Photo Credit: Photo Credit: FRIED ELLIOTT / friedbits.com


1975 World Championship - Chicago, USA

1975 World Championship - Chicago, USA

The following results are from the Star Logs. In common with the early Logs 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.

Results

No.   Yacht		Skipper		Crew		Fleet		Daily Places		Pts.

5607  Dingo		Ding SchoonmakerJerry Ford	Biscayne Bay	 6   7   1   2   3   1	357

5651  Impossible		Tom Blackaller	Ron Anderson	WSFB		28   1   2   5   7   3	352

5681  Virgo III		Peter Wright	Bill Wright	S. L. Michigan	 3  11   6   1   1  wdr	348

5576  Big If		Thompson Adams	Bill Richards	Wilmette Harbor	10   3  11   9   4   6	338

5854  Too Late		Jim Lippincott	Chris Schmidt	Barnegat Bay	 8   9   7  16   6  13	327

5883  Something Else	Dave Peterson	Carlos Monte	San Diego Bay	 5  wdr  5   4  16  14	326

5773  Windy Too		Jay Winberg	Earl Lasher	Puget Sound	23  12   4  13  11  12	318

5525  Gem		Durward Knowles	Steven Kelly	Nassau		 7  10  25  23   5   9	316

5840  Dolphin VII	Frank Raymond	William Lane	Wilmette Harbor	13  13  17  10  20   2	315

5460  Tranquil		Pete Bennett	Kim Fletcher	San Diego Bay	 9  dsq 34   6   2   5	314

5732  Star of the Sea	Joseph Duplin	Francis Dolan	Boston Harbor	15   8  13   8  21  wdr	305

5575  Suzanne		Barton Beek	Charles Beek	Los Angeles Hbr	11  24  15   7  22  11	304

5397  Slider		Mark Reynolds	Jim Reynolds	San Diego Bay	 4  16  31   3  65  31	295

5660  Mustard Seed	Jim Allsopp	Mike Gubin	Chesapeake Bay	14  18  22  24  43   4	288

5793  Sanctuary		Malin Burnham	John Burnham	San Diego Bay	12  25  39  33   8   8	284

5918  Up Yaws		Ted Rapp	Ted Rapp III	West Jersey	17   2  51  26  24  17	284

5922  Jaws		Larry Whipple	Jim Alexander	WSFB		27   4  30  dsq 13  15	281

5659  Fjord Star		Tog Rogers	Al Townsend	Galveston Bay	24   5  26  17  34  19	279

5771  Humbug XV		Chuck Driscoll	Jim Oberg	San Diego Bay	20  22  35  11  32   7	278

5870  Lady Bug		William Gerard	Sheridah Gerard	Santa Barbara	21  17   3  14  41  wdr	274

5661  Griffin		Skip Elliott	John Riddell	Newport Harbor	26  14  16  22  40  18	274

5931  Nate		Heinz Nixdorf	Josef Pieper	Moehnesee	16  23  32  28  10  23	270

5540  Spirit		J.M. MacCauslandVictor Oberg	Cooper River	42  15  19  34  15  22	265

5907  Aquarius		S. Prinsenberg	D. Prinsenberg	Lake Ontario, C	wdr 16   8  47  25  20	254

5820  Misty		John Allen	John Ahlquist	Wilmette Harbor	 1  20  21  53  49  25	254

5589  Big Bird		George Thomas	Charles Hurlbut	C. Lake Erie	22  wdr 14  15  38  28	253

5781  Mint Chip		Roger Doane	Rbt Van Wagnen	S. Lake Erie	45  54  20  12   9  34	250

5767  Sashay		Tom Oller	Bob Maine	S. L. Michigan	35  29  18  29  30  16	248

5856  Shrew		William Parks	Jim Machin	S. L. Michigan	 2  37  38  37  47  10	246

5926  Pummel X		Detlef Kuke	Joerg Ricken	Berliner	34  43  12  wdr 17  21	243

4497  Shadaw		John Cram	Walter Cram	Santa Barbara	19  28  49  20  12  wdr	242

5815  Tenacious		Dick Slayter	Fritz Kunzel	San Diego Bay	36  19  24  41  29  wdr	221

5873  Home Grown		Doug Smith	Keith Yeates	S. Lake George	16  41  58  19  26  46	220

5864  Super Toy		John McKeague	Otie Ingraham	St. Joseph	25  38  10  48  35  wdr	214

5875  Gemini		Peter de Manio	Henry Mullen	St. John's R.	44  42  60  31  14  32	207

5548  SS		Gary Schlegel	Harold Erlandso	English Bay	43  21  47  dsq 19  35	205

5881  Surprise		Jack Rickard	Frank Murphy	Jackson Park	50  27  23  40  62  27	203

5800  Sea Eagle		John Slack	John Schuhsler	Galveston Bay	54  51  46  25  31  26	191

5734  One Over Par	Ruse Bogie	Rik AlexandersonS. Lake George	31  32  wdr 18  28  dns	187

5787  Alpha Centauri	Ian Elliott	Jeff Cozzens	Puget Sound	37  33  54  49  42  24	185

5719  Donnybrook		Jack Lynch	Bob Larsen	Western Shore M	32  39  wdr 30  58  30	181

5704  Gadfly Too		Bruce Dougherty	Gary Miller	Elk River	30  44  28  50  37  wdr	181

3130  October		Gene McCarthy	Glenn McCarthy	Jackson Park	39  53  48  27  48  33	175

5858  Easy Rider II	Jim Thompson	James Foster	Eastern Shore M	63  60   9  21  44  dns	173

5012  Swiss Miss II	John Mueller	Jack Wilkins	Illinois River	52  35  41  52  36  38	168

5428  Cow Chip III	Charles McManus	John Trolley	Chesapeake Bay	57  45  42  36  23  wdr	167

5445  Magic		Robert Rodgers	Donald Casey	Green Lake	48  50  29  44  60  40	159

5809  Siderius II	Dexter Richards	Per Rappestad	Lake Sunapee	62  59  43  39  27  43	159

5780  Symphony		Tom Linville	Geoff Bullard	S. Lake George	29  49  36  42  63  dns	151

5750  Glider		W. von HütschlerThomas Heimann	Rio de Janeiro	dsq 34  27  51  46  wdr	138

5906  Debbie III		A. Osterwalder	Toni Hartl	Rapperswil	40  46  55  56  64  36	137

5610  Squid		Jeff Aldred	Chris Latham	Continental D.	49  48  61  35  wdr 45	132

5862  Hornet		William Suson	Sam Owings	Eastern Shore M	dns 36  56  58  37  37	130

5480  Robin		Robert Ferguson	Rbt Van Peenan	Gull Lake	wdr 31  40  46  50  dns	129

5333  Conquest		Neil McConagby	Neil McConagby	Commencement B.	56  wdr 37  38  39  wdr	126

5825  Fiamma		Robert O'Neil	Paul Colianni	S. L. Michigan	47  dns 53  54  18  wdr	124

5685  Natty III		A. V. Nicholson	Dave Stephenson	Ithaca		dns 26  52  45  52  wdr	121

5672  Puff		Cal Hadden	Clint Berkey	New Orleans	41  30  wdr 32  wdr dns	119

5348  Blue Chip III	Dave Gaillard	Jack Levedahl	Chesapeake Bay	51  52  67  64  56  29	118

5188  Quick Silver Girl	Marc Hulburt	Allen Hartung	Puget Sound	61  56  wdr 59  33  44	117

5852  Islander		Richard Bliss	Richard Rottier	Lake George	55  55  67  61  45  42	112

5359  Amuck		Gunnar Dahl	Borje Olsson	Stockholm	53  dns 45  55  59  41	111

5865  Cutty Sark		George Brothers	Jenn Brothers	Mobile Bay	46  58  57  66  51  48	110

5827  Solid Gold		Philip Noren	Dick Forester	WSFB		64  40  64  62  61  39	104

5721  Silkie		Richard Wait	Chris Rogers	Otsego Lake	65  47  59  60  54  47	103

5751  Yellow Bird	John Robinson	D. N. Rindsberg	Mobile Bay	60  57  33  63  55  dns	102

5700  Spankuk		Chris Jensen	Kristian KirstenJackson Park	33  wdr 50  57  70 wdr	 86

5930  Demon VIII		Ken Cole	Tom Londrigan	L. Springfield	38  wdr 44  dsq 69 dns	 71

5565  Chameleon		At Atkinson	Glenn Atkinson	Continental D.	68  63  68  69  67  49	 55

5923  Chinook		Wm. Kieser Jr	Tom Kilfoyle	Carter Lake	53  61  63  68  71  wdr	 54

5810  Shenanigans	Dave Wilber	Robert Behlen	C. Lake Erie	58  wdr wdr 43  68  wdr	 53

4820  The Village Idiot	Ned Rawn	Dave McCurdy	Commencement B.	66  62  66  67  57  wdr	 52

4646  Rumble		Gerry Cayne	Bob Banks	East River	67  wdr 65  65  66  dns	 33


Regatta Report
from the 1976 Star Class Log 

James M. (Ding) Schoonmaker, who earlier this year won the North American Championship, climaxed a 25 year career in the Star Class by capturing the 1975 Gold Star in Chicago with Jerry Ford crewing. In a fleet of 73 boats, a record surpassed only in 1966 at Kiel. Ding beat the reigning champion, Tom Blackaller, by 5 points and Peter Wright by 9, after each had dropped his worst race, which for Dingo was remarkably high, a seventh. The contestants met a variety of weather conditions but no races were washed out, all being completed without a double header. All courses were "O", with lines well set by Gary Comer's race committee. Guns were fired from a boat that hovered to windward of the middle of the line and then quietly stole away after the start. Power of recall from both ends of the line and loud hailers on all three boats kept the huge fleet under control." 

What follows is a crew's eye view, written for the LOG by the winning crew of each race except the second.

First Race - Misty, John Ahlquist
The first race of a major regatta is always approached with great anticipation, and as this was my first gold star event my feelings were especially acute. It is awesome indeed to look around and see so many gold and silver stars adorning the forest of sails.

Winds were out of the south at eight to ten at the start, and they increased slightly during the race. We got a good start about tw-?thirds of the way toward the leeward end of the line and were able to break clear of the body of the fleet about half way up the first leg as there seemed to be slightly more air on the left side of the course. The importance of clear air in a fleet of seventy-three boats cannot be overestimated as we were to learn to our chagrin during the rest of the week.

We reached the first mark in fifth place following Bill Parks, Pete Bennett, Pete Wright, and Bob Ferguson. Reynolds, Nixdorf, Duplin, Burnham, and Knowles rounded out the first ten. Two reaching legs later the order of the first ten was unchanged as one might expect in steady moderate air.

During the second weather leg the wind freshened slightly and we had mini-hiking conditions for the first time. We sailed this leg tacking on small shifts but never going to the edges of the course. We arrived at the weather mark second to Parks and closely followed by Wright, Reynolds, and Knowles. John Cram made an appearance, rounding the mark in sixth place.

On the run there were some minor changes in position among the first five, but no new faces appeared as we rounded. It was Parks, Allen, Knowles, Reynolds, and Wright, while Barton Beek (7) and Dave Peterson (10) joined the top ten for the first time.

On the final leg we again avoided the extreme edges of the course, and Bill covered us loosely. About two-thirds of the way up the leg we approached Parks on port tack and were able to achieve a safe leeward. He tacked away and we followed and covered him. When Bill tacked away again we let him go as we were nearly laying mark. A lift during the last two hundred yards added to our final margin of victory. A Star boat is a beautiful sight under any circumstance, but a huge fleet of them astern is infinitely more beautiful.

Second Race - Impossible
The wind, out of the southwest at 18-20 knots, was very shifty, coming directly off the Chicago skyline. There were several general recalls because the committee boats would not hold anchor. When a proper start was finally managed, Blackaller was well away in the middle of the line. The leeward end was favored again, but Tom held starboard tack and with superior boat speed managed to clear all the boats below him except Ted Rapp, who was going very well.

At the weather mark it was Rapp, with Blackaller hot on his heels. The positions didn't change for the leaders in the first triangle, but on the downwind leg Blackaller jibed inside Rapp, giving him a favored angle in to the leeward mark. After that it was Impossible all the way. Pete Bennett was second, only to be disqualified for being over the line early, giving Ted Rapp second in the race. Schoonmaker was seventh today, and Peter Wright eleventh.

Third Race - Dingo, Jerry Ford
Conditions again were light, with winds five to eight knots east-southeast. We were in second place now, with finishes of six and seven; but felt we needed something a lot stronger to solidify our position. We were going to try to start at the leeward end because it had been favored every other time, so why not now? As the boats came up on the line, we were exactly where we wanted to be, the leeward most boat, with 45 seconds to go and no one pushing us.

At the thirty second mark, we realized that there was a current pushing everyone down, making a starboard tack start virtually impossible in such close quarters. We started to head down so that we could jibe around, take as few sterns as possible and go off on port tack.

Just as we were about to jibe, we saw Gene McCarthy (just off our weather quarter) go head to wind. He was determined to make the line on starboard tack and when he went up he put the brakes on the whole fleet. He opened up a four-boat-length hole at the leeward end and we took advantage of it, tacked with clear air and shot out, port tacking the whole fleet. We were moving at top speed while everyone else was fighting to get over the line.

Ding asked me to call out compass readings, but I was so excited over our start it took me five minutes to stop shaking. We were out and away and two minutes after the start were seventy five yards ahead. We led all the way around and won it by three minutes and forty seconds. Blackaller, who was about twelfth at the weather mark the first time up, made a great recovery finishing second, with Bill Gerard third and Wright sixth.

Fourth Race - Virgo, William Wright
The weather for the fourth race looked perfect for my skipper with 8-10 knots of wind from the North, accompanied by comfortable waves. We chose our usual middle of the line start and shortly after tacked on a small header. The wind seemed to gradually knock the boats that went out in the lake. By sailing up the middle we managed to get around the weather mark sixth. Tom Adams was first, followed by Joe Duplin.

We stayed low on both reaches, which enabled us to pass several boats. On the second beat we traded tacks with Frank Raymond to round the mark first and held the lead to the leeward mark where Schoonmaker moved into second place. On the final beat the wind picked up and Pete opened his lead to win, with Schoonmaker, Reynolds and Peterson following.

Fifth Race - Virgo, William Wright
This race started with moderate winds from the South at 8-10 knots accompanied by light chop, another day to Pete's liking. After another conservative start at the middle of that "endless" line, we worked our way up the middle to find ourselves rounding the weather mark second, with Tom Adams again leading. After the first reach the order at the jibing mark was: Bennett, ourselves, Raymond, Adams and Schoonmaker.

On the second windward leg we seemed to have good boat speed and were in phase with the shifts. We rounded the mark first with Pete Bennett second, followed by a gap. On the final beat the air was light, almost none at times; luckily we did find some air to cross the line first. We learned later that we finished seven minutes ahead of Pete Bennett, the second place boat. Third was Tom Adams, with Durward Knowles fourth.

With this finish, Pete was leading the World's Championship by one point. Unbelievable!

Sixth Race - Dingo, Jerry Ford
Chicago's famous northeaster had come in across the lake. It was blowing fifteen to twenty knots with five to ten foot seas, raining, with no signs of it breaking up.

We got out to the starting line one hour early so we could get a good feel for the boat in the heavy weather. As we reached up and down the line, ourselves and Blackaller were giving each other the hawkeye, trying to psyche each other out. Tom was happy with this breeze and we were looking forward to sailing a strong race. We started at the weather end just below Blackaller, and immediately knew we had speed.

We came off the blocks two to one on everyone around us. We looked back and we had Tom on our starboard quarter and he wasn't going at all. We couldn't find Wright anywhere so we figured he was buried somewhere at the leeward end of the line. By the time we got to the weather mark, we were in fourth place and as soon as we were around the mark we blew right through Pete Bennett and Bill Gerard's lee, riding on a beautiful ten foot sea. At the first reaching pin, we didn't quite have an overlap on Jim Allsopp, who was leading the race so we rounded behind him.

Half way down the second reaching leg we got a good blast of wind and a big wave all at once and sailed over Allsopp for the lead. From this point on we continued to increase our lead. We rounded the weather mark the second time and flew downwind, riding those big seas and really feeling good. At the leeward pin, we had about a hundred yards on Allsopp and noticed that Blackaller was sailing through the pack. We were very much at ease though, because we knew Tom would have to put four boats in between us to win and that didn't look as if it was going to happen.

So we came across the line in the rain and wind, wet and cold and happy to be World Champions.

ding schoonmaker world championship