1976 World Championship - Nassau
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. 5660 Mustard Seed James Allsopp Michael Guhin Chesapeake Bay 24 2 1 5 1 4 312 5647 Frolic Bill Buchan Jr Earl Lasher Puget Sound 16 3 4 2 9 2 305 5575 Suzanne Barton Beek William Munster Los Angeles Hbr 1 6 17 6 5 6 301 5793 Sanctuary Malin Burnham Robbie Haines San Diego Bay 5 17 3 12 4 1 300 5607 Dingo Ding SchoonmakerDavid Dickey Biscayne Bay 2 1 8 dnf 1 13 300 5928 Conch Basil Kelly Steven Kelly Nassau 6 4 9 9 6 5 295 5950 J. J. Flash Tom Blackaller Peter Barrett WSFB 9 10 10 4 2 13 290 5900 Humbug Pelle Petterson Ingvar Sampson Kattegatt 10 14 11 7 3 7 287 5957 Elizabeth James LippincottTerry Rapp Barnegat Bay 13 13 5 1 32 9 284 5766 Super Rat Read Ruggles Gary Kelly Biscayne Bay 14 7 2 16 8 20 278 5840 Dolphin VII Frank Raymond David Lencioni Wilmette Harbor 12 8 15 8 dnf 10 272 5576 Big If Thompson Adams William RichardsWilmette Harbor 8 15 dsq 3 16 15 268 5945 Gem Durward Knowles Monty Higgs Nassau 3 26 13 dnf 14 11 258 5946 Riot V Henry Rowan Rick Burgess Lake George 20 19 7 27 21 8 250 5662 Swift Lars Berg Richard Berg Sandhamn 15 5 18 28 17 29 242 5940 American West William Gerard Shendah Gerard Santa Barbara 22 24 19 19 13 12 240 5540 Spirit J.M. MacCauslandL. Krasowski Cooper River 39 32 16 13 10 16 238 5874 Old Blue Too Frank Zagarino John Boyer Biscayne Bay 29 12 6 30 25 17 236 5820 Misty John Allen John Ahlquist Wilmette Harbor 19 29 24 18 12 18 234 5879 Eagle David Oberg Wayne Diller Cooper River 17 18 12 dnf 24 22 232 5480 Robin Larry Whipple James Alexander WSFB 4 dsq 28 15 29 24 225 5856 Shrew William Parks James Machin S. L. Michigan 25 22 14 24 15 dns 225 5918 Yaws Ted Rapp Gerald Ford West Jersey 30 25 dns 23 27 27 217 5303 Sirene Sune Carlsson Leif Carlsson Rasta 31 36 23 11 19 26 215 5883 Something Else David Peterson Earl Elms San Diego Bay 7 9 dsq 10 20 dnf 214 5771 Humbug XV Chuck Driscoll Clinton Berkley San Diego Bay 34 21 33 32 26 14 199 5941 Hot Cargo John Cram Carl Petersen Santa Barbara 28 27 22 36 18 dnf 194 5931 Nate Heinz Nixdorf Josef Pieper Moehnesee 33 30 dnf 20 22 28 192 5861 Smorgasboat Tryg LiljestrandAlan Zimmer WSFB 18 33 27 34 27 32 188 5589 Big Bird George F.Thomas Charles Hurlbut C. Lake Erie 11 11 dsq dnf 33 19 186 5926 Pummel X Detlef Kuke Regi Schlubach Berliner 23 16 41 26 37 38 185 5933 Rock Sound Dierk Thomsen Mike Russell Kiel 49 46 20 14 28 36 181 5847 Blast Hans Prechter Hans Poelt Ammersee 48 42 38 21 23 21 180 5600 Ryan's Express Rich Lippincott Geoffrey Higgs Eastern Shore M 43 31 36 22 31 25 180 5904 Lorbass Arno Gudrat Manfred Joppich Tegernsee 36 41 29 17 42 31 171 5845 Lausbub VI Martin Schwiegr Uwe Oelman Hamburg 38 28 25 29 38 44 167 5956 Clementine Harry Adler Daniel Adler Rio de Janeiro 32 34 44 25 56 30 160 5949 Tante Ed Hengstenberg H. Fahnenstick Essen 52 23 31 35 46 34 156 5525 Gem John Mueller Mark Jamus Illinois River 26 35 40 43 34 dnf 147 5673 Tomte C. Breitenstein Fred Schauvo Zug 35 20 37 47 39 dnf 147 5922 Jaws John Greening Tom Londrigan L. Springfield 42 40 34 33 dns 33 143 5667 Walkabout H. J. Ruedd M. Esselgroth Kiel 31 37 21 dnf 40 41 135 5546 Yahoo II Peter Meyer Werner Soenksen Guarapiranga 56 47 35 dnf 36 27 124 5225 Djinn Frank Gordoa Kip Murray Lake Sunapee 41 58 42 37 43 42 120 5875 Gemini Peter de Manio Larry Klein St John's River 27 dnf 39 31 45 dns 118 5846 Zwidawuran Albert Sporer Heinz Nersingel Andechser 45 39 46 38 47 40 117 5700 Spankuk II Chresten Jensen Ebbe Jensen Jackson Park 40 50 53 40 50 43 102 5837 Butzi R. Roellenbleg Peter Kullmann Starnbergersee 60 45 30 dnf 52 37 100 5730 Night Train Peter C Finley Roger Johnson L. Springfield 61 43 48 48 52 37 97 5854 Barbara Thomas Lucke W. Lippincott Eastern Shore M 47 56 26 dnf dnf 35 96 5348 Blue Chip III David Gaillard Jack Levedahl Chesapeake Bay 46 48 45 44 49 dnf 93 5930 Demon VIII Kenneth Cole William Wright L. Springfield 53 52 54 39 35 dnf 92 5519 Fan-Tas-Tic Wm. Mitchener David Monroe Illinois River 59 53 32 dnf 30 dnf 86 5648 Raia Eugene McCarthy Glenn McCarthy Jackson Park 37 dnf 56 42 44 dnf 81 5539 Raindrop Randall Wilkin James Hart Wilmette Harbor 21 54 43 dnf dnf dns 77 5690 Zig Zag Thomas Drew-BearEd Gershey Lake Maracaibo 55 51 55 46 53 46 74 5494 Ice Blue Secret George Szabo George Cable San Diego Bay 50 57 dnf 41 57 47 73 5599 Fug Austin H. GibbonJames King WSFB 54 dns 47 46 41 dnf 72 5964 Delphin Rudolf Lange Karl Heitzinger Attersee 62 44 52 45 55 dns 67 5640 Yankee Doodle III Harry W. Walker Gregor Downey Biscayne Bay 44 49 dns 49 54 dnf 64 5714 Bla-Bla Hermann Weiler Fritz Girr Neuschwanstein 63 38 50 50 wdr dns 59 5342 Creepy IV Michael Young Max Tunbridge Pittwater 58 59 51 51 48 dnf 58 5421 What If Kenneth Morton Barbara Morton Wilmette Harbor 57 55 dnf dns dns 45 38 4207 Windward Ernest Hammer Robert Seltzer C. Lake Erie dns 60 49 dnf 58 dns 28
Regatta Report
from the 1977 Star Class Log
"The 1976 Star World's Championship was, as usual, a super competitive regatta, superbly hosted this year by the Nassau Yacht Club. The series attracted 64 entries from 8 countries and included 6 world's champions. None of the former gold star winners were victorious, Jim Allsopp from Annapolis, Maryland, emerging as champion with a record of 24-2-1-5-1-4.
"After throwing out his first race disaster Jim earned a 7 point victory over Bill Buchan of Seattle with Barton Beek of Los Angeles a close third. Allsopp had never placed in the top ten in a previous Star World's; he had never won a silver star or a gold chevron. He simply put everything together for a week of perfect sailing and beat the competition solidly." Since then Jim has added a silver star to his gold by winning the 1976 European Championship at Marstrand.
"The winner averaged a little better than 3rd" (in fact 2.6) "in the races he counted which in a 64 boat fleet is quite an accomplishment. Bill Buchan was close but never won a race and generally didn't have the speed required to beat Allsopp; he used good starts and errorless sailing to achieve his runner-up position. Barton Beek, who has been sailing Stars for more than 35 years, won his highest place to date in a World's Championship."
The above quotations are by 1974 world's champion Tom Blackaller in the North Sails Newsletter.
Getting 64 boats off to a fair start in the rugged wind conditions that prevailed for most of the week presented a challenge ably met by Lowell North and his committee of experts that included Bobby Symonette and former world's champion Carlos de Cardenas. A veritable navy of support boats included marker yachts, course setters, a line setting boat, recall speedboats, the Judges' boat, messenger boats and standby boats seemingly without end.
The management of this vast flotilla was all under radio control of the race committee which also had to direct the laying out of the courses and start the races. It required practice, which they didn't have; but after the first two days everything smoothed out admirably.
First Race
A starting line half a mile long (measured by log each day) is hard to set square; but they did it, although it required constant care arid repeated juggling of the outer end which was not a mark but another boat. The skippers were nervous for the first start and a general recall resulted. The second attempt was better, Sune Carlsson getting away with a perfect port-tack start at the port end; but it was abandoned also because one of the warning guns had been fired one minute too soon. Incidentally this was caused by a count-down for a flag lowering.
Hint to race officers: there should be no count-downs for anything that doesn't require a gun. "Five, four, three, two, one, Lower!" is an invitation to the man on the trigger, whose reflexes will make him pull the string when no gun was intended. Just say quietly, "Stand by to lower," and then, 5 seconds later, "Lower!" and there can be no trouble.
The third try was called back also, to re-set the line which had become slightly skewed due to a wind shift. After a postponement the fourth start finally was allowed to stand and the race got away in about 10 knots of wind from the southeast. Beek, Knowles and Schoonmaker rounded the first mark first, followed by a huge clump very close together. Togetherness was the word for the entire series: no one had outstanding boatspeed, there were no very bad wind shifts to split up the fleet, and every position was hard fought right down the line.
The wind at the home mark died to around 5 knots, the minimum for the week, partly because of the wall of sails coming up astern and partly because of the large spectator fleet. Schoonmaker took Knowles the next time up while Beek was lengthening his lead to 16 seconds. Knowles barely held his third place, just nosing out Whipple and Buchan at the finish.
On the windward legs the "outside edges" were both successful. The first time up Beek went all the way to one lay line and Knowles all the way to the other, both playing minor shifts the while. Those who tacked too often up the middle did not fare so well. This may have been partly due to the big fleet which, on such a compact windward leg, tended to leave the air in a permanent state of turmoil in the middle of the course.
A Bacardi sponsored cocktail party that night was followed by a barbecue, successfully served to the huge crowd by the Nassau Yacht Club.
Second Race
With slightly more wind than yesterday the seas were better organized, but the spectator fleet soon fixed that.
On a square line most of the fleet was over too soon; but the race committee, unable to see the far end of the line, saw an even start and let it go but not for long. They soon noticed that the first mark was out of place. The windward leg of Course O is only two miles long, and from a starting line a half mile long it becomes possible for a boat almost to lay the mark from one end of the line if the leg is somewhat out of true.
This time it was so one-sided that part of the fleet was almost immediately overstanding. The committee tried to have the mark moved, but too late: the boats on the favoured tack were already there, mark in motion, race cancelled by the Judges. Barton Beek, leading at the time, pounded the deck in frustration; but others were happy to do the whole thing over again. Among these were Allsopp, buried at the start (possibly he was on the line instead of over with the crowd;) and Schoonmaker.
Ding had parted a jibstay and was heading into the harbour when the race was abandoned. He effected repairs from his 70 foot mother-ship and came back to win the resailed race. But it was not the Defender's week: too many things went wrong for Ding later in the series, despite which he wound up fifth, better than 59 others were able to do.
The next try saw one general recall and then a beautiful start with only the ever-daring Carlsson recalled. Durward Knowles, at the port end, tacked immediately and crossed most of the fleet until he was eventually forced by a starboard boat that had started at the committee end. How square a line can you set! Allsopp jumped into the lead and held it most of the way around the course.
Basil Kelly, second at the first mark, finished fourth, his best place in a very consistent week in which he was never worse than ninth. Ding was third, moving into second the next time up and passing Allsopp on the third windward leg for a win of 25 seconds over Allsopp. "Who is this 5660?" was the question being asked today by spectators and officials. They would soon enough find out.
Third Race
A bit more wind and sea held the fleet back just enough so that it got away to a good start on the very first try. President Parks, port tacking from the left end of the line, carried off a good start that brought him to the first mark fifth. First was Allsopp who held a very fat lead for such a short leg (1 hour) of slam-bang sailing.
Lots of action at the jibing mark was followed by a poled-out run in what was now 18 to 20 knots of wind. Burnham, Zagarino and Ruggles rounded close to each other for 2-3 at the home mark, followed by masses of closely packed boats. One optimist tried to tack immediately and claim starboard rights, only to be beaten back onto port by a wall of oncoming port-tackers that were still coming off a plane as they rounded.
The second time around it was Allsopp, Zagarino, Burnham and Buchan in that order; but Zag dropped to sixth, replaced by Read Ruggles in second at the finish. Allsopp won by I min. 21 sec., a very long distance is so much breeze.
After three races 2-l-8 was enough to give Schoonmaker the Vanderveer Trophy by 8 points over Nassau's Kelly. It was awarded at a cocktail party given at the governor's mansion by their excellencies Governor and Lady Butler. Other prizes presented that evening included the Retired President's Dynamite Trophy, awarded (with cheers) to Durward Knowles.
Fourth Race
The wind was around to the south today, straight off the open ocean and blowing 20-25 with consequent mountainous seas that caused the loss of several lengths on every comeabout. They got off again on the first attempt. Jim Lippincott led around the first mark, then Schoonmaker who dropped out on the first reach when his vang let go. There were many other breakdowns, mostly parted wires, on this most rugged day of the week. One boat was dismasted.
Lippincott held the lead to the finish for his first gold chevrons, with Buchan second and Tom Adams managing third after Beek, Burnham and others had held that position and then lost it again.
At the home mark the first time down Beek, having arranged to approach from inside on starboard, missed the jibe, rounded up too far and had to tack and jibe again. Knowles pulled out a chainplate. (Bill Buchan was very busy with the fiberglass kit that night.) There was some fast planing and wild jibing on the downwind legs. Allsopp sailed well to fight up from about 12th at the first mark to 6th at the finish. It blew up to 28 knots on that last windward leg. Only 51 boats finished.
The second time down near the end of the run Tom Drew-Bear spotted a swimmer signalling for help, rounded up, and rescued Randy Wilkin, skipper of 5539. Wilkin had fallen overboard and his crew was unable to pick him up single handed. Even wearing a life jacket he was not enjoying his swim under those conditions. Drew-Bear requested finish points for 46th, his position at the time he had to abandon the race, which were promptly granted by the Jury.
Fifth Race
A front lurking offshore caused unstable conditions and some postponements to wait for the new wind to settle in. It came from the north (offshore), with consequently much less sea. Threatening squalls did not materialize.
After two general recalls the fleet got off to a fine even start. After every general recall Lowell would re-set the line to correct the slight flaw that had caused the bunching at one end or the other, so that the line for the final re-start was always perfectly square. For nearly all final starts the fleet was spread over the whole line. Half a mile, if it is all used, allows a line less than two lengths per boat, just nice breathing space.
A few boats overstood the port lay line because of a lee bow current. Allsopp rounded the first mark with a small lead, enlarged a bit because the next two, Blackaller and Beek, were among the overstanders.
More often than was to be expected in this fleet of experts a jib would get away during a leeward rounding and end up wrapped around the headstay. This embarrassment occurred to the leader today at the home mark and Allsopp himself sprang forward to clear it with Guhin at the tiller. Schoonmaker, about 24th the first time around, did very well to work up to 11th at the finish, especially with one hand badly cut when a hiking strap let go and dumped him into the sea in mid-race. He had already used his throw-out.
The second time upwind Malin Burnham sailed all the way to the starboard lay line, a good gamble based on the theory that the wind was slowly clocking, and moved from 5th to 2nd thereby. At the windward mark this trip it was Allsopp and then three gold stars Burnham, Blackaller and Petterson, then Tedd Rapp out of nowhere for the first time. The last time up Malin tried east again, but it didn't work.
The course had been changed from 10° to 25°, and on the third windward leg the wind must have swung back the other way a trifle. Blackaller gave Allsopp a great battle up the last leg, the champion-to-be getting the gun by 2 seconds. The boats were moving so fast in the smooth water that they fooled the race committee, who got themselves on station just in the nick of time for the finish.
Sir Roland and Lady Symonette, who have entertained at every major Star event held at Nassau for forty years, staged a fabulous party at their harbour front home on this last night before the final race.
Sixth Race
By this time breakfast at the Yacht Club had been improved to a Class A service, but the Breakfast Bridge Club continued as usual. The attention gun was fired one hour earlier to allow early haul-out.
The wind had completed its clockwise turn through 360° to the prevailing easterly tradewind direction, at 18-20 knots. After clouds and showers yesterday the sun returned to provide the usual blazing blue sky for the finale.
Blackaller and Rapp were recalled in a start that saw some crowding at the marker end. At the first mark it was Burnham, Buchan and Schoonmaker, and then Allsopp holding high to give Ding plenty of room. Finding themselves in fourth place Allsopp and Guhin were obviously trying to play it safe. They needed to finish only ninth or better in this race to guarantee victory.
They slipped to 6th on the reach but were inside at the jibe mark to preserve that position. They worked up to 4th again on the next windward leg and held that winning place very comfortably to the finish. Series second went to twice world's champion Bill Buchan and the fight for third was so close that nobody was sure how it had turned out until the committee posted the final results.
Allsopp and Guhin are not physical giants. Jim weighs 195 lb. and Mike, his crew, 175 (88.5 and 79 kg.) Their boat was a 1971 Buchan that had shown no special potential until this series. It weighed in at 1500 lb., 20 lb. over the minimum. As Allsopp remarked after the series, "Ever since we finished second in the Spring Silver Star here a year ago we have had our sights set on this one." It was a well deserved victory, popular because it proved that a relatively little known skipper of skill and perseverance aided by a dedicated crew can come through and beat the best of the top competition.
