some years to come. The world's title has never been won by such a wide margin of points before. Duarte Bello placed third on his home waters.
From the 1953 Log
It is an old superstition in the Star Class that the weather at the World's Championship always does the unexpected. If you look through the records of former years, you will be surprised to notice how many times this has been borne out. The locations traditionally noted for their light airs produce high winds for the Star series, whereas the well known breezy places show up with the first calm in years. Or if the series is held in the same place twice, the weather may be mild and light the first time (as in Chicago in 1949,) and then fool the boys completely by blowing great guns the second (Chicago, 1950).
Cascais, Portugal, has proved to be no exception to this rule of surprises. In 1948, after contestants had been warned that conditions would probably be on the light side, the winds in the World's Championship nearly blew the boats out of the water. In 1952, expecting more of the same, the fleet strengthened up its rigging and entered all its best heavy weather canvas—and then never took the flat sails out of their bags. The weather of 1952 could hardly have provided a greater contrast to that of 1948. Except for the last race, the '52 series was sailed in light, spotty airs. There was often a long postponement to await the arrival of enough wind to start; and some of the races barely finished within the time limit.
Under these trying and difficult conditions, Agostino Straulino and Nicolo Rode emerged as the new Champions of the Star Class, setting several records in the process. Lt. Comdr. Straulino is the first Italian ever to win the Gold Star—indeed, the first European since Walter von Hutschler is a Brazilian citizen. Straulino is the first skipper ever to have won the Olympics, the European Championship and the World's Championship all in one year and is likely to be the last ever to accomplish this remarkable feat. Merope won the World's by 25 points over the runner-up, a margin greater by 15 points than ever set before. And the series itself set a record when entries from 14 different nations competed, the most international representation we have ever had in a World's Championship.
Arrivals at the Club Navale de Cascais were greeted by the same affable hosts who were well remembered by all contestants fortunate enough to have attended the '48 series. There was Duarte Bello and his brother Fernando, that widely traveled pair now known to many Star sailors throughout the world; Joao Tito of Ma-Lindo; Joao Capucho, who has also been to many far-away Star events, including the Chicago World's Championship of 1949; Antonio Heredia, his crew on that occasion, the Captain Of the Lisbon Fleet, and a most gracious host at the '48 series; Commodore Vaultier, whose power boat was in constant use during the '52 series both for spectators and for towing; and many others. It is really impossible to single out all those deserving of special thanks for their part in some phase of this splendidly conducted series.
There was hardly time for all these hard working gentlemen to catch their breaths between series. The 1952 Championship of Europe, the Silver Star event of that Continent, had just been completed at Cascais on Friday, August 22. That night the prizes for that series were presented at a banquet, at which the early arrivals for the World's were privileged to see Agostino Straulino crowned European Champion for the fourth consecutive year. The prizes which he and Rode collected that night required almost the proverbial moving van to carry them away. They covered a whole table.
Sunday the measuring was taken care of, and if your spars or anything else had to be altered, now was a good time to find out: skilled local craftsmen took care of any and all necessary repairs at no cost, and the hulls were sanded and washed gratis before and after the series. Monday the flag raising and annual meeting took place, and Tuesday, August 26, the series got under way.
First Three Races
The first race was able to start on time in a south west wind at 12:30, twice around a windward-leeward course. The starting line turned out to be the poorest of the series, being uncrossable on the starboard tack. The defender got Shannon off to a beautiful start at the favored end, along with Salata in Fiado!in and Jack Price, with Paul Smart crewing, in Comanche. Straulino was involved in a bad jam at the crowded end of the line, and after taking drastic steps to prevent being fouled by someone, he started a cold last.
The wind came up, fell off, and later strengthened again during this race. Fiadolin rounded the weather mark first, closely followed by Nordio, Price and Etchells. But at the home mark it was Ding Schoonmaker and Durward Knowles in Dingo, with Charlie Ulmer and Sloane Farrington sailing Scylla in second place. These two had stood well in toward shore on the first leg, where they looked good, only to go a bit too far and be nicked by the others at the first mark on a slight let-up.
The order continued to shift on the second round, until approaching the finish the fleet was so closely bunched that the first 8 boats finished within 30 seconds. The first four were overlapped, Merope having come through the fleet from a last start to beat out Comanche by less than a second, with Dingo and Shannon almost equally close. The actual order in which these four crossed the line depended on who managed to get a breath of air in the sails at the crucial moment as the boats drifted through the lee of the big committee boat.
The second race saw the boats get away evenly over a good starting line in a light southwester. 1950 World's Champion Bob Lippincott, with Dan Hubers crewing, soon moved into the lead and stayed there almost to the first mark. However, Straulino and Rode, appearing from out of the ruck as usual, sailed through the leaders; then, appearing to overstand, they timed their last tack perfectly, came in for the mark on starboard with plenty of headway in the dying wind, and rounded first. Skip Etchells and J. A. Reynes, Jr. brought Shannon around second, followed by Razelos' Mari-Tim and Tito's Ma-Lindo. These three held their positions to the home mark the first time around. Merope continued to win again, by more than four minutes, her most spectacular margin of the series.
The second time up, near the weather mark, Shannon on the port tack failed to clear Mari-Tim on starboard, and Etchells withdrew. (A subsequent protest of Mari-Tim for failure to avoid collision was disallowed.) The Bryners, sailing the Swiss Ali Baba IV, rounded second and stayed second to the finish in weather which was evidently to their liking. Third was Ma-Lindo.
The third race did not start until 3:30 pm and finished more than three hours later in the lightest wind of all. The start favored the weather end, and of course a bad jam occurred there. Merope and Tito Nordio's Elletra moved slowly and quietly into the lead, followed closely by Flower and Scylla. These four reached the first mark almost together and held those positions for the rest of the first round. The first three continued to finish the race in that order; fourth was Orthon Diaz and Tacariju de Paula in their Bu III from Brazil, for their best showing of the week.
The entertainment that night was held aboard a naval training Ship in the Tagus Estuary. Another memorable evening which cannot go unmentioned was the sumptuous dinner on the terrace at the home of Commodore Ferrero. Here 150 people were served at floodlighted tables under the stars. Instead of place cards there were Star boat models, painted with the correct individual colors and sail numbers of each boat.
The Rest Day which followed the third race was a welcome let-up from the tension of racing, which for most Of the Europeans had been going on for nearly 10 days. Many contestants attended the interesting and colorful bull fight, while Others took the opportunity Of visiting sox,e Of the fascinating points of interest with which the nearby countryside abounds.
Last Two Races
Going into the fourth race, the points were lined up as follows. Straulino, with three straight firsts for the Vanderveer Trophy, looked unbeatable, although the series was not over yet: he had done almost as well in Chicago in 1 950 only to meet disaster in the fourth race. Nordio's Elletra and Lippincott's Flower were tied for second, 12 points behind Merope. Then came Ulmer's Scylla, 10 points further back; and next were the Bellos; in Faneca. These five, together with Fiuza's Espadarte, which staged a flying finish with a third and a second in the last two races, were destined to take the first six series places, but in a different order. Among other things, Elletra was to be disqualified for a violation of the ”hailing about” rule at the weather mark in the fourth race.
The unlucky Defender had put in her last appearance, as Skip Etchells was confined to the hospital during the remainder of the series by a severe though fortunately temporary illness.
The fourth race started after another postponement in more of the same light air with the usual heavy ground swell. The Bello brothers shifted Faneca into high gear and never let down, leading all around the course to a clean-cut win for the host fleet. Merope followed at a respectful distance, a minute and a half separating them at the finish. Elletra, which actually crossed the line in second place, was subsequently disqualified, (thus moving Merope up to second, from the third place which was erroneously reported in Starlights). This was tough to take for a boat so high up in the standings. Nordio wouldn't have won the series anyway: nobody was beating A. Straulino this trip. But he Was headed for the runner-up slot.
That night there were cocktails, a banquet and a dance, at the Golf Club.
The last race was sailed in conditions reminiscent of the second race in 1948. A strong northerly under the shore did not reach out very far, and left gaping holes in the wind all over the race course. It Was the only day with a strong breeze, but even this was very unsteady. The race started on time, over a windward-leeward course. Nordio and Sangulin in Elletra led all the way. Fiuza's Espadarte took second to consolidate her fourth place in the series. Lippincott and Hubers in Flower, going into the last race second in the standings, were determined to cover their next nearest rival, Foneca, which they did carefully all day. Flower and Faneca finished seventh and eighth for second and third in the series, a long 25 points behind the new champion.
Price's Comanche took a hitch in shore, together with the Mitchells' English challenger Willy Nilly, and they both ran suddenly into a calm. There they sat for over half an hour, boats sailing by within hailing distance in plenty of wind. Comanche finally dropped out of the race, while Willy Nilly carried on finishing last. Mitchell and his sporting wife (the only girl contestant) had been plagued with bad luck from the start. On the way to Portugal, unknown to them, the boat had shirted on the trailer and it was so badly sprung that despite daily efforts of the Portuguese shipwrights to effect repairs, it leaked to the point of near sinking.
At the final banquet at the Casino, the prize presentations included the Invader's Trophy, to Charlie Ulmer of City Island, N. Y.; and the First Challenge Trophy to Joao Tito from the new Porto- Fleet. It was indeed a festive occasion, with native dancers and Fada singers. As usual, so many wine glasses crowded the tables that there was scarcely room for the plates. In addition, 'Tino and Nico, the new champions, kept the World's Championship Trophy filled with an apparently inexhaustible supply of champagne, which they kept pulling from under the table. Finally the Commodore, after thanking all the officials for their important part in making the series such a success, wished everyone a pleasant trip home; and then the music began to play. And it is probably still playing, for things in Portugal never end but just go on and on.
We are indebted to Mrs. C. Ulmer of the International Race Committee and to Dan Hubers for most of the factual material of this account.
